. 2025 Jun 16.

doi: 10.1007/s40279-025-02201-w. Online ahead of print.

Estimating the Replicability of Sports and Exercise Science Research

Jennifer Murphy¹, Aaron R Caldwell², Cristian Mesquida^{3

4}, Aera J M Ladell⁵, Alberto Encarnación-Martínez⁶, Alexandre Tual⁷, Andrew Denys⁸, Bailey Cameron⁹, Bas Van Hooren¹⁰, Ben Parr¹¹, Bianca DeLucia¹², Billy R J Mason¹³, Brad Clark¹³, Brendan Egan¹⁴, Calum Brown¹⁵, Carl Ade¹⁶, Chiarella Sforza¹⁷, Christopher B Taber¹⁸, Christopher Kirk¹⁵, Christopher McCrum¹⁰, Cian OKeeffe Tighe³, Ciara Byrne³, Claudia Brunetti¹⁷, Cyril Forestier⁷, Dan Martin¹⁹, Danny Taylor¹⁹, David Diggin²⁰, Dearbhla Gallagher²¹, Deborah L King²⁰, Elizabeth Rogers¹⁶, Eric C Bennett⁵, Eric T Lopatofsky¹⁸, Gemma Dunn²¹, Gérome C Gauchar²², Guillaume Mornieux²², Ignacio Catalá-Vilaplana²³, Ines Caetan¹⁹, Inmaculada Aparicio-Aparicio⁶, Jack Barnes¹⁵, Jake Blaisdell²⁰, James Steele⁹, Jared R Fletcher⁵, Jasmin Hutchinson¹², Jason Au²⁴, Jason P Oliemans⁵, Javad Bakhshinejad¹², Joaquin Barrios²⁵, Jose Ignacio Priego Quesada⁶, Joseph Rager²⁶, Julia B Capon⁵, Julie S J Walton²⁷, Kailey Stevens²⁴, Katie Heinrich¹⁶, Kelly Wu²⁸, Kenneth Meijer¹⁰, Laura Richards²¹, Lauren Jutlah²⁴, Le Tong⁸, Lee Bridgeman⁹, Leo Banet²², Leonard Mbiyu²⁶, Lucy Sefton²⁶, Margaret de Chanaleilles⁷, Maria Charisi²⁸, Matthew Beerse²⁵, Matthew J Major²⁸, Maya Caon²⁹, Mel Bargh¹⁹, Michael Rowley⁸, Miguel Vaca Moran²⁸, Nicholas Croker¹², Nicolas C Hanen²², Nicole Montague³, Noel E Brick¹¹, Oliver R Runswick²⁶, Paul Willems¹⁰, Pedro Pérez-Soriano⁶, Rebecca Blake³⁰, Rebecca Jones¹⁹, Rebecca Louise Quinn¹¹, Roberto Sanchis-Sanchis⁶, Rodrigo Rabello¹⁷, Roisin Bolger¹¹, Roy Shohat²⁹, Sadie Cotton²⁰, Samantha Chua⁹, Samuel Norwood²⁹, Samuel Vimeau²⁹, Sandro Dias¹⁹, Sissel Pedersen¹⁰, Spencer S Skaper⁵, Taylor Coyle³, Terun Desai³¹, Thomas I Gee¹⁹, Tobias Edwards¹⁵, Torsten Pohl³², Vanessa Yingling⁸, Vinicius Ribeiro²⁹, Youri Duchene²², Zacharias Papadakis²⁹, Joe P Warne³

Affiliations

¹ School of Biological, Health and Sport Sciences, Technological University Dublin, Tallaght Campus, Blessington Rd, Dublin 9, Ireland. jennymurphy1@outlook.ie.
² Institute for Community Health Innovation, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Northwest, Springdale, AR, 72762, USA.
³ School of Biological, Health and Sport Sciences, Technological University Dublin, Tallaght Campus, Blessington Rd, Dublin 9, Ireland.
⁴ Human-Technology Interaction Group, Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, The Netherlands.
⁵ Department of Health and Physical Education, Mount Royal University, Calgary, AB, T3E 6K6, Canada.
⁶ Department of Physical Education and Sports, Universitat de València, València, Spain.
⁷ Laboratoire Motricité, Interactions, Performance, Le Mans Université, Le Mans, France.
⁸ Department of Kinesiology, California State University East Bay, Hayward, CA, 94542, USA.
⁹ Department of Sport and Health, Solent University, Southampton, SO14 0YN, UK.
¹⁰ Department of Nutrition and Movement Sciences, NUTRIM School for Nutrition and Translational Research in Metabolism, Maastricht University, 6211 LK, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
¹¹ School of Psychology, Ulster University, Coleraine, Co., Londonderry, BT52 1SA, UK.
¹² Department of Exercise Science and Athletic Training, Springfield College, Springfield, MA, USA.
¹³ University of Canberra Research Institute for Sport and Exercise, University of Canberra, Bruce, ACT, 2617, Australia.
¹⁴ School of Health and Human Performance, Dublin City University, Glasnevin, Dublin 9, Ireland.
¹⁵ School of Sport and Physical Activity, Sheffield University, Sheffield, UK.
¹⁶ Department of Kinesiology, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, 66506, USA.
¹⁷ Department of Biomedical Sciences for Health, Università Degli Studi Di Milano, Via Mangiagalli, 31, 20133, Milan, Italy.
¹⁸ Department of Physical Therapy and Human Movement Science, Sacred Heart University, Fairfield, CT, USA.
¹⁹ School of Sport and Exercise Science, University of Lincoln, Lincoln, LN6 7TS, UK.
²⁰ School of Health Sciences and Human Performance, Ithaca College, Ithaca, NY, 14850, USA.
²¹ School of Human and Social Sciences, Buckinghamshire New University, High Wycombe, UK.
²² Development, Adaptation, Handicap-CARE Grand Est, Université de Lorraine, Nancy, France.
²³ Department of Physical Therapy, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.
²⁴ Department of Kinesiology and Health Sciences, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, Canada.
²⁵ Department of Physical Therapy, University of Dayton, Dayton, OH, USA.
²⁶ Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, Kings College London, London, UK.
²⁷ Faculty of Kinesiology, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, T2N 1N4, Canada.
²⁸ Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA.
²⁹ Human Performance Laboratory and Motion Analysis Center, Department of Health Promotion and Clinical Practice, Barry University, Miami Shores, FL, 33161, USA.
³⁰ Specialist Facilities, Solent University, Southampton, SO14 0YN, UK.
³¹ Institute of Sport, Exercise and Health, Division of Surgery and Interventional Science, University College London, London, UK.
³² Conservative and Rehabilitative Orthopaedics, Technical University of Munich, G80992, Munich, Germany.

PMID: 40522610
DOI: 10.1007/s40279-025-02201-w

Estimating the Replicability of Sports and Exercise Science Research

Jennifer Murphy et al. Sports Med. 2025.

. 2025 Jun 16.

doi: 10.1007/s40279-025-02201-w. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ School of Biological, Health and Sport Sciences, Technological University Dublin, Tallaght Campus, Blessington Rd, Dublin 9, Ireland. jennymurphy1@outlook.ie.
² Institute for Community Health Innovation, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Northwest, Springdale, AR, 72762, USA.
³ School of Biological, Health and Sport Sciences, Technological University Dublin, Tallaght Campus, Blessington Rd, Dublin 9, Ireland.
⁴ Human-Technology Interaction Group, Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, The Netherlands.
⁵ Department of Health and Physical Education, Mount Royal University, Calgary, AB, T3E 6K6, Canada.
⁶ Department of Physical Education and Sports, Universitat de València, València, Spain.
⁷ Laboratoire Motricité, Interactions, Performance, Le Mans Université, Le Mans, France.
⁸ Department of Kinesiology, California State University East Bay, Hayward, CA, 94542, USA.
⁹ Department of Sport and Health, Solent University, Southampton, SO14 0YN, UK.
¹⁰ Department of Nutrition and Movement Sciences, NUTRIM School for Nutrition and Translational Research in Metabolism, Maastricht University, 6211 LK, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
¹¹ School of Psychology, Ulster University, Coleraine, Co., Londonderry, BT52 1SA, UK.
¹² Department of Exercise Science and Athletic Training, Springfield College, Springfield, MA, USA.
¹³ University of Canberra Research Institute for Sport and Exercise, University of Canberra, Bruce, ACT, 2617, Australia.
¹⁴ School of Health and Human Performance, Dublin City University, Glasnevin, Dublin 9, Ireland.
¹⁵ School of Sport and Physical Activity, Sheffield University, Sheffield, UK.
¹⁶ Department of Kinesiology, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, 66506, USA.
¹⁷ Department of Biomedical Sciences for Health, Università Degli Studi Di Milano, Via Mangiagalli, 31, 20133, Milan, Italy.
¹⁸ Department of Physical Therapy and Human Movement Science, Sacred Heart University, Fairfield, CT, USA.
¹⁹ School of Sport and Exercise Science, University of Lincoln, Lincoln, LN6 7TS, UK.
²⁰ School of Health Sciences and Human Performance, Ithaca College, Ithaca, NY, 14850, USA.
²¹ School of Human and Social Sciences, Buckinghamshire New University, High Wycombe, UK.
²² Development, Adaptation, Handicap-CARE Grand Est, Université de Lorraine, Nancy, France.
²³ Department of Physical Therapy, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.
²⁴ Department of Kinesiology and Health Sciences, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, Canada.
²⁵ Department of Physical Therapy, University of Dayton, Dayton, OH, USA.
²⁶ Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, Kings College London, London, UK.
²⁷ Faculty of Kinesiology, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, T2N 1N4, Canada.
²⁸ Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA.
²⁹ Human Performance Laboratory and Motion Analysis Center, Department of Health Promotion and Clinical Practice, Barry University, Miami Shores, FL, 33161, USA.
³⁰ Specialist Facilities, Solent University, Southampton, SO14 0YN, UK.
³¹ Institute of Sport, Exercise and Health, Division of Surgery and Interventional Science, University College London, London, UK.
³² Conservative and Rehabilitative Orthopaedics, Technical University of Munich, G80992, Munich, Germany.

PMID: 40522610
DOI: 10.1007/s40279-025-02201-w

Abstract

Background: The replicability of sports and exercise research has not been assessed previously despite concerns about scientific practices within the field.

Aim: This study aims to provide an initial estimate of the replicability of applied sports and exercise science research published in quartile 1 journals (SCImago journal ranking for 2019 in the Sports Science subject category; www.scimagojr.com ) between 2016 and 2021.

Methods: A formalised selection protocol for this replication project was previously published. Voluntary collaborators were recruited, and studies were allocated in a stratified and randomised manner on the basis of equipment and expertise. Original authors were contacted to provide deidentified raw data, to review preregistrations and to provide methodological clarifications. A multiple inferential strategy was employed to analyse the replication data. The same analysis (i.e. F test or t test) was used to determine whether the replication effect size was statistically significant and in the same direction as the original effect size. Z-tests were used to determine whether the original and replication effect size estimates were compatible or significantly different in magnitude.

Results: In total, 25 replication studies were included for analysis. Of the 25, 10 replications used paired t tests, 1 used an independent t test and 14 used an analysis of variance (ANOVA) for the statistical analyses. In all, 7 (28%) studies demonstrated robust replicability, meeting all three validation criteria: achieving statistical significance (p < 0.05) in the same direction as the original study and showing compatible effect size magnitudes as per the Z test (p > 0.05).

Conclusion: There was a substantial decrease in the published effect size estimate magnitudes when replicated; therefore, sports and exercise science researchers should consider effect size uncertainty when conducting subsequent power analyses. Additionally, there were many barriers to conducting the replication studies, e.g., original author communication and poor data and reporting transparency.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Ethics approval: Ethical approval was obtained at each local university, and all studies were conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki. Consent to participate: All participants provided consent to participate. Funding: Open Access funding provided by the IReL Consortium. This work was supported by the Irish Research Council’s Government of Ireland Postgraduate Scholarship Programme [GOIPG/2020/1155]. Conflict of interest: The authors report there are no competing interests to declare. Availability of data and material: Raw data, code and other supplementary materials are available at https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/SFBVA . Author contributions: Jennifer Murphy: conceptualisation (equal), data curation (lead), formal analysis (equal), funding acquisition (lead), investigation (lead), methodology (equal) and writing – original draft preparation (lead). Aaron R. Caldwell: conceptualisation (equal), methodology (equal), supervision, formal analysis (equal) and writing – review and editing (equal). Cristian Mesquida: conceptualisation (equal). Joe P. Warne: conceptualisation (equal), methodology (equal), supervision (lead) and writing – review and editing (equal). Aera J. M. Ladell, Alberto Encarnación-Martínez, Alexandre Tual, Andrew Denys, Bailey Cameron, Bas Van Hooren, Ben Parr, Bianca DeLucia, Billy R. J. Mason, Brad Clark, Brendan Egan, Calum Brown, Carl Ade, Chiarella Sforza, Christopher B. Taber, Christopher Kirk, Christopher McCrum, Cian O. Keeffe Tighe, Ciara Byrne, Claudia Brunetti, Cyril Forestier, Dan Martin, Danny Taylor, David Diggin, Dearbhla Gallagher, Deborah L. King, Elizabeth Rogers, Eric C. Bennett, Eric T. Lopatofsky, Gemma Dunn, Gérome C. Gauchar, Guillaume Mornieux, Ignacio Catalá-Vilaplana, Ines Caetan, Inmaculada Aparicio-Aparicio, Jack Barnes, Jake Blaisdell, James Steele, Jared R. Fletcher, Jasmin Hutchinson, Jason Au, Jason P. Oliemans, Javad Bakhshinejad, Joaquin Barrios, Jose Ignacio Priego Quesada, Joseph Rager, Julia B. Capon, Julie S. J. Walton, Kailey Stevens, Katie Heinrich, Kelly Wu, Kenneth Meijer, Laura Richards, Lauren Jutlah, Le Tong, Lee Bridgeman, Leo Banet, Leonard Mbiyu, Lucy Sefton, Margaret de Chanaleilles, Maria Charisi, Matthew Beerse, Matthew J. Major, Maya Caon, Mel Bargh, Michael Rowley, Miguel Vaca Moran, Nicholas Croker, Nicolas C. Hanen, Nicole Montague, Noel E. Brick, Oliver R. Runswick, Paul Willems, Pedro Pérez-Soriano, Rebecca Blake, Rebecca Jones, Rebecca Louise Quinn, Roberto Sanchis-Sanchis, Rodrigo Rabello, Roisin Bolger, Roy Shohat, Sadie Cotton, Samantha Chua, Samuel Norwood, Samuel Vimeau, Sandro Dias, Sissel Pedersen, Spencer S. Skaper, Taylor Coyle, Terun Desai, Thomas I. Gee, Tobias Edwards, Torsten Pohl, Vanessa Yingling, Vinicius Ribeiro, Youri Duchene, Zacharias Papadakis: data collection, drafting of preregistration, replication reports and review of final manuscript.

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Estimating the Replicability of Sports and Exercise Science Research

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Estimating the Replicability of Sports and Exercise Science Research

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Abstract

Conflict of interest statement

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