Improving computational reproducibility in the social sciences

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CommentPublished: 01 September 2026Michael V. Reiss1,Susanne J. Adler2,Christopher Barrie  ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-9156-990X3,Jana B. Berkessel4,5,Johannes Breuer  ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-5906-78736,7,Abel Brodeur  ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-3980-43248,9,Garret Christensen  ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-2558-160910,Tobias Dienlin  ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-6875-808311,Jeremy Freese12,Ben Greiner13,Mario Haim1,Tom E. Hardwicke14,Magnus Johannesson  ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-8759-639315,Gary King  ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-5327-763116,Frauke Kreuter17,18,19,Christopher Lucas20,Ana Martinovici  ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-1940-029321,Christophe Pérignon22,23,Marko Sarstedt  ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-5424-42682,24,Felix D. Schönbrodt  ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-8282-391025,Oleg Urminsky  ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-4390-386X26,Wouter van Atteveldt27,Simine Vazire  ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-3933-975228,Lars Vilhuber  ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-5733-893229,Florian von Wangenheim30,Eric-Jan Wagenmakers  ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-1596-103431,Nicolas Pröllochs  ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-1835-730232,Claire Robertson33,Felix Holzmeister  ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-9606-042734,Stefan Feuerriegel  ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-7856-872918 &…Hauke Roggenhamp  ORCID: orcid.org/0009-0005-5176-471830 Nature Human Behaviour (2026) Cite this articleSave articleView saved researchCode underlying published findings in the social sciences often fails to reproduce reported results when others re-run it on the original data. This Comment proposes four recommendations to strengthen computational reproducibility, facilitating the trustworthiness and reliability of research.This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institutionAccess options Access through your institutionAccess Nature and 54 other Nature Portfolio journalsGet Nature+, our best-value online-access subscription27,99 € / 30 dayscancel any timeLearn moreSubscribe to this journalReceive 12 digital issues and online access to articles118,99 € per yearonly 9,92 € per issueLearn moreBuy this articlePurchase on SpringerLinkInstant access to the full article PDF.39,95 €Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkoutFig. 1: Growing credibility from data, code and documentation.SubjectsCommunicationEconomicsPsychologySocial sciencesSociologyReferencesMiske, O. et al. Nature 652, 126–134 (2026).Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar Brodeur, A. et al. 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Reiss & Mario HaimMunich School of Management, LMU Munich, Munich, GermanySusanne J. Adler & Marko SarstedtDepartment of Sociology, New York University, New York, NY, USAChristopher BarrieMannheim Centre for European Social Research, University of Mannheim, Mannheim, GermanyJana B. BerkesselOpen Science Office, University of St. Gallen, St. Gallen, SwitzerlandJana B. BerkesselResearch Data and Methods, Center for Advanced Internet Studies (CAIS), Bochum, GermanyJohannes BreuerDepartment of Social Sciences, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, GermanyJohannes BreuerDepartment of Economics, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, CanadaAbel BrodeurInstitute for Replication, Ottawa, Ontario, CanadaAbel BrodeurBerkeley Initiative for Transparency in the Social Sciences, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USAGarret ChristensenDepartment of Communication, University of Zurich, Zurich, SwitzerlandTobias DienlinDepartment of Sociology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USAJeremy FreeseDepartment of Strategy and Innovation, WU Vienna University of Economics and Business, Vienna, AustriaBen GreinerSchool of Psychology, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, AustraliaTom E. HardwickeDepartment of Economics, Stockholm School of Economics, Stockholm, SwedenMagnus JohannessonInstitute for Quantitative Social Science, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USAGary KingInstitute for Statistics, LMU Munich, Munich, GermanyFrauke KreuterMunich Center for Machine Learning, LMU Munich, Munich, GermanyFrauke Kreuter & Stefan FeuerriegelUniversity of Maryland, College Park, MD, USAFrauke KreuterDepartment of Political Science, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USAChristopher LucasDepartment of Marketing Management, Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University, Rotterdam, NetherlandsAna MartinoviciDepartment of Finance, HEC Paris, Paris, FranceChristophe PérignonCascad, Paris, FranceChristophe PérignonFaculty of Economics and Business Administration, Babeş-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, RomaniaMarko SarstedtDepartment of Psychology, LMU Munich, Munich, GermanyFelix D. SchönbrodtBooth School of Business, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USAOleg UrminskyVrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, NetherlandsWouter van AtteveldtMelbourne School of Psychological Sciences, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, AustraliaSimine VazireDepartment of Economics, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USALars VilhuberDepartment of Management, Technology, and Economics, ETH Zurich, Zurich, SwitzerlandFlorian von Wangenheim & Hauke RoggenhampDepartment of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, NetherlandsEric-Jan WagenmakersDepartment of Business and Economics, JLU Giessen, Giessen, GermanyNicolas PröllochsDepartment of Psychology, Colby College, Waterville, ME, USAClaire RobertsonDepartment of Economics, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, AustriaFelix HolzmeisterAuthorsMichael V. ReissView author publicationsSearch author on:PubMed Google ScholarSusanne J. AdlerView author publicationsSearch author on:PubMed Google ScholarChristopher BarrieView author publicationsSearch author on:PubMed Google ScholarJana B. BerkesselView author publicationsSearch author on:PubMed Google ScholarJohannes BreuerView author publicationsSearch author on:PubMed Google ScholarAbel BrodeurView author publicationsSearch author on:PubMed Google ScholarGarret ChristensenView author publicationsSearch author on:PubMed Google ScholarTobias DienlinView author publicationsSearch author on:PubMed Google ScholarJeremy FreeseView author publicationsSearch author on:PubMed Google ScholarBen GreinerView author publicationsSearch author on:PubMed Google ScholarMario HaimView author publicationsSearch author on:PubMed Google ScholarTom E. HardwickeView author publicationsSearch author on:PubMed Google ScholarMagnus JohannessonView author publicationsSearch author on:PubMed Google ScholarGary KingView author publicationsSearch author on:PubMed Google ScholarFrauke KreuterView author publicationsSearch author on:PubMed Google ScholarChristopher LucasView author publicationsSearch author on:PubMed Google ScholarAna MartinoviciView author publicationsSearch author on:PubMed Google ScholarChristophe PérignonView author publicationsSearch author on:PubMed Google ScholarMarko SarstedtView author publicationsSearch author on:PubMed Google ScholarFelix D. SchönbrodtView author publicationsSearch author on:PubMed Google ScholarOleg UrminskyView author publicationsSearch author on:PubMed Google ScholarWouter van AtteveldtView author publicationsSearch author on:PubMed Google ScholarSimine VazireView author publicationsSearch author on:PubMed Google ScholarLars VilhuberView author publicationsSearch author on:PubMed Google ScholarFlorian von WangenheimView author publicationsSearch author on:PubMed Google ScholarEric-Jan WagenmakersView author publicationsSearch author on:PubMed Google ScholarNicolas PröllochsView author publicationsSearch author on:PubMed Google ScholarClaire RobertsonView author publicationsSearch author on:PubMed Google ScholarFelix HolzmeisterView author publicationsSearch author on:PubMed Google ScholarStefan FeuerriegelView author publicationsSearch author on:PubMed Google ScholarHauke RoggenhampView author publicationsSearch author on:PubMed Google ScholarCorresponding authorCorrespondence to Hauke Roggenhamp.Ethics declarationsCompeting interestsO.U. is Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Consumer Research, S.V. is Editor-in-Chief of Psychological Science and F.v.W. is Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Service Research. L.V. is the Data Editor of the American Economic Association’s journals, a compensated position; the views expressed here are his own and do not reflect AEA policy. T.E.H. is Senior Editor for Statistics, Transparency, and Rigor at Psychological Science. A.B. leads the Institute for Replication. C.P. is a co-founder of Cascad, a certification agency for scientific code and data. E.-J.W. is a developer of JASP, an open-source, non-commercial, publicly funded software package for Bayesian statistics, and the CEO of JASP Services B.V., a company that supports organizations adopting JASP, with a focus on applications in quality control. The remaining authors declare no competing interests.Rights and permissionsReprints and permissionsAbout this article