Q: Publishing a replication study

Yes, you can definitely conduct research that has been previously published and write a paper to validate the findings of the original work. Such studies are called replication studies, and they are considered important for the progress of science. Replication studies help in confirming that the findings of the original study are accurate and applicable under different situations.

In a replication study, the researcher repeats a study using the same methods but employs different variables such as different subjects and situations. This helps in determining whether or not the study can be generalized across locations, cultures, age groups, gender, etc. You can read more about publication of replication studies in this article. 

It is indeed commendable that you are planning to work on a replication study. However, a word of caution: many journals are biased against replication studies. They do not prefer to publish replication studies as these studies are not novel and do not report anything path-breaking. Hence, the chances of publication of a replication study might be slightly lower than an original study. However, a large section of scholars do believe in the importance of replication studies and feel that it’s high time the industry overcomes this bias. 

You might be interested in reading this insightful post Why are replication studies so rarely published?