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Is the problem a new one? Is the answer already available? Ignorance of prior studies may lead a student to spend time needlessly on a problem already investigated by some other worker

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Is the problem a new one? Is the answer already available? Ignorance of prior studies may lead a student to spend time needlessly on a problem already investigated by some other worker. However, although novelty or originality is an important consideration, simply because a problem has been investigated in the past does not mean that it is no longer worthy of study. At times it is appropriate to replicate (repeat) a study to verify its conclusions or to extend the validity of its findings to a different situation or population. For instance, research with children might be of great importance to replicate with mentally retarded children. Similarly, much cross-cultural research consists of replicating research conducted in one country with samples in another country. For instance, Kohlberg's (1984; Power, Higgins, & Kohlberg, 1989) theory of moral reasoning has been shown to be valid in a number of countries, thereby supporting the universality of the theory.