Reproducibility at CHI is not "same script, same numbers." Human-subjects research reproduces at the level of protocol and analysis: could a competent lab run your study again, and could a skeptic re-derive your findings from your materials? CHI's screening now names "research transparency" explicitly inside the ADR-Method assisted desk-reject ground, so opacity is a pre-review rejection risk. The working principle for data: as open as consent allows, as documented as possible where it does not.
| Layer | What must be true | Typical artifacts |
|---|---|---|
| Protocol | Another lab could run the study | Task descriptions, scripts read to participants, stimuli, apparatus specs, recruitment text, screening criteria, compensation |
| Analysis | A skeptic could re-derive results from your data | Analysis code, codebook + coding decisions, exclusion rules, model specifications, software versions |
| Data | Shared where consent permits; described honestly where not | De-identified quantitative data, aggregate tables, transcript excerpts, or a documented reason why not |
The protocol layer is the cheapest and the most neglected: your consent scripts,
questionnaires, and interview guides already exist — publishing them in the
supplement costs an afternoon and answers half of the methods questions reviewers
would otherwise raise (chi-supplementary).
chi-submission).Qualitative work cannot ship a replication button; it can ship an audit trail:
Never promise what consent cannot deliver. The honest ladder, top rung you can reach:
For AI-infused systems add: model name and version/date, prompts and parameters, and cached model outputs from the study window, because the hosted model your participants used will not exist next year. A CHI study of "the assistant" without a pinned version is unreplicable by construction.
State per artifact class what is available, where, and why not where not:
Availability. Study protocol, interview guide, questionnaires, and the full
codebook: <repository DOI>. De-identified quantitative data and analysis
scripts (R 4.4, renv lockfile): same repository. Audio recordings and raw
transcripts are not shared, per the consent agreement; extended anonymized
excerpts appear in the supplement. LLM condition: <model+version>, prompts
and all cached outputs included.
During review this statement appears with anonymized links; at camera-ready it flips
to named archives (chi-camera-ready). Write both versions on the same day so the
promises match.
# The availability statement is a claim; test it like one.
ls protocol/ instruments/ codebook/ data/ analysis/ # inventory vs statement
grep -rEin 'available (upon|on) request' paper/ && echo "WEAK: replace or justify"
python3 -m venv /tmp/repro && /tmp/repro/bin/pip install -r analysis/requirements.txt \
&& /tmp/repro/bin/python analysis/reproduce_tables.py # cold-start the pipeline
grep -rEil 'participant|P[0-9]+_(name|email)' data/ | head # de-identification sweep
"Available upon request" earns no credit at CHI — studies of such promises across fields show most requests go unanswered, and reviewers know it. Either deposit the artifact or explain the genuine constraint.
[Protocol layer] complete / gaps: <missing instruments>
[Analysis layer] pipeline runs cold: yes/no · codebook/audit trail: yes/no
[Data rung] 1-4 on the ladder + one-line justification
[Anonymized-review versions] links safe for PCS: yes/no
[ADR-Method exposure] low/med/high — <the opaquest spot in the methods>
[One-day fixes] <cheapest transparency wins available now>