Comparing lab-based and remote data collection methods in second language acquisition research. A close replication study

Collecting data remotely is now increasingly common in second language acquisition (SLA) research. However, very little is known about extent to which research data collected remotely are comparable and generalizable to those collected face-to-face in a lab. To address this question, we closely replicated a theoretically and academically impactful line of SLA research, with the seminal study by Ellis and Sagarra (2010b) being frequently cited in the field. In addition, this study has been replicated three times (Ellis et al., 2014; Ellis & Sagarra, 2011; McManus et al., 2025), with all studies being conducted in lab-based contexts. In the current study, our close replication modified one variable to better understand the comparability of research data collected remotely and in a lab. Findings showed that use of the same materials in lab-based and remote modalities did not significantly impact the study's conclusions, indicating high levels of comparability between these data collection modalities for accuracy data. The implications of these results for the use of remote data collection methods are discussed.