Resources

Preregistration: Improve Research, Rigor, Reduce Bias [Webinar, December 10, 2018]

Preregistration is the act of submitting a research plan (often with a detailed analysis plan) to a registry prior to conducting a study. It adds credibility to all research by ensuring that the most rigorous, confirmatory findings are distinct from exploratory research discoveries. Preregistration improves research by addressing:
• Selective reporting, by submitting the work to a registry
• Questionable research practices, such as hypothesizing after results are known or deciding which samples to include or covariates to add after seeing how they affect the results.

Registered Reports (cos.io/rr) is a publishing format in which peer review occurs before results are known. High quality studies that ask important research questions and that include sufficiently rigorous methods can be given an in-principle acceptance, or a promise to publish regardless of outcome. In addition to the benefits mentioned above for preregistration, Registered Reports also address:

• Publication bias, in which studies that report significant findings are more likely to be published.
• Study quality, by conducting peer review at a point in the research project when feedback can improve the conduct of the study.