

Stage 1 Registered Reports that are approved following peer review will be issued an in principle acceptance (IPA), indicating that the article will be published pending successful completion of the study according to the exact methods and analytic procedures outlined, as well as a defensible and evidence-based interpretation of the results. Any pilot experiments will be published with the final version of the manuscript and will be clearly distinguished from data obtained for the main experiment(s). Optional pilot data can be included to establish reality checks, statistical effect size estimations, feasibility, or proof of principle.Specifies the data analysis procedures that will be used, including rules for data elimination.Specifies a clear rule for terminating data collection (number of observers, number of samples, etc).Addresses the issue of statistical power although we recognise that classic power analysis may not be appropriate or possible for all research fields or designs.Specifies all of the variables, both independent and dependent, in the experiment.Note that after provisional acceptance this section cannot be altered. Reviews the relevant literature that motivates the research question and fully describes the study aims and hypotheses.A statement confirming that if the authors withdraw their paper after provisional acceptance, they agree to the journal publishing a short summary of the pre-registered study under a section Withdrawn Registrations.A statement confirming that the authors agree to share their raw data for all published results.An anticipated timeline for completing the study if the initial submission is accepted.The cover letter must include a statement confirming that, following Stage 1 in principle acceptance, the authors agree to register their approved protocol on the Open Science Framework or other recognised repository, either publicly or under private embargo until submission of the Stage 2 manuscript.ĭetails of the following provided during the submission process:.Note that submissions will be considered only for studies that are able to commence immediately upon receiving a provisional acceptance. ethics) are in place for the proposed research. Why the submission is appropriate as a Registered Report, including a statement confirming that all necessary support (e.g.The initial submission of a Registered Report should include the following items: This process may enhance the credibility of the work.This process can help reduce researcher bias.Peer review of the research proposal provides an opportunity for the authors to receive constructive critical feedback that may help them to fine-tune the study design prior to conducting the experiment.This means that publication bias is reduced as negative results will not prevent publication. Once the methods and proposed analyses are provisionally accepted, the journal will commit to publishing the results regardless of the outcome, provided the final study conforms to the initially approved proposal and meets all quality checks.The main benefits of this two-stage approach are: Take a look at some published Registered Reports in our Reproducibility and transparency collection. This will be appraised by the reviewers, and provided necessary conditions are met, publication is virtually guaranteed. Once the study is completed, the author will finish the article including results and discussion sections (stage 2). The format is open to attempts of replication as well as novel studies.

High quality protocols are then provisionally accepted for publication before data collection commences. A Registered Report is a form of journal article in which methods and proposed analyses are pre-registered and peer-reviewed prior to research being conducted (stage 1).
