Using pre-study publication review to strengthen research
Registered Reports are a form of research article designed to reduce publication bias and reporting bias and to free authors from the pressures of producing only novel, positive findings, which can threaten the validity of published research.
Unlike standard articles, for Registered Reports, peer review of the study protocol and the decision to publish occurs before the study is run. The pre-study publication decision is based on evaluation of the research question, as well as the methodological rigour, and is therefore results-agnostic. This makes Registered Reports a powerful antidote to publication bias and various questionable research practices.
Authors are required to describe their methodology with sufficient detail that another researcher could replicate it and assess the credibility of the scientific claims. The format benefits the research community and society by supporting knowledge accumulation through more reliable and efficient research in which the published literature provides a true reflection of current knowledge (i.e., negative or inconvenient findings are not suppressed). The timing of peer review also enables authors to improve their study before it is run.
With the Registered Reports format, authors submit a Stage 1 manuscript that includes an introduction, detailed methods and analysis plans. Following peer review and revision, the decision to publish is made. If the article is accepted, authors receive an “in-principle acceptance”, a commitment to publishing the final research regardless of the outcome.
Authors conduct their research as outlined at Stage 1 and complete a Stage 2 manuscript in which the results and discussion are added to the approved Stage 1 protocol. The completed manuscript undergoes a second round of peer review focusing on compliance with the Stage 1 plans, and, following possible revisions, the Registered Report is published.
Registered Reports are offered for a wide range of disciplines and research types at over 350 journals and the supra-journal platform PCI Registered Reports (PCI RR: ). Initial meta-research suggests that they outperform standard papers in terms of quality (Soderberg et al. 2021) while also safeguarding against publication bias (Scheel et al. 2021).
Contributed by Emma Henderson (University of Surrey) & Christopher Chambers (Cardiff University).
Registered Reports