Preregistration of exploratory research: Learning from the golden age of discovery.
Preregistration of study protocols and, in particular, Registered Reports are novel publishing formats that are currently gaining substantial traction. Besides rating the research question and soundness of methodology over outstanding significance of the results, they can help with antagonizing inad...
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Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2020-03-01
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| Series: | PLoS Biology |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3000690 |
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doaj-48ba75f0ff964d99af4c5b02d4765e422021-07-02T16:27:03ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS Biology1544-91731545-78852020-03-01183e300069010.1371/journal.pbio.3000690Preregistration of exploratory research: Learning from the golden age of discovery.Ulrich DirnaglPreregistration of study protocols and, in particular, Registered Reports are novel publishing formats that are currently gaining substantial traction. Besides rating the research question and soundness of methodology over outstanding significance of the results, they can help with antagonizing inadequate statistical power, selective reporting of results, undisclosed analytic flexibility, as well as publication bias. Preregistration works well when a clear hypothesis, primary outcome, and mode of analysis can be formulated. But is it also applicable and useful in discovery research, which develops theories and hypotheses, measurement techniques, and generates evidence that justifies further research? I will argue that only slight modifications are needed to harness the potential of preregistration and make exploratory research more trustworthy and useful.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3000690 |
| collection |
DOAJ |
| language |
English |
| format |
Article |
| sources |
DOAJ |
| author |
Ulrich Dirnagl |
| spellingShingle |
Ulrich Dirnagl Preregistration of exploratory research: Learning from the golden age of discovery. PLoS Biology |
| author_facet |
Ulrich Dirnagl |
| author_sort |
Ulrich Dirnagl |
| title |
Preregistration of exploratory research: Learning from the golden age of discovery. |
| title_short |
Preregistration of exploratory research: Learning from the golden age of discovery. |
| title_full |
Preregistration of exploratory research: Learning from the golden age of discovery. |
| title_fullStr |
Preregistration of exploratory research: Learning from the golden age of discovery. |
| title_full_unstemmed |
Preregistration of exploratory research: Learning from the golden age of discovery. |
| title_sort |
preregistration of exploratory research: learning from the golden age of discovery. |
| publisher |
Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| series |
PLoS Biology |
| issn |
1544-9173 1545-7885 |
| publishDate |
2020-03-01 |
| description |
Preregistration of study protocols and, in particular, Registered Reports are novel publishing formats that are currently gaining substantial traction. Besides rating the research question and soundness of methodology over outstanding significance of the results, they can help with antagonizing inadequate statistical power, selective reporting of results, undisclosed analytic flexibility, as well as publication bias. Preregistration works well when a clear hypothesis, primary outcome, and mode of analysis can be formulated. But is it also applicable and useful in discovery research, which develops theories and hypotheses, measurement techniques, and generates evidence that justifies further research? I will argue that only slight modifications are needed to harness the potential of preregistration and make exploratory research more trustworthy and useful. |
| url |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3000690 |
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