Why preregistration?
Pre-registration is particularly useful for addressing publication bias, which occurs when studies with positive results are more likely to be published than those with negative or inconclusive results. By registering the study design and analysis plan beforehand, researchers can reduce the risk of this bias by ensuring that the study is evaluated based on its quality and rigor rather than just the outcome. This does not mean that your ideas cannot change any more. If the research process goes differently than anticipated, it is easy to state that in your paper later (“Contrary to expectations, we found that”; “In addition to the analyses we pre-registered, we also did…”).
Types of pre-registration
There are several types of pre-registration:
- Unreviewed preregistration: researchers publicly register their research plan in a registry. During review of the resulting publication, reviewers can check the original hypotheses, design and analysis plan.
- Reviewed preregistration (also known as registered reports): researchers submit a detailed research proposal to a journal before data collection. The journal provides feedback and a decision on the acceptance of the study based on the quality of the proposed research design and methods.
