Preregistering a study or research project

Preregistration

Preregistration is where your research plan is placed in an open registry ahead of the study taking place. It supports Open Science practices, enabling others to know about current and upcoming research and increases transparency and collaboration across the research landscape.

Content of a preregistered plan should include:

• A general overview of the study and any hypotheses
• The design methods
• The data collection methods
• The analysis methods

Once a preregistration has been added to an open registry it is time stamped and cannot be changed. Revised versions can be added, showing the development of your research plan.

Preregistration plans can be extended to become a Registered Report. This is when the plan is peer reviewed by a journal before the research takes place.

Benefits of preregistration

The benefits of preregistering your study include:

• Highlights good research practise and transparency.
• Open repositories can be accessed globally, building research impact and reputation.
• Documents the development of research and allows fine tuning for the live study.
• Increases the credibility of research results.
• As others can see the research it reduces reproducibility, helps other researchers, and increases collaborations and support.

What can be preregistered?

The types of research that can be preregistered include, but are not limited to:

• Systematic reviews
• Qualitative and quantitative research
• Clinical trials
• Observational and experimental studies

How to preregister plans

Research can be preregistered at different stages but it is recommended that preregistration occurs before the data collection stage.

Open registries hold guides for the preregistration process as well as templates for different disciplines.

Popular registries include:

• The UK Reproducibility Network (UKRN) Primers
• Center for Open Science (COS) (works with the OSF Registries network)

For more information about preregistration research and registered reports contact ray@yorksj.ac.uk.