Registered Reports and the future of open science in psychology
Registered Reports are a form of preregistered empirical article that aims to eradicate publication bias and reporting bias by performing peer review before research commences. Publishability is then decided by the scientific validity of the research question and quality of the methodology, and never based on the results. In this talk I provide an update on the progress of Registered Reports since they were first launched in psychology over 10 years ago, including adoption by more than 300 journals and early evidence of positive impacts on the field. I will also discuss “Registered Reports 2.0” in which the format is transcending journals altogether. 2021 witnessed the creation of the Peer Community in Registered Reports (PCI RR): a free, non-commercial platform that coordinates the peer-reviews of RR preprints (https://rr.peercommunityin.org/about/about). Once a submission is accepted following peer review (or, in PCI terms, “recommended”), the revised manuscript is posted at the server where the preprint is hosted, and the peer reviews and recommendation of the preprint are posted at the PCI RR website. PCI RR is also joined by a growing fleet of “PCI RR-friendly” journals that accept the recommendations of PCI RR without further peer review (https://rr.peercommunityin.org/about/pci_rr_friendly_journals), giving the authors the power to choose which journal, if any, will publish their final manuscript. By reclaiming control of the peer review process from academic publishers, PCI RR offers a route for ensuring that Registered Reports are made as open, accessible, and rigorous as possible, while also creating a future in which academic publishers will need to add genuine value to the community in order to survive.