Preregistering

Preregistering is the practice of documenting a research plan before collecting or analyzing data, and often submitting that plan to a time-stamped registry or platform. The preregistration typically records the research questions or hypotheses, primary and secondary outcomes, sample size and power considerations, data collection methods, and the statistical analysis plan. The goal is to promote transparency, reduce bias in data interpretation, and improve reproducibility by distinguishing confirmatory from exploratory analyses.

In practice, researchers choose a registry such as ClinicalTrials.gov for clinical trials, the Open Science Framework (OSF) for general studies, or field-specific registries. Some journals support Registered Reports, a publication format in which the study protocol is peer-reviewed prior to data collection, and the final results are published only after the methods are validated. Preregistration records are time-stamped and, if public, citable, creating a public record of the original plan. Updates may be allowed with justification, depending on the registry's rules.

Benefits include reducing practices such as p-hacking and HARKing, enabling replication, and increasing credibility of findings. Limitations include constraints on exploratory analyses, potential for registry policies to be misused, and the burden of detailed upfront planning. Preregistration does not prevent all changes to methods or data issues, and some fields argue for flexible reporting of unforeseen developments. Critics note that rigid preregistration can hamper methodological adaptation, while proponents highlight its role in governance of research integrity.

In other contexts, preregistering can refer to signing up for events or services before they are available, but the term is most commonly applied in research settings.