Blog

Declan Devane talks about Registered Reports and how this two-stage approach can reduce publication bias, while increasing transparency and reproducibility.

Earlier this year HRB Open Research started its open research journey, setting out to encourage openness and transparency for health-related research in Ireland. Today, HRB Open Research is furthering its commitment to transparency by maximising reproducibility in scientific reporting with the launch of Registered Reports as an article type on the platform. In doing so, HRB Open research joins 141 other journals who use the Registered Reports publishing format either as a regular submission option or as part of a single special issue.

Promoting good science and reducing research waste

The two-stage process of Registered Reports shifts focus more onto the research question and the quality of the methods than the results alone. This is done by submission and peer review of a study protocol prior to data collection. By evaluating the study methodology first, authors get to receive constructive feedback that should help them to fine-tune their methodology prior to carrying out the study. HRB Open Research hope this format will help enhance credibility of the work while reducing any potential bias during data collection and later publication.

Once the methods are published on our platform, we will publish the results regardless of the outcome. So, negative results will not prevent publication thereby reducing publication bias.

The first full Registered Report published using an open post publication peer review model is by Dorothy Bishop, Professor of Developmental Neuropsychology, University of Oxford. Her research published in Wellcome Open Research looks at the impact of sex chromosomes on neurodevelopment.

A two-stage approach

The Registered Report format involves a two-stage process via our open post-publication peer review model and our open data policy. This process helps registered reports go further and do more than just pre-registering the methods we’d plan to use in our studies. In a registered report, the question and methodology (protocol really) will be published and peer reviewed prior to data collection (termed ‘Stage 1’).

At this stage, we will ask reviewers to assess whether the protocol is scientifically sound as well as answer a set of questions tailored specifically to this format. As with any paper published on HRB Open Research, authors are encouraged to revise the paper to address any concerns raised by the referees, before proceeding to the next stage.

Once the study is complete the full Research Article will be published (Stage 2) and linked to the Stage 1 Study Protocol. This will also be reviewed to ensure that the registered protocol has been adhered to and that the conclusions are justified given the data.

Increasing robustness and accountability

By receiving expert feedback at Stage 1, researchers have the opportunity to address any methodological issues before their study begins, thereby improving their design while saving both time and resources. With this article type split into two, we hope this will promote ease of publication, as researchers can have a tangible output early in their study with a linked research article providing further output later.

The additional transparency offered by Registered Reports is where even bigger wins occur. They will further enhance the credibility of the results while lessening the likelihood of misguided practises, such as significance chasing and hindsight bias. And as assessment of researcher performance is expected to shift towards reproducibility, Registered Reports could serve as an indicator of good scientific practise and contribute to any such assessments. Registered Reports have already been embraced by the open science community in participating journals and there has been uptake from a range of scientists at different career stages-, highlighting benefits for all.

For further details, please see our author guidelines and start submitting your Registered Reports to HRB Open Research!

If you would like to consider this format for your next study, please get in touch with our editorial team (research@f1000.com).