Abstract

Preregistration is an effective tool to overcome selective reporting and prevent questionable research practices. The uptake of preregistration varies broadly across disciplines. We will bring together speakers from clinical research, psychology, and preclinical research to talk about the different ways preregistration was introduced in their fields. In clinical research, registration been required through various mechanisms for more than 10 years and analysed in-depth to explore its strengths and weaknesses. In psychology, the introduction of preregistration came from the scientific community itself. Indeed, the engagement of an open science movement supported by journals offering the publication of registered reports lead to an important increase in preregistration. In contrast, preregistration in preclinical research is still marginal and specialized online platforms for animal studies were only recently established.

After three impulse talks, Ulf Tölch will discuss with the speakers and the audience differences and common experiences in the uptake of preregistration. Nicholas DeVito will share his expertise on preregistration in clinical research, Marjan Bakker, as a specialist on preregistration in psychology will bring her perspective into the discussion and Céline Heinl will talk about novel developments in preclinical research. We will raise questions such as: What are the advantages and disadvantages of mandatory versus optional preregistration? What are the advantages of bottom-up versus top-down introduction of preregistration? What was/is the role of publishers, funders, policy makers and scientists in introducing preregistration in your field? How to increase knowledge and acceptance in the scientific community?