What is preregistration and how does it contribute to reproducibility in research?

• A. Publishing results before data collection; reduces p-hacking and selective reporting
• B. Registering the study protocol before data collection; reduces p-hacking and selective reporting
• C. Delaying data collection
• D. Sharing raw data without protocol

Answer: (B)

Preregistration means recording the study’s protocol before collecting data, including the hypotheses, methods, sample size, and planned analyses, in a time-stamped registry. This creates a public record of the intended plan and commitments. It helps reproducibility by locking in the analytical path, so decisions about which outcomes to analyze and how to analyze them aren’t made after peeking at the data. This transparency clarifies which analyses are confirmatory versus exploratory and makes deviations or additional analyses visible when they occur. As a result, others can follow and verify the study design and analysis, enhancing the credibility and replicability of findings. While sharing data and materials can further support replication, preregistration specifically provides the pre-commitment to a plan that reduces flexible, post hoc choices that can bias results. The other options don’t capture this pre-data-collection commitment: publishing results before data collection isn’t preregistration, delaying data collection isn’t about a pre-registered plan, and sharing raw data without a protocol lacks the stated plan that preregistration provides.