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Fishing, Commitment, and Communication: A Proposal for Comprehensive Nonbinding Research Registration

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 January 2017

Macartan Humphreys*
Affiliation:
Columbia University, Department of Political Science, 7th floor, IAB Building, 420 West 118th St., New York, NY 10027
Raul Sanchez de la Sierra
Affiliation:
Columbia University, Department of Economics, 1022 IAB Building, 420 West 118th St., New York, NY 10027 e-mail: rs2861@columbia.edu
Peter van der Windt
Affiliation:
Columbia University, Department of Political Science, 7th floor, IAB Building, 420 West 118th St., New York, NY 10027 e-mail: pv2160@columbia.edu
*
e-mail: mh2245@columbia.edu (corresponding author)
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Abstract

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Social scientists generally enjoy substantial latitude in selecting measures and models for hypothesis testing. Coupled with publication and related biases, this latitude raises the concern that researchers may intentionally or unintentionally select models that yield positive findings, leading to an unreliable body of published research. To combat this “fishing” problem in medical studies, leading journals now require preregistration of designs that emphasize the prior identification of dependent and independent variables. However, we demonstrate here that even with this level of advanced specification, the scope for fishing is considerable when there is latitude over selection of covariates, subgroups, and other elements of an analysis plan. These concerns could be addressed through the use of a form of comprehensive registration. We experiment with such an approach in the context of an ongoing field experiment for which we drafted a complete “mock report” of findings using fake data on treatment assignment. We describe the advantages and disadvantages of this form of registration and propose that a comprehensive but nonbinding approach be adopted as a first step to combat fishing by social scientists. Likely effects of comprehensive but nonbinding registration are discussed, the principal advantage being communication rather than commitment, in particular that it generates a clear distinction between exploratory analyses and genuine tests.

Information

Type
Symposium on Research Registration
Copyright
Copyright © The Author 2013. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Political Methodology 
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Humphreys et al. supplementary material

Appendix A

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Humphreys et al. supplementary material

Appendix B

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Appendix C

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