Standard: Aligning Incentives: Can Registered Reports Encourage Ethical and Responsible Research Practices among Early Career Researchers?

学术欺诈和复制研究的失败加剧了人们对科学家道德行为的担忧。登记报告是一种新的出版方法，在收集数据之前进行同行审查和保证出版。该项目测试注册报告是否可以增加与透明度相关的道德研究实践，并减少早期职业研究人员中有问题的研究实践。缺乏职业安全感使早期职业研究人员容易受到可疑的研究实践的影响，而在具有“要么生存要么灭亡”文化规范的部门中的早期职业研究人员可能特别容易受到影响。据推测，注册报告对这一群体最有效，因为它们使出版的激励措施与道德实践的价值相一致。该项目将通过设计和评估在线干预来结束，旨在帮助早期职业研究人员了解注册报告的好处和障碍。该项目还将制作一个关于提交注册报告及其伦理影响的免费在线教程，以及一系列跨学科的在线和面对面研讨会，这些研讨会将通过各种STEM领域的注册报告鼓励道德研究实践的文化。该项目探讨了注册报告对早期职业研究人员与透明度有关的研究道德的影响，以及他们从事可疑研究实践的可能性。混合方法研究设计使用横截面和纵向数据来评估注册报告的影响。第一项研究跟踪作者，评估注册报告是否影响伦理研究态度，价值观和行为。第二项研究使用调查研究来评估那些完成注册报告的人是否使用了更多的道德研究实践。第三项研究使用焦点小组的数据来揭示早期职业教师采用注册报告的障碍。第四项研究在一系列条件下使用在线干预，以评估干预是否影响早期职业研究人员使用注册报告的意图，并确定可能改变干预效果的文化因素。总体而言，该项目通过探索注册报告是否可以作为鼓励早期职业研究人员进行伦理研究的机制，推进与研究伦理相关的科学知识。该提案由BIO，MPS和SBE董事会资助。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Academic fraud and failed attempts to replicate research have amplified concerns about scientists’ ethical practices. Registered reports are a new method of publication where peer review and guarantee of publication occurs before data collection. This project tests if registered reports can increase ethical research practices related to transparency and decrease questionable research practices among early career researchers. Lack of job security leaves early career researchers vulnerable to questionable research practices, and early career researchers in departments with publish-or-perish cultural norms may be particularly susceptible. Registered reports are hypothesized to be most effective for this group, as they align the incentives to publish with the value of ethical practices. The project will conclude by designing and evaluating an online intervention meant to help early career researchers understand the benefits and barriers of registered reports. The project will also produce a free online tutorial on submitting registered reports and the ethical implications of doing so, and a series of cross-disciplinary online and in-person workshops that will encourage a culture of ethical research practices through registered reports in a variety of STEM fields. This project explores the impact of registered reports on early career researchers’ research ethics related to transparency and their likelihood of engaging in questionable research practices. The mixed-methods research design uses cross-sectional and longitudinal data to assess the effects of registered reports. The first study tracks authors to assess if registered reports affect ethical research attitudes, values, and behaviors. The second study uses survey research to assess if those who complete registered reports use more ethical research practices. The third study uses data from focus groups to uncover barriers to adopting registered reports among early career faculty. The fourth study uses an online intervention across a range of conditions to assess if the intervention influences early career researchers’ intentions to use registered reports and to identify cultural factors that could modify the efficacy of the intervention. Overall, this project advances scientific knowledge related to research ethics by exploring whether registered reports can act as a mechanism for encouraging ethical research practices among early career researchers.This proposal was funded by the BIO, MPS, and SBE directorates.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.