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Evaluating the Pedagogical Effectiveness of Study Preregistration in the Undergraduate Dissertation

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Evaluating the Pedagogical Effectiveness of Study Preregistration in the Undergraduate Dissertation. / Pownall, Madeleine; Pennington, Charlotte R.; Norris, Emma et al.
In: Advances in Methods and Practices in Psychological Science, Vol. 6, No. 4, 21.12.2023.

Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review

Harvard

Pownall, M, Pennington, CR, Norris, E, Juanchich, M, Smailes, D, Russell, S, Gooch, D, Evans, TR, Persson, S, Mak, MHC, Tzavella, L, Monk, R, Gough, T, Benwell, CSY, Elsherif, M, Farran, E, Gallagher-Mitchell, T, Kendrick, LT, Bahnmueller, J, Nordmann, E, Zaneva, M, Gilligan-Lee, K, Bazhydai, M, Jones, A, Sedgmond, J, Holzleitner, I, Reynolds, J, Moss, J, Farrelly, D, Parker, AJ & Clark, K 2023, 'Evaluating the Pedagogical Effectiveness of Study Preregistration in the Undergraduate Dissertation', Advances in Methods and Practices in Psychological Science, vol. 6, no. 4. https://doi.org/10.1177/25152459231202724

APA

Pownall, M., Pennington, C. R., Norris, E., Juanchich, M., Smailes, D., Russell, S., Gooch, D., Evans, T. R., Persson, S., Mak, M. H. C., Tzavella, L., Monk, R., Gough, T., Benwell, C. S. Y., Elsherif, M., Farran, E., Gallagher-Mitchell, T., Kendrick, L. T., Bahnmueller, J., ... Clark, K. (2023). Evaluating the Pedagogical Effectiveness of Study Preregistration in the Undergraduate Dissertation. Advances in Methods and Practices in Psychological Science, 6(4). https://doi.org/10.1177/25152459231202724

Vancouver

Pownall M, Pennington CR, Norris E, Juanchich M, Smailes D, Russell S et al. Evaluating the Pedagogical Effectiveness of Study Preregistration in the Undergraduate Dissertation. Advances in Methods and Practices in Psychological Science. 2023 Dec 21;6(4). doi: 10.1177/25152459231202724

Author

Pownall, Madeleine ; Pennington, Charlotte R. ; Norris, Emma et al. / Evaluating the Pedagogical Effectiveness of Study Preregistration in the Undergraduate Dissertation. In: Advances in Methods and Practices in Psychological Science. 2023 ; Vol. 6, No. 4.

Bibtex

@article{2ff479e451b0474c91de6b91f2491b56,
title = "Evaluating the Pedagogical Effectiveness of Study Preregistration in the Undergraduate Dissertation",
abstract = "Research shows that questionable research practices (QRPs) are present in undergraduate final-year dissertation projects. One entry-level Open Science practice proposed to mitigate QRPs is “study preregistration,” through which researchers outline their research questions, design, method, and analysis plans before data collection and/or analysis. In this study, we aimed to empirically test the effectiveness of preregistration as a pedagogic tool in undergraduate dissertations using a quasi-experimental design. A total of 89 UK psychology students were recruited, including students who preregistered their empirical quantitative dissertation (n = 52; experimental group) and students who did not (n = 37; control group). Attitudes toward statistics, acceptance of QRPs, and perceived understanding of Open Science were measured both before and after dissertation completion. Exploratory measures included capability, opportunity, and motivation to engage with preregistration, measured at Time 1 only. This study was conducted as a Registered Report; Stage 1 protocol: https://osf.io/9hjbw (date of in-principle acceptance: September 21, 2021). Study preregistration did not significantly affect attitudes toward statistics or acceptance of QRPs. However, students who preregistered reported greater perceived understanding of Open Science concepts from Time 1 to Time 2 compared with students who did not preregister. Exploratory analyses indicated that students who preregistered reported significantly greater capability, opportunity, and motivation to preregister. Qualitative responses revealed that preregistration was perceived to improve clarity and organization of the dissertation, prevent QRPs, and promote rigor. Disadvantages and barriers included time, perceived rigidity, and need for training. These results contribute to discussions surrounding embedding Open Science principles into research training.",
keywords = "research training, dissertations, Open Science, preregistration, undergraduate training, reproducibility",
author = "Madeleine Pownall and Pennington, {Charlotte R.} and Emma Norris and Marie Juanchich and David Smailes and Sophie Russell and Debbie Gooch and Evans, {Thomas Rhys} and Sofia Persson and Mak, {Matthew H. C.} and Loukia Tzavella and Rebecca Monk and Thomas Gough and Benwell, {Christopher S. Y.} and Mahmoud Elsherif and Emily Farran and Thomas Gallagher-Mitchell and Kendrick, {Luke T.} and Julia Bahnmueller and Emily Nordmann and Mirela Zaneva and Katie Gilligan-Lee and Marina Bazhydai and Andrew Jones and Jemma Sedgmond and Iris Holzleitner and James Reynolds and Jo Moss and Daniel Farrelly and Parker, {Adam J.} and Kait Clark",
year = "2023",
month = dec,
day = "21",
doi = "10.1177/25152459231202724",
language = "English",
volume = "6",
journal = "Advances in Methods and Practices in Psychological Science",
issn = "2515-2467",
publisher = "Sage Publications",
number = "4",

}

RIS

TY - JOUR

T1 - Evaluating the Pedagogical Effectiveness of Study Preregistration in the Undergraduate Dissertation

AU - Pownall, Madeleine

AU - Pennington, Charlotte R.

AU - Norris, Emma

AU - Juanchich, Marie

AU - Smailes, David

AU - Russell, Sophie

AU - Gooch, Debbie

AU - Evans, Thomas Rhys

AU - Persson, Sofia

AU - Mak, Matthew H. C.

AU - Tzavella, Loukia

AU - Monk, Rebecca

AU - Gough, Thomas

AU - Benwell, Christopher S. Y.

AU - Elsherif, Mahmoud

AU - Farran, Emily

AU - Gallagher-Mitchell, Thomas

AU - Kendrick, Luke T.

AU - Bahnmueller, Julia

AU - Nordmann, Emily

AU - Zaneva, Mirela

AU - Gilligan-Lee, Katie

AU - Bazhydai, Marina

AU - Jones, Andrew

AU - Sedgmond, Jemma

AU - Holzleitner, Iris

AU - Reynolds, James

AU - Moss, Jo

AU - Farrelly, Daniel

AU - Parker, Adam J.

AU - Clark, Kait

PY - 2023/12/21

Y1 - 2023/12/21

N2 - Research shows that questionable research practices (QRPs) are present in undergraduate final-year dissertation projects. One entry-level Open Science practice proposed to mitigate QRPs is “study preregistration,” through which researchers outline their research questions, design, method, and analysis plans before data collection and/or analysis. In this study, we aimed to empirically test the effectiveness of preregistration as a pedagogic tool in undergraduate dissertations using a quasi-experimental design. A total of 89 UK psychology students were recruited, including students who preregistered their empirical quantitative dissertation (n = 52; experimental group) and students who did not (n = 37; control group). Attitudes toward statistics, acceptance of QRPs, and perceived understanding of Open Science were measured both before and after dissertation completion. Exploratory measures included capability, opportunity, and motivation to engage with preregistration, measured at Time 1 only. This study was conducted as a Registered Report; Stage 1 protocol: https://osf.io/9hjbw (date of in-principle acceptance: September 21, 2021). Study preregistration did not significantly affect attitudes toward statistics or acceptance of QRPs. However, students who preregistered reported greater perceived understanding of Open Science concepts from Time 1 to Time 2 compared with students who did not preregister. Exploratory analyses indicated that students who preregistered reported significantly greater capability, opportunity, and motivation to preregister. Qualitative responses revealed that preregistration was perceived to improve clarity and organization of the dissertation, prevent QRPs, and promote rigor. Disadvantages and barriers included time, perceived rigidity, and need for training. These results contribute to discussions surrounding embedding Open Science principles into research training.

AB - Research shows that questionable research practices (QRPs) are present in undergraduate final-year dissertation projects. One entry-level Open Science practice proposed to mitigate QRPs is “study preregistration,” through which researchers outline their research questions, design, method, and analysis plans before data collection and/or analysis. In this study, we aimed to empirically test the effectiveness of preregistration as a pedagogic tool in undergraduate dissertations using a quasi-experimental design. A total of 89 UK psychology students were recruited, including students who preregistered their empirical quantitative dissertation (n = 52; experimental group) and students who did not (n = 37; control group). Attitudes toward statistics, acceptance of QRPs, and perceived understanding of Open Science were measured both before and after dissertation completion. Exploratory measures included capability, opportunity, and motivation to engage with preregistration, measured at Time 1 only. This study was conducted as a Registered Report; Stage 1 protocol: https://osf.io/9hjbw (date of in-principle acceptance: September 21, 2021). Study preregistration did not significantly affect attitudes toward statistics or acceptance of QRPs. However, students who preregistered reported greater perceived understanding of Open Science concepts from Time 1 to Time 2 compared with students who did not preregister. Exploratory analyses indicated that students who preregistered reported significantly greater capability, opportunity, and motivation to preregister. Qualitative responses revealed that preregistration was perceived to improve clarity and organization of the dissertation, prevent QRPs, and promote rigor. Disadvantages and barriers included time, perceived rigidity, and need for training. These results contribute to discussions surrounding embedding Open Science principles into research training.

KW - research training

KW - dissertations

KW - Open Science

KW - preregistration

KW - undergraduate training

KW - reproducibility

U2 - 10.1177/25152459231202724

DO - 10.1177/25152459231202724

M3 - Journal article

VL - 6

JO - Advances in Methods and Practices in Psychological Science

JF - Advances in Methods and Practices in Psychological Science

SN - 2515-2467

IS - 4

ER -