Introduction
In recent years there has been what is sometimes termed a “Crisis of Replicability” in Psychology. Although some of this is not new, and concerns were raised as far back as the 1950s, only recently has serious attention on a broad scale turned to whether key findings in Psychology (and other research fields) can be replicated, and if not, why not, and how can we do better as scientists?
We will discuss the history of the Replicability movement, whether most published research findings are false, whether the word “crisis” is an exaggeration, common arguments against sharing data and code, and the efficacy of various measures to improve replicability and replication including The Replicability Project (RP), Many Labs 1, 2 and 3, Preregistration, Registered Reports, the Psych Science Accelerator, and more.
Learning will be in the form of podcasts, blog posts, and academic paper readings.
Assessments
Discussion Board: 25%
- (At least 4 posts and 4 replies, around 2000 words, posts in response to topic readings and podcasts).
- Due by the end of trimester (4th October 2019), but marks will be deducted if the posts are not timely (i.e. you are expected to participate throughout the trimester).
Preregistration: 25%
- Create detailed preregistration for a project as per OSF guidelines; up to 2000 words.
- Due 9th September, 11:59pm.
Essay: 50%
- Topics are in each section (2000 words).
- Due 13th October 2019, 11:59pm.
Preregisration Assignment Information
For this assignment, you will create a preregistration of a project you would like to carry out. This exercise is a mock preregistration, but if you are currently working on an Honours project, you might like to turn it into an actual preregistration (if you have not already started analysing your data). Otherwise, it can be anything at all you are interested in (and it doesn’t necessarily have to be something feasible for you to do - it could be something grand or ambitious! Just be sure it’s something you will be able to provide precise methods for - for instance, if it was an fMRI study, you would need to be able to provide details of the scanner and scanning sequences you were going to use.
As an extra credit option (this is NOT compulsory), if you are able to provide me enough detail, I will simulate some data for you based on the information you provide to me, and you can try out your planned analysis and submit it as part of your project (preferably as SPSS syntax or JAMOVI analysis, if you are able to). This is worth 5% extra credit (please note I am not able to award you over 100% for the whole unit, though).
The OSF guidelines for preregistering projects are here
Some more good advice is here
A useful template is here
And an example preregistration (it’s very meta!) is here
Take some time to look at some other preregistrations on the OSF if you are confused about what they entail. Try searching a topic you are interested in to get some ideas.
This assessment is worth 25% of your mark for this unit and is due on 9th September, 2019.