Study Registration: Encouraging the Practice of Hypothetical-Deductive Research in the Journal Revisited

Five years ago, we wrote to you regarding our launching a new initiative for JAACAP: study registration.¹ As we noted then, "study registration divides the peer review process into two stages. The first stage, preregistration, occurs at the time that the study is being planned, whereas the second occurs after the study is completed." To preregister their study, authors submit a manuscript consisting of the introduction and method sections for their study, along with a study synopsis, for peer review. If the study preregistration is approved after this initial peer review, the Journal will issue an in-principle acceptance to the authors, and the study synopsis will be published in JAACAP as a registered study protocol. When the study is completed, the authors will submit a complete manuscript, using the introduction and method sections that have already been reviewed and accepted (with an updated literature review) as well as their new results and discussion sections. This complete manuscript will undergo a second peer review focused on how consistent the manuscript is with the study's preregistration. If the paper is then accepted, it will be published as a Registered Report.¹ We are pleased to report that with this issue of the Journal we have now published 2 such research articles, each demonstrating the strengths of this process.