doi:10.1177/1088868313507536

Paper Title

Improving the Dependability of Research in Personality and Social Psychology: Recommendations for Research and Educational Practice

Authors

Keywords

Research Methods
Educational Practice
Effect Size
Replicability
Statistical Power
Type I Error
Data Sharing Policy
Research Materials
High-Quality Replication
Methodological Instruction
Transparency Of Data Reporting
Sound Science
Junior Researchers
SPSP
Personality And Social Psychology
Research Dependability
Statistical Primer
Alternative Standards

Article Type

Research Article

Journal

Personality and Social Psychology Review

Research Impact Tools

DOI

10.1177/1088868313507536

Issue

Volume : 18 | Issue : 1 | Page No : 3-12

Published On

November, 2013

Downloads

FULL PDF

CITATION

COPY LINK

Abstract

In this article, the Society for Personality and Social Psychology (SPSP) Task Force on Publication and Research Practices offers a brief statistical primer and recommendations for improving the dependability of research. Recommendations for research practice include (a) describing and addressing the choice of N (sample size) and consequent issues of statistical power, (b) reporting effect sizes and 95% confidence intervals (CIs), (c) avoiding “questionable research practices” that can inflate the probability of Type I error, (d) making available research materials necessary to replicate reported results, (e) adhering to SPSP’s data sharing policy, (f) encouraging publication of high-quality replication studies, and (g) maintaining flexibility and openness to alternative standards and methods. Recommendations for educational practice include (a) encouraging a culture of “getting it right,” (b) teaching and encouraging transparency of data reporting, (c) improving methodological instruction, and (d) modeling sound science and supporting junior researchers who seek to “get it right.”