Preregistration records planned decisions before a defined stage, but it does not guarantee that the analysis plan is complete, appropriate or followed. Review the timing, specificity, amendments and final reporting together.
What to inspect
- Timing. Identify whether registration occurred before data collection, before access to outcomes or after some analysis.
- Specificity. Look for operational hypotheses, outcomes, exclusions, transformations, models and decision rules.
- Version history. Preserve amendments with dates and reasons rather than overwriting the original plan.
- Final alignment. Compare the publication with the registered plan and label justified deviations.
Registered reports are different
A registered report is a journal format in which the protocol is peer reviewed before results are known and may receive in-principle acceptance. A general preregistration platform records a plan but does not by itself provide that editorial review or commitment.
Worked use case
A registration says only that “regression analysis” will be used. The paper later reports several models and subgroup analyses. The registration supports timing, but not a claim that every modelling choice was prespecified. Report the gap and classify the additional analyses transparently.
Evidence boundary
Preregistration is not a universal quality certificate. Poorly specified plans can still be timestamped, and legitimate deviations can improve a study when they are explained and separated from confirmatory claims.
Primary sources
- Center for Open Science. Preregistration guidance. Retrieved 5 August 2026.
- Center for Open Science. Registered Reports. Retrieved 5 August 2026.