This vignette shows an inclusive general-purpose registration form. It can be initialized as follows:

initialized_generalPurpose_v1 <-
  preregr::prereg_initialize(
    "generalPurpose_v1"
  );

After this, content can be specified with preregr::prereg_specify() or preregr::prereg_justify. To check the next field(s) for which content still has to be specified, use preregr::prereg_next_item().

The form’s metadata is:

field content
title Inclusive General-Purpose Registration Form
author Gjalt-Jorn Peters & Szilvia Zorgo
date 2021-10-03
comments This form was heavily based on the Inclusive Systematic Review Form by Van den Akker et al. (2020).
version 1.0

The form is defined as follows (use preregr::form_show() to show the form in the console, instead):

preregr::form_knit(
  "generalPurpose_v1"
);

Inclusive General-Purpose Registration Form

Instructions

Intended Use

This Inclusive General-Purpose Registration Form is intended as a general-purpose registration form. The form is designed to be applicable across disciplines (i.e., psychology, economics, law, physics, or any other field) and across study types (i.e., qualitative studies, quantitative studies, experiments, systematic reviews, case studies, archive studies, comparative legal studies, or any other type of study). This form, therefore, is a fall-back for more specialized forms and can be used if no specialized form or registration platform is available. As such, if at all possible, it is recommended to avoid using this form and instead use a specialized form. This inclusive general-purpose registration form achieves that inclusiveness and general-purposeness at the cost of specificity and comprehensiveness. Still, if specialized forms don’t fit for your study, this form may be a good backup.

Sections and items

Section: Metadata

Discipline
discipline
Here you can specify your discipline (e.g. law, chemistry, anthropology, etc).
Title
title
The title of this study (at this stage, anyway).
Author(s) / contributor(s)
authors
The authors of / contributors to this study.
Tasks and roles
tasks_and_roles
Describe the expected tasks and roles of each author/contributor, for example using the Contributor Roles Taxonomy (CRediT).
Funding
funding
List the funding sources for everybody that is involved in this study at this stage. If the work is unfunded, please state this as such.
Conflicts of interest
cois
List any potential conflicts of interest (e.g., if there is a potential outcome of this study that can in any way have negative or positive effects for anybody involved in this study in terms of funding, prestige, or opportunities). If there are no conflicts of interest, please state this as such.

Section: Background

Type of study
type_of_study
How would you describe the type of study you are (pre)registering?
Background
background
Introduce the topic of your study, its aims, and/or provide a short summary of known literature and what you want to add to this literature with your study.
Study stages
stages
Indicate the stages in which you will conduct this study. Common stages are preparation, data collection, and analysis, but just specify the stages you will use using your own words.
Current study stage
stage
Indicate in which stage from the list you specified in the “Study stages” item you are at this moment (i.e., when you freeze this registration).
Start date
start_date
Indicate the planned start date, or if you already started, the actual start date.
End date
end_date
Indicate the planned end date, or if you already completed the study, the actual end date.

Section: Methods

Data origin
data_origin
Describe the origin of the data you will examine. Data here is meant as a broad term: it refers to primary or secondary data; data you will collect or data that already existed; data that are measurements, recordings, existing documents or reports. Basically, which bits of the world will you look at to answer your research question(s), and how will you obtain those bits?
Primary research question(s)
primary_research_question
List the specific questions this study is meant to answer (i.e., the questions that ultimately informed the decisions made when designing the study plans you are registering). Note that all analyses pertaining to primary research questions should normally be reported in the final report.
Secondary research question(s)
secondary_research_question
List additional research questions that you will examine, but that took less central roles in informing the study’s design. Note that all analyses pertaining to secondary research questions should normally be reported in the final report.
Expectations / hypotheses
expectations_hypotheses
Describe any hypotheses and/or expectations you have. These can pertain to your research questions, the types of sources you will find, social and political contexts, and contextual information that you know may color your interpretations and decisions.
Main variable(s) / outcome(s) / dependent variables
main_vars
List the concepts or main / dependent / outcome / variables you are interested in. If this study concerns one or more associations, list the outcome variable(s) or dependent variables. If this study does not concern one or more associations, list the main variables of interest here.
Secondary variable(s) / independent variable(s) / intervention(s) / treatment(s)
secondary_vars
If this study’s research question(s) concerns one or more associations or effects, list the variable(s) that theoretically cause them or are assumed to otherwise explain the main variable(s) / dependent variable(s) / outcome(s). If this is a manipulation, treatment, or intervention, make sure to describe it in full: that means also describing all groups, including any control group(s) or comparator(s). If there are no secondary variables, you can just state that.
Additional variable(s) / covariate(s)
additional_vars
Here, list any additional variables you are interested in that were not included in the two lists above, such as covariates, moderators, or mediators. If there are no additional variables, you can just state that.
Anyware
anyware
List the software and hardware you plan to use for the study. Include model/version numbers, producers, and operating systems, if applicable.
Repositories
repositories
List the repositories you will use to publish your data, materials, and documentation. If you do not plan to publish one or more of these, you can indicate and explain that here.
Preprint server
preprint
Indicate which preprint server you plan to use to publish the preprint from this project. If you do not plan to publish a preprint, you can indicate and explain that here.
Miscellaneous methods details
misc_methods_details
Here, you can describe any details that are not captured in the other fields in this section.

Section: Analyses

Missing data
missing_data
Describe how you plan to deal with missing data (e.g. observations that cannot go through as planned, archive materials that cannot be obtained, problems with recordings, missing data points, participants that drop out, etc).
Data validation
data_validation
Describe your process of ensuring that the data are correct and useful (e.g., identifying outliers, triangulating with other sources, or other methods of verifying data integrity). Also describe your criteria for assessing data validity and how you will deal with data violating those criteria.
Analysis plan
analysis_plan
Describe the specific procedure you will apply to arrive at an answer to the research question(s). If you distinguish analysis tiers (e.g., primary and secondary analyses, or confirmatory and exploratory analyses), list them and indicate which procedures you plan to use for each. Also specify what you will do if parts of the plan cannot be properly executed.
Criteria for conclusions / inference criteria
criteria_for_conclusions
If you plan to draw your conclusions based on pre-specified criteria (e.g., a minimal effect size of interest, a significance level, or a saturation point), list these here.
Analyst masking
analyst_masking
Describe the procedure, if any, used to mask analysts (i.e., the person(s) analyzing the extracted data to arrive at answers to your research question(s)) from the research questions, expectations, hypotheses, and/or specific roles of each variable in this study. If you decide to not use masked analysists, you can state that decision here.
Miscellaneous analysis details
misc_analysis_details
Here, you can describe any details that are not captured in the other fields in this section.