Ulysses' pact or Ulysses' raft: Using pre-analysis plans in experimental and nonexperimental research

Sarah A. Janzen; Jeffrey D. Michler

doi:10.1002/aepp.13133

Ulysses' pact or Ulysses' raft: Using pre-analysis plans in experimental and nonexperimental research

Sarah A. Janzen, Jeffrey D. Michler

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

2 Scopus citations

Abstract

Economists have recently adopted pre-analysis plans in response to concerns about robustness and transparency in research. The increased use of registered pre-analysis plans has raised competing concerns that detailed plans are costly to create, overly restrictive, and limit the type of inspiration that stems from exploratory analysis. We consider these competing views of pre-analysis plans, and make a careful distinction between the roles of pre-analysis plans and registries, which provide a record of all planned research. We propose a flexible “packraft” pre-analysis plan approach that offers benefits for a wide variety of experimental and nonexperimental applications in applied economics. JEL CLASSIFICATION: A14; B41; C12; C18; C90; O10; Q00.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	1286-1304
Number of pages	19
Journal	Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy
Volume	43
Issue number	4
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1002/aepp.13133
State	Published - Dec 2021
Externally published	Yes

Keywords

hypothesis registry
pre-analysis plan
preregistration
research ethics
transparency

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Development
Economics and Econometrics

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10.1002/aepp.13133

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title = "Ulysses' pact or Ulysses' raft: Using pre-analysis plans in experimental and nonexperimental research",

abstract = "Economists have recently adopted pre-analysis plans in response to concerns about robustness and transparency in research. The increased use of registered pre-analysis plans has raised competing concerns that detailed plans are costly to create, overly restrictive, and limit the type of inspiration that stems from exploratory analysis. We consider these competing views of pre-analysis plans, and make a careful distinction between the roles of pre-analysis plans and registries, which provide a record of all planned research. We propose a flexible “packraft” pre-analysis plan approach that offers benefits for a wide variety of experimental and nonexperimental applications in applied economics. JEL CLASSIFICATION: A14; B41; C12; C18; C90; O10; Q00.",

keywords = "hypothesis registry, pre-analysis plan, preregistration, research ethics, transparency",

author = "Janzen, {Sarah A.} and Michler, {Jeffrey D.}",

note = "Funding Information: The authors thank Walter Acpangan, Bolanle Atilola, Sebastian Bascom, and Brian McGreal for research assistance. Anna Josephson, Talip Kilic, Nicholas Magnan, Conner Mullally, David Spielman, and the AEPP editor Craig Gundersen all provided helpful comments. We also are grateful for discussion and comments by participants of the AAEA Annual Meeting International and Africa Section Virtual Track Session 2020. All opinions and errors are our own. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2021 Agricultural & Applied Economics Association.",

year = "2021",

month = dec,

doi = "10.1002/aepp.13133",

language = "English (US)",

volume = "43",

pages = "1286--1304",

journal = "Review of Agricultural Economics",

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AU - Michler, Jeffrey D.

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PY - 2021/12

Y1 - 2021/12

N2 - Economists have recently adopted pre-analysis plans in response to concerns about robustness and transparency in research. The increased use of registered pre-analysis plans has raised competing concerns that detailed plans are costly to create, overly restrictive, and limit the type of inspiration that stems from exploratory analysis. We consider these competing views of pre-analysis plans, and make a careful distinction between the roles of pre-analysis plans and registries, which provide a record of all planned research. We propose a flexible “packraft” pre-analysis plan approach that offers benefits for a wide variety of experimental and nonexperimental applications in applied economics. JEL CLASSIFICATION: A14; B41; C12; C18; C90; O10; Q00.

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KW - hypothesis registry

KW - pre-analysis plan

KW - preregistration

KW - research ethics

KW - transparency

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Ulysses' pact or Ulysses' raft: Using pre-analysis plans in experimental and nonexperimental research

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Keywords

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