Improving the dependability of research in personality and social psychology: recommendations for research and educational practice.
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."
1University of California, Riverside, USA.
David C
DC
Funder
John M
JM
Levine
Diane M
DM
Mackie
Carolyn C
CC
Morf
Carol
C
Sansone
Simine
S
Vazire
Stephen G
SG
West
D035841:Behavioral Research / Q000193:education / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards*; D003627:Data Interpretation, Statistical; D006801:Humans; D033181:Information Dissemination; D010551:Personality; D011593:Psychology, Social / Q000193:education / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D018401:Sample Size
educational practice; effect size; replicability; research methods; statistics