M. Höfler: When to leave open versus disclose flexibilities in the research process

Abstract
Disclosing flexibilities in the research process (wording of a hypothesis, data collection, processing and analysis) holds researchers accountable for their predictions and fosters rigour in hypothesis testing. Conversely, if flexibilities are left open, other researchers can specify them differently based on different substantive assumptions. To enable rigorous hypothesis testing by others, preregistration of secondary data analysis has been suggested. However, this does not guarantee the desired rigour.

This talk discusses the implementation of a new approach. The approach allows and obliges researchers to specify the flexibilities before data collection. This may give rise to extensions in study design (e.g. the addition of a questionnaire) and produce different test results, which depend on these specifications and their justifications. Exploratory research naturally arises from what is left over from these discussions, concerning gaps and research beyond the strict limits of confirmatory research.

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