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IdTitle * Authors * Abstract * PictureThematic fields * RecommenderReviewersSubmission date
29 Sep 2021
STAGE 1

Evaluating the pedagogical effectiveness of study preregistration in the undergraduate dissertation: A Registered Report

Does incorporating open research practices into the undergraduate curriculum decrease questionable research practices?

Recommended by ORCID_LOGO and ORCID_LOGO based on reviews by Kelsey McCune, Neil Lewis, Jr., Lisa Spitzer and 1 anonymous reviewer

In a time when open research practices are becoming more widely used to combat questionable research practices (QRPs) in academia, this Stage 1 Registered Report by Pownall and colleagues (2021) will empirically investigate the practice of preregistering study plans, which will allow us to better understand to what degree such practices increase awareness of QRPs and whether experience with preregistration helps reduce engagement in QRPs. This investigation is timely because results from these kinds of studies are only recently becoming available and the conclusions are providing evidence that open research practices can improve research quality and reliability (e.g., Soderberg et al. 2020, Chambers & Tzavella 2021). The authors crucially focus on the effect of preregistering the undergraduate senior thesis (of psychology students in the UK), which is a key stage in the development of an academic. This data will help shape the future of how we should teach open research practices and what effect we as teachers can have on budding research careers. The five expert peer reviews were of an extremely high quality and were very thorough. The authors did an excellent job of addressing all of the comments in their responses and revised manuscript versions, which resulted in only one round of peer review, plus a second revision based on Recommender feedback. As such, this registered report meets the Stage 1 criteria and is therefore awarded in-principle acceptance (IPA). We wish the authors the best of luck with the study and we look forward to seeing the results.

URL to the preregistered Stage 1 protocol: https://osf.io/9hjbw

Level of bias control achieved: Level 6. No part of the data or evidence that will be used to answer the research question yet exists and no part will be generated until after IPA.

List of eligible PCI RR-friendly journals:

References

  1. Pownall M, Pennington CR, Norris E, Clark K. 2021. Evaluating the pedagogical effectiveness of study preregistration in the undergraduate dissertation: A Registered Report. OSF, stage 1 preregistration, in principle acceptance of version 1 by Peer Community in Registered Reports.   https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/9HJBW
  2. Chambers C, Tzavella L (2021). The past, present, and future of Registered Reports. https://doi.org/10.31222/osf.io/43298
  3. Soderberg CK, Errington TM, Schiavone SR, Bottesini J, Thorn FS, Vazire S, Esterling KM, Nosek BA (2021) Initial evidence of research quality of registered reports compared with the standard publishing model. Nature Human Behaviour, 5, 990–997. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-021-01142-4
Evaluating the pedagogical effectiveness of study preregistration in the undergraduate dissertation: A Registered Report Madeleine Pownall; Charlotte R. Pennington; Emma Norris; Kait Clark <p style="text-align: justify;">Research shows that questionable research practices (QRPs) are present in undergraduate final-year dissertation projects. One entry-level Open Science practice proposed to mitigate QRPs is ‘study preregistration’, t...Life Sciences, Social sciencesCorina Logan2021-07-08 15:27:24 View
08 Sep 2023
STAGE 1

Evaluation of spatial learning and wayfinding in a complex maze using immersive virtual reality. A registered report

Evaluation of an immersive virtual reality wayfinding task

Recommended by ORCID_LOGO based on reviews by Conor Thornberry, Gavin Buckingham and 1 anonymous reviewer
The Virtual Maze Task (VMT) is a digital desktop 2D spatial learning task that has been used for research into the effect of sleep and dreaming on memory consolidation (e.g. Wamsley et al, 2010). One limitation of this task has been low rates of reported dream incorporation. Eudave and colleagues (2023) have created an immersive virtual reality (iVR) version of the VMT, which they believe might be more likely to be incorporated into dreams. As an initial step in validating this task for research, they propose a within-subjects study to compare three measures of spatial learning between the 2D desktop and iVR versions. Based on a review of relevant literature, the prediction is that performance will be similar between the two task versions. The planned sample size (n = 62) is sufficient for a .9 power test of equivalence within effect size bounds of d = -.47 to .47. Additional independent variables (gender, perspective-taking ability) and dependent measures (self-reported cybersickness and sense of presence) will be recorded for exploratory analyses.
 
The study plan was refined across four rounds of review, with input from two external reviewers and the recommender, after which it was judged to satisfy the Stage 1 criteria for in-principle acceptance (IPA).
 
URL to the preregistered Stage 1 protocol: https://osf.io/wba2v
 
Level of bias control achieved: Level 6. No part of the data or evidence that will be used to answer the research question yet exists and no part will be generated until after IPA.
 
List of eligible PCI RR-friendly journals:
 
 
References
 
Eudave, L., Martínez, M., Valencia, M., & Roth D. (2023). Evaluation of spatial learning and wayfinding in a complex maze using immersive virtual reality. A registered report. In principle acceptance of Version 5 by Peer Community in Registered Reports.
 
Wamsley, E. J., Tucker, M., Payne, J. D., Benavides, J. A., & Stickgold, R. (2010). Dreaming of a learning task is associated with enhanced sleep-dependent memory consolidation. Current Biology, 20, 850–855. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2010.03.027
 
† There is one minor change that the authors should make to the Methods section, which is sufficiently small that it can be incorporated at Stage 2: "if both tests reject the null hypothesis (observed data is less/greater than the lower/upper equivalence bounds), conditions are considered statistically equivalent" >> suggest changing "less/greater" to "greater/lesser" for correct correspondence with "lower/upper".
Evaluation of spatial learning and wayfinding in a complex maze using immersive virtual reality. A registered reportEudave L., Martínez M., Valencia M., Roth D.<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Objectives</strong>: Mazes have traditionally been used as tools for evaluating spatial learning and navigational abilities in humans. They have been also utilized in sleep and dream research, as wayfinding ...Life SciencesRobert McIntosh2023-03-31 17:21:20 View
02 Jun 2022
STAGE 1

Exploring How Members of Illicit Networks Navigate Investigative Interviews

What to say to help one's partners in crime

Recommended by ORCID_LOGO based on reviews by Tom Ormerod and Lorraine Hope
When interviewing members of a criminal network, what determines what information a given interviewee chooses to disclose, as guided by the network's collective planning? What principles could help inform a detective preparing for such interviews? In the current study, Neequaye et al. will recruit groups of people known to each other to assume the role of networks that run an illegal sports betting business, fronting as a chain of tanning salons. Although each network launders money, they have to come up with a strategy to convince investigators they are legit. The groups are motivated to disclose some information when individuals are interviewed, but only enough to appear cooperative. The relation of the amount of different sorts of information disclosed depending on estimated risks and benefits for the group will be tested.
 
The Stage 1 manuscript was evaluated over two rounds of in-depth review by two expert reviewers. Based on detailed responses to the reviewers' comments, the recommender judged that the manuscript met the Stage 1 criteria and therefore awarded in-principle acceptance (IPA).
 
URL to the preregistered Stage 1 protocol: https://osf.io/n7ugr
 
Level of bias control achieved: Level 6. Data collection began during the final round of Stage 1 peer review. Since no further revisions were made after this review round, the risk of bias due to prior data observation remains zero, and the manuscript therefore qualifies for Level 6.
 
List of eligible PCI RR-friendly journals:
 
 
References
 
1. Neequaye, D. A., Granhag, P. A. & Luke, T. J. (2022). Exploring How Members of Illicit Networks Navigate Investigative Interviews, in principle acceptance of Version 4 by Peer Community in Registered Reports. https://osf.io/n7ugr
Exploring How Members of Illicit Networks Navigate Investigative InterviewsDavid A. Neequaye, Pär Anders Granhag, Timothy J. Luke, Department of Psychology, University of Gothenburg.<p>This study will explore how members of an illicit network navigate investigative interviews probing their crimes. We will examine how perceived disclosure outcomes, namely, the projected costs and benefits, affect what members choose to reveal....Social sciencesZoltan Dienes Tom Ormerod, Lorraine Hope2021-12-20 10:03:41 View
29 Mar 2023
STAGE 2
(Go to stage 1)

Exploring How Members of Illicit Networks Navigate Investigative Interviews

What to say to help one's partners in crime

Recommended by ORCID_LOGO based on reviews by Lorraine Hope
When interviewing members of a criminal network, what determines the information a given interviewee chooses to disclose, as guided by the network's collective planning? What principles could help inform a detective preparing for such interviews? In the current study, Neequaye et al. recruited groups of people known to each other to assume the role of networks that run an illegal sports betting business, fronting as a chain of tanning salons. Although each network launders money, they have to come up with a strategy to convince investigators they are legit. The groups are motivated to disclose some information when individuals are interviewed, but only enough to appear cooperative. Members disclosed information they perceived would yield benefical outcomes, but the extent to which members disclosed varied substantially according to the groups they were in.
 
The Stage 2 manuscript was evaluated over one round of in-depth review. Based on detailed responses to the reviewers' comments, the recommender judged that the manuscript met the Stage 2 criteria and awarded a positive recommendation.
 
URL to the preregistered Stage 1 protocol: https://osf.io/n7ugr
 
Level of bias control achieved: Level 6. Data collection began during the final round of Stage 1 peer review. Since no further revisions were made after this review round, the risk of bias due to prior data observation remained zero, and the manuscript therefore qualified for Level 6.
 
List of eligible PCI RR-friendly journals:
 
 
References
 
1. Neequaye, D. A., Granhag, P. A. & Luke, T. J. (2023). Exploring How Members of Illicit Networks Navigate Investigative Interviews. Acceptance of Version 3 by Peer Community in Registered Reports. https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/f3ct4
Exploring How Members of Illicit Networks Navigate Investigative InterviewsDavid A. Neequaye, Pär Anders Granhag, Timothy Luke<p>This study explored how members of an illicit network navigate investigative interviews probing their crimes. We examined how perceived disclosure outcomes, namely, the projected costs and benefits, affect what members choose to reveal. We recr...Humanities, Social sciencesZoltan Dienes2022-07-11 15:21:09 View
11 Jul 2023
STAGE 1

Factors impacting effective altruism: Revisiting heuristics and biases in charity in a replication and extensions of Baron and Szymanska (2011)

Understanding biases and heuristics in charity donations

Recommended by ORCID_LOGO based on reviews by Amanda Geiser and Jonathan Berman ?
Decisions to give to charities are affected by numerous external and internal factors. Understanding the elements that influence donation decisions is of first-order importance for science and society. On the scientific side, understanding the determinants of charity giving contributes to the knowledge of altruistic behaviors in the presence of collective problems such as poverty, climate change, or animal welfare. On the social side, pointing out which factors affect donations can help increase pro-social behaviors and might facilitate collective actions in the case of public goods. 
 
Previous work identified multiple mechanisms affecting altruistic donations to charities (Bekkers and Weeping, 2011). Importantly, Baron and Szymanska (2011) collected empirical evidence suggesting that people prefer (i) their donations to be directly used for projects rather than organizational costs, (ii) when charities have low past costs, (iii) to diversity their donations into several NGOs, (iv) to favor charities that deal with close peers like nationals, and (v) to give voluntarily rather than through taxes. 
 
In the current study, Chan and Feldman seek to replicate the results of Baron and Szymanska (2011). They propose a close replication of the original study using a large sample of online participants (1,400 participants). In addition to the five mechanisms identified by the original study, they will further explore whether public donation increases contributions and whether individuals are more likely to donate when the charities’ overhead costs are paid for by other donors. 
 
The Stage 1 manuscript was evaluated over two rounds of in-depth review. Based on detailed responses to the reviewers' comments, the recommender judged that the manuscript met the Stage 1 criteria and therefore awarded in-principle acceptance (IPA).
 
URL to the preregistered Stage 1 protocol: https://osf.io/gmswz
 
Level of bias control achieved: Level 6. No part of the data or evidence that will be used to answer the research question yet exists and no part will be generated until after IPA.
 
List of eligible PCI RR-friendly journals:
 
 
References
 
1. Baron, J. & Szymanska, E. (2011). Heuristics and Biases in Charity. In D. M. Oppenheimer & C. Y. Olivola (Eds.), The Science of Giving: Experimental Approaches to the Study of Charity (pp. 215–235). Psychology Press. 
 
2. Bekkers, R. & Wiepking, P. (2011). A Literature Review of Empirical Studies of Philanthropy. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 40, 924–973.
 
3. Chan, M. & Feldman, G. (2023). Factors impacting effective altruism: Revisiting heuristics and biases in charity in a replication and extensions Registered Report of Baron and Szymanska (2011), in principle acceptance of Version 3 by Peer Community in Registered Reports. https://osf.io/gmswz
Factors impacting effective altruism: Revisiting heuristics and biases in charity in a replication and extensions of Baron and Szymanska (2011)Mannix CHAN, Gilad FELDMAN<p>This is a scheduled PCI-RR snap shot for a planned project: "Factors impacting effective altruism: Revisiting heuristics and biases in charity in a replication and extensions of Baron and Szymanska (2011)​​"</p>Social sciencesRomain Espinosa2023-02-28 13:19:52 View
18 Nov 2022
STAGE 1

Fathers learning on the job: Role of Paternity Leave Duration on Paternal Infant-Directed Speech and Preference for Male Infant-Directed Speech in infants

Dads and baby talk: understanding the role of paternal interaction in infant-directed speech

Recommended by ORCID_LOGO based on reviews by Naja Ferjan Ramírez, Melanie Soderstrom and Krista Byers-Heinlein
Infant-directed speech (IDS) – colloquially known as “baby talk” – is a form of speech produced by parents that may be important for emotional bonding with children while also helping infants with early language development. In contrast to adult-directed speech (ADS), IDS is characterised by a higher and broader pitch range, slower speech rate, and shorter/simpler syntax. A significant body of research has studied the dynamics of IDS and shown that infants prefer IDS over ADS, however the great majority of this work has focused on maternal speech, leaving much to be discovered about the differences and similarities between paternal and maternal IDS, the relative preference infants exhibit for paternal IDS compared with ADS, and the role of paternal interaction in shaping these dynamics.
 
Using a Norwegian sample of 70 fathers and children, the proposed study by Robberstad et al. (2022) takes an important step into this less-explored domain, asking whether (and if so, how) fathers employ IDS when interacting with infants, whether any such modulation of speech is related to the amount of time they spend as a caregiver, whether infants show the same preferences for IDS over ADS in fathers as observed previously in mothers, and whether that preference is related to the amount of exposure the infant has to parental speech. The authors will analyse speech modulation using acoustic analysis, while preference for IDS will be tested using eye-tracking to measure infants’ overt gaze orientation while listening to IDS vs ADS.
 
The Stage 1 manuscript was evaluated over two rounds of in-depth review. Based on detailed responses to the reviewers' comments, the recommender judged that the manuscript met the Stage 1 criteria and therefore awarded in-principle acceptance (IPA).
 
URL to the preregistered Stage 1 protocol: https://osf.io/c43xu
 
Level of bias control achieved: Level 6. No part of the data or evidence that will be used to answer the research question yet exists and no part will be generated until after IPA. 
 
List of eligible PCI RR-friendly journals:
 
References
 
1. Robberstad, S., Kartushina, N. & Mayor, J. (2022). Fathers learning on the job: Role of paternity leave duration on paternal infant-directed speech and preference for male infant-directed speech in infants, in principle acceptance of Version 3 by Peer Community in Registered Reports. https://osf.io/sjupt
Fathers learning on the job: Role of Paternity Leave Duration on Paternal Infant-Directed Speech and Preference for Male Infant-Directed Speech in infantsSilje Robberstad, Natalia Kartushina & Julien Mayor<p>The acoustic properties of infant-directed speech (IDS) and the functions that IDS may serve in language development have been highly debated in research. However, previous research has mostly explored IDS in mothers and the preference for mate...Social sciencesChris Chambers2022-06-27 20:53:13 View
11 Sep 2023
STAGE 1

Finding the right words to evaluate research: An empirical appraisal of eLife’s assessment vocabulary

Understanding the validity of standardised language in research evaluation

Recommended by ORCID_LOGO and ORCID_LOGO based on reviews by Chris Hartgerink (they/them), Veli-Matti Karhulahti, Štěpán Bahník and Ross Mounce
In 2023, the journal eLife ended the practice of making binary accept/reject decisions following peer review, instead sharing peer review reports (for manuscripts that are peer-reviewed) and brief “eLife assessments” representing the consensus opinions of editors and peer reviewers. As part of these assessments, the journal draws language from a "common vocabulary" to linguistically rank the significance of findings and strength of empirical support for the article's conclusions. In particular, the significance of findings is described using an ordinal scale of terms from "landmark" → "fundamental" → "important" → "valuable" → "useful", while the strength of support is ranked across six descending levels from "exceptional" down to "inadequate".
 
In the current study, Hardwicke et al. (2023) question the validity of this taxonomy, noting a range of linguistic ambiguities and counterintuitive characteristics that may undermine the communication of research evaluations to readers. Given the centrality of this common vocabulary to the journal's policy, the authors propose a study to explore whether the language used in the eLife assessments will be interpreted as intended by readers. Using a repeated-measures experimental design, they will tackle three aims: first, to understand the extent to which people share similar interpretations of phrases used to describe scientific research; second, to reveal the extent to which people’s implicit ranking of phrases used to describe scientific research aligns with each other and with the intended ranking; and third, to test whether phrases used to describe scientific research have overlapping interpretations. The proposed study has the potential to make a useful contribution to metascience, as well as being a valuable source of information for other journals potentially interested in following the novel path made by eLife.
 
The Stage 1 manuscript was evaluated over one round of in-depth review. Based on detailed responses to the reviewers' comments, the recommender judged that the manuscript met the Stage 1 criteria and therefore awarded in-principle acceptance (IPA).
 
URL to the preregistered Stage 1 protocol: https://osf.io/mkbtp
 
Level of bias control achieved: Level 6. No part of the data or evidence that will be used to answer the research question yet exists and no part will be generated until after IPA.
 
List of eligible PCI RR-friendly journals:
 
References
 
1. Hardwicke, T. E., Schiavone, S., Clarke, B. & Vazire, S. (2023). Finding the right words to evaluate research: An empirical appraisal of eLife’s assessment vocabulary. In principle acceptance of Version 2 by Peer Community in Registered Reports. https://osf.io/mkbtp
Finding the right words to evaluate research: An empirical appraisal of eLife’s assessment vocabularyTom E. Hardwicke, Sarah Schiavone, Beth Clarke, Simine Vazire<p>The journal eLife recently announced that it would abandon binary ‘accept/reject’ decisions and instead focus on sharing both peer review reports and short “eLife assessments” representing the consensus opinions of editors and peer reviewers. F...Life Sciences, Social sciencesSarahanne Miranda Field2023-06-16 12:11:14 View
22 Jul 2024
STAGE 1

From Thought to Senses: Assessing the Presence of a Relationship Between the Generation Effect and Multisensory Facilitation

Exploring multi-sensory benefits in the generation effect of memory

Recommended by ORCID_LOGO based on reviews by Vanessa Loaiza, Sharon Bertsch and Vanessa Loaiza
This study by Ritchie and Wilbiks (2024) investigates whether the generation effect, a memory advantage for self-generated verbal information, is enhanced under multisensory conditions. It is designed to explore a gap in the literature regarding the interplay between the generation effect and multisensory facilitation, with potential applications in educational settings.

Exploring multisensory aspects of the generation effect, the study has the potential to provide new insights into cognitive processing and memory enhancement. It is well rooted in established theories of the generation effect and multisensory facilitation, deducing a reasonable hypothesis that multisensory processing amplifies the generation effect. By implementing a 2 (Task Type: generate vs. read) x 3 (Sensory Modality: auditory, visual, multisensory) factorial design, it ensures a comprehensive evaluation of multisensory benefits in the generation effect. The findings could inform multisensory learning strategies in educational contexts, enhancing teaching methods and learning outcomes.

Based on these considerations and two rounds of in-depth review, the recommender awarded in-principle acceptance of the study proposal. Its strong theoretical foundation and well-conceived methodology make it a valuable contribution to the fields of cognitive and educational psychology.
 
URL to the preregistered Stage 1 protocol: https://osf.io/3u7eh
 
Level of bias control achieved: Level 6. No part of the data or evidence that will be used to answer the research question yet exists and no part will be generated until after IPA.
 
List of eligible PCI RR-friendly journals:
 
References
 
Ritchie, M. & Wilbiks, J. (2024). From Thought to Senses: Assessing the Relationship Between the Generation Effect and Multisensory Facilitation. In principle acceptance of Version 4 by Peer Community in Registered Reports. https://osf.io/3u7eh
From Thought to Senses: Assessing the Presence of a Relationship Between the Generation Effect and Multisensory FacilitationMichaela Ritchie, Jonathan Wilbiks<p>The proposed study will investigate the relationship between the generation effect, a memory advantage for self-generated verbal information, and the multisensory facilitation effect, a phenomenon wherein congruent sensory inputs enhance cognit...Social sciencesGidon Frischkorn2024-02-01 18:34:15 View
05 Feb 2024
STAGE 2
(Go to stage 1)

Functional MRI brain state occupancy in the presence of cerebral small vessel disease -- a pre-registered replication analysis of the Hamburg City Health Study

Replicable dynamic functional connectivity and cognitive correlates of cerebral small vessel disease in the Hamburg City Health Study

Recommended by ORCID_LOGO based on reviews by 1 anonymous reviewer
In a previous analysis of data from 988 participants in the Hamburg City Health Study (HCHS), Schlemm and colleagues (2022) reported significant associations between the extent of cerebral small vessel disease (cSVD) and dynamic functional connectivity measures from resting state fMRI. Specifically, the volume of white matter hyperintensities of presumed vascular origin, a structural indicator of cSVD, was negatively related to the proportion of time (‘fractional occupancy’) spent in the two most occupied functional brain states. Reduced fractional occupancy was also associated with longer times to complete part B of the Trail Making Test.
 
In the present Registered Report, Ingwersen and colleagues (2023) successfully replicated these associations between structural, functional and cognitive measures in a sample of 1651 HCHS participants not included in the earlier study. An exploratory multiverse analysis found that the associations were generally robust to different brain parcellation and confound regression strategies. These replicable patterns reinforce the idea that cSVD may disrupt the brain’s ability to enter and maintain distinct functional modes, and that these changes in functional dynamics are predictive of cognitive impairment.
 
The Stage 2 manuscript was assessed over one round of in-depth review. The recommender judged that responses to reviewer comments were appropriate, and that the manuscript met the Stage 2 criteria for recommendation.
 
URL to the preregistered Stage 1 protocol: https://osf.io/9yhzc
 
Level of bias control achieved: Level 2. At least some data/evidence that was used to answer the research question had been accessed and partially observed by the authors prior to Stage 1 in-principle acceptance, but the authors certify that they had not yet observed the key variables within the data that were used to answer the research question AND they took additional steps to maximise bias control and rigour.
 
List of eligible PCI RR-friendly journals:
 
 
References
 
1. Schlemm, E., Frey, B. M., Mayer, C., Petersen, M., Fiehler, J., Hanning, U., Kühn, S., Twerenbold, R., Gallinat, J., Gerloff, C., Thomalla, G. & Cheng, B. (2022). Equalization of brain state occupancy accompanies cognitive impairment in cerebral small vessel disease. Biological Psychiatry, 92, 592-602. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2022.03.019
 
2. Ingwersen, T., Mayer, C., Petersen, M., Frey, B. M., Fiehler, J., Hanning, U., Kühn, S., Gallinat, J., Twerenbold, R., Gerloff, C., Cheng, B., Thomalla, G. & Schlemm, E. (2023). Functional MRI brain state occupancy in the presence of cerebral small vessel disease -- a pre-registered replication analysis of the Hamburg City Health Study. Acceptance of Version 2.01 by Peer Community in Registered Reports. https://github.com/csi-hamburg/HCHS-brain-states-RR/blob/f9d00adbbcf9593d8d191bf5b93912141b80ab1b/manuscript/build/main.pdf
 
Functional MRI brain state occupancy in the presence of cerebral small vessel disease -- a pre-registered replication analysis of the Hamburg City Health StudyThies Ingwersen, Carola Mayer, Marvin Petersen, Benedikt M. Frey, Jens Fiehler, Uta Hanning, Simone Kühn, Jürgen Gallinat, Raphael Twerenbold, Christian Gerloff, Bastian Cheng, Götz Thomalla, Eckhard Schlemm, <p><strong>Objective</strong>: To replicate recent findings on the association between the extent of cerebral small vessel disease (cSVD), functional brain network dedifferentiation, and cognitive impairment.</p> <p><strong>Methods:</strong> We a...Life Sciences, Medical SciencesRobert McIntosh2023-10-17 09:53:02 View
27 Jun 2023
STAGE 1

Functional MRI brain state occupancy in the presence of cerebral small vessel disease -- pre-registration for a replication analysis of the Hamburg City Health Study

Testing the replicability of dynamic functional connectivity correlates of cerebral small vessel disease in the Hamburg City Health Study

Recommended by ORCID_LOGO based on reviews by Olivia Hamilton and 1 anonymous reviewer
A recent study has reported that the extent of cerebral small vessel disease (cSVD) shows associations with dynamic functional connectivity measures obtained from resting state functional MRI scans (Schlemm et al, 2022). Specifically, when the functional scan was parsed into time spent in discrete brain states, the proportion of time spent in the two most-occupied states was negatively related to a structural indicator of cSVD (volume of white matter hyperintensities of presumed vascular origin). This measure of 'fractional occupancy' was also associated with cognitive impairment as indicated by longer time to complete part B of the Trail Making Test. These findings were based on the analysis of data from 988 participants in the Hamburg City Health Study (HCHS).
 
In the present Registered Report, Schlemm (2023) will test whether these associations can be replicated in an independent sample of participants from the HCHS, not included in the earlier analysis (projected N for new analysis ~1500). In addition to the two main hypothesis tests, an exploratory multiverse analysis will be reported, systematically varying some key parameters of the MRI processing pipeline to provide further information about the robustness of the outcome of the primary hypothesis test. 
 
The Stage 1 plan was refined over two rounds of review by two relevant experts, with additional input from the recommender on the specification of the registered plan. Both reviewers are satisfied that the plan constitutes an appropriate approach to this question, and on the basis of their comments and his own evaluation, the recommender judged that the Stage 1 report meets the criteria for in-principle acceptance.
 
URL to the preregistered Stage 1 protocol: https://osf.io/9yhzc
 
Level of bias control achieved: Level 2. At least some data/evidence that will be used to answer the research question has been accessed and partially observed by the authors, but the authors certify that they have not yet observed the key variables within the data that will be used to answer the research question AND they have taken additional steps to maximise bias control and rigour.
 
List of eligible PCI RR-friendly journals:
 
 
References
 
1. Schlemm, E., Frey, B. M., Mayer, C., Petersen, M., Fiehler, J., Hanning, U., Kühn, S., Twerenbold, R., Gallinat, J., Gerloff, C., Thomalla, G. & Cheng, B. (2022). Equalization of brain state occupancy accompanies cognitive impairment in cerebral small vessel disease. Biological Psychiatry, 92, 592-602. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2022.03.019
 
2. Schlemm, E. (2023). Functional MRI brain state occupancy in the presence of cerebral small vessel disease – pre-registration for a replication analysis of the Hamburg City Health Study. In principle acceptance of Version 1.5 by Peer Community in Registered Reports. https://osf.io/9yhzc
Functional MRI brain state occupancy in the presence of cerebral small vessel disease -- pre-registration for a replication analysis of the Hamburg City Health StudyEckhard Schlemm<p>Objective: To replicate recent findings about the association between the extent of cerebral small vessel disease (cSVD), functional brain network dedifferentiation and cognitive impairment.</p> <p>Methods: We will analyze demographic, imaging...Life Sciences, Medical SciencesRobert McIntosh2022-11-19 14:21:28 View