“Open science” may be a term you’ve heard before as it is part of a bigger movement that has been growing over the last several years to make science more transparent, and specifically social sciences like psychology. Open science is the idea that researchers make their theories, methods, data collection, and hypotheses, pre-registered and their findings publicly accessible through open access publications. 

In this episode of Academic Ramblings, the two components of open science are explored: preregistration and open access publishing. Preregistration is the practice of registering a scientific study before it is conducted. The preregistration of studies can help to prevent publication bias, reduce data fishing, and identify otherwise undisclosed bad scientific practice. Open access publication refers to scientific publishing where the paywall has been removed.  For example, Frontiers in Psychology, is one such open access journal (that just published a special issue on Games and Mental Health).

In this video we will explore these two concepts, the pros and cons of open science, and discuss why there has been a push for it specifically within the field of psychology.