Preregistration of Research on Research Integrity is still Not Common: Findings from the Hong Kong, Cape Town, and Athens Editions of the World Conference on Research Integrity

Background: This article reports on prevalence of preregistration of empirical studies presented at three editions of the World Conference on Research Integrity (Hong Kong, 2019; Cape Town, 2022; Athens, 2024) at the time of abstract submission, and the association of preregistration with the characteristics of the study and of the researchers submitting the abstract. Method: During registration and abstract submission, applicants were invited to answer questions on preregistration of their study and their academic background. Information collected varied somewhat across conferences, as our insights developed over time. Because of modest sample sizes, we only present descriptive analyses of the prevalence of preregistration and its association with the study’s research theme, and the applicant’s career stage and academic rank. Results: The prevalence of preregistration among presenters of empirical research did not improve across the three WCRIs, and stagnated on average at a modest 28 percent. The verifiability of claims of preregistration did improve over time, however, and increased from 44 to 88 per cent of the abstracts of empirical studies that claimed to have preregistered. . Reasons given for not preregistering varied highly, but little faith in its usefulness and unfamiliarity were frequently mentioned. Younger researchers tended to preregister more often than others, and researchers with a biomedical background preregistered more often. Conclusions: Preregistration of research integrity studies still is not common, and the trend over time suggests stagnation at a rather low level. Reasons for not preregistering participants were too varied to extract one clear-cut solution. We suggest to simplify the preregistration process and propose that funding agencies, research institutes and scholarly journals should demand preregistration of empirical studies.