Assessing diversity and representativeness of big team science in psychology [Stage 1 RR Protocol]

Psychological science has a persistent diversity problem: samples, authors, and journal editors are predominantly from the Global North. Big team science, characterized by collaborative projects involving researchers worldwide, has emerged as a potential solution to these diversity and generalizability concerns. Despite its widespread adoption and claims of increased generalizability, the actual impact of big team science on improving diversity and representation in psychological studies remains unknown. Here, we plan to systematically examine the diversity and representativeness of big team science by comparing big team science to (1) traditional psychological studies and (2) its target population (the world population or a specific population). Specifically, we will compare these two reference datasets to the demographics of participants and authors affiliations from big team science. In addition, we will examine how socioeconomic/cultural factors might contribute to the presence of researchers and participants in big team science and traditional psychological studies in a country/region.