### Longitudinal Research Preregistation ### **Scope and Background** Preregistration is the process of specifying project details, such as hypotheses, data collection procedures, and analytical decisions, prior to conducting a study. It is designed to make a clearer distinction between data-driven, exploratory work and a-priori, confirmatory work. Both modes of research are valuable, but are easy to unintentionally conflate. See the [Preregistration Revolution][1] for more background and recommendations. For longitudinal research, there are some unique challenges. At the start of a study, one is unlikely to meaningfully predict analyses dozens of years into the future. Throughout, it is difficult to know how knowledge of the cohort affects the next round of data collection and analysis. Finally, it is difficult to assess the extent of any problems (ie replications are difficult to impossible) that preregistration can address. This project will contains a template for creating your preregistration, designed specifically for longitudinal research using existing data. In the future, this template will be integrated into the OSF. **Instructions for how to use this project** - [Fork][3] this project to make your own copy. - Complete the template by one of these three options: - Download the included word doc in project files and [upload][4] the completed form. - Make a copy of the Google doc (coming soon) and [attach][6] it to this project. - [Edit the wiki][7] titled "Preregistration Template" (coming soon) - [Register][8] this project using the "[OSF Standard Pre-data Collection][9]" form. - We recommend deleting these instructions from your wiki before registering your project. You can put some background material or the abstract in this space instead. - If you have any questions, please see our [support][10] resources. [1]: http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2018/03/08/1708274114 [2]: https://osf.io/kgnva/wiki/Open%20Science%20Literature/ [3]: https://help.osf.io/hc/en-us/articles/360019737914-Fork-a-Project [4]: https://help.osf.io/hc/en-us/articles/360019930613-Upload-files [5]: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1U1EklmhtU-f-am8q9je3eaHz00PEK47eb-Cbqe7eaFU/edit# [6]: https://help.osf.io/hc/en-us/articles/360019737374-Connect-Google-Drive-to-a-Project [7]: https://help.osf.io/hc/en-us/articles/360019737474-Edit-the-Wiki [8]: https://help.osf.io/hc/en-us/articles/360019930893-Register-Your-Project [9]: https://help.osf.io/hc/en-us/articles/360019738794-Understand-Registration-Forms [10]: https://osf.io/support/