name: psychbull-open-science-and-transparency
description: Use when planning and assembling the transparency package for a Psychological Bulletin submission — protocol preregistration (PROSPERO/OSF), TOP-compliant disclosure, and depositing the database, codebook, and analysis scripts. Covers transparency requirements; it does not run the analysis.
Open Science & Transparency (psychbull-open-science-and-transparency)
Effective February 1, 2022, Psychological Bulletin requires transparent reporting for empirical
work, including meta-analyses, aligned with the TOP Guidelines. Authors who submit quantitative
analyses must supply their database, codebook, and relevant scripts, and must state whether the
design/hypotheses were preregistered and where to access them. Build this as you go — it is not a
last-minute add-on. (Verify the exact TOP level wording on the live page; see 待核实 in the source map.)
When to trigger
- Before screening — to preregister the protocol
- Assembling the data/code/materials package for submission
- Answering the journal's transparency/availability statements
- A reviewer asks where the database, codebook, or scripts live
Preregister the protocol (before screening)
- Register the review protocol on PROSPERO (the systematic-review registry) or OSF
Registries: question, eligibility criteria, search plan, coding plan, and the pre-specified
analysis and moderators.
- The manuscript must state whether work was preregistered and where to access it.
- Masking note: Bulletin submissions registered on PROSPERO may attach registration details as
an appendix, omitting author names and the registration number so review stays masked.
- Clearly distinguish pre-specified (confirmatory) from exploratory analyses in the writeup.
The transparency package (TOP)
- Database — the coded effect-size dataset (one row per effect, with study identifiers and
moderator codes), in an open format.
- Codebook — variable definitions and decision rules (from
psychbull-inclusion-and-coding).
- Analysis scripts — code that reproduces every pooled estimate, moderator model, bias diagnostic,
table, and figure.
- Materials — search strings/logs, screening records, and the PRISMA-flow inputs.
- Deposit to a trusted repository (OSF / institutional) with a persistent identifier (DOI);
complete the journal's data-availability statement, explaining any restricted data.
Anti-patterns
- Preregistering after screening (defeats the purpose)
- "Available upon request" instead of a deposited, identifiable package
- A dataset no one else could re-run (no codebook, undocumented variables)
- Leaving the PROSPERO number / author names in an appendix during masked review
- Blurring confirmatory and exploratory analyses
What transparency referees verify
As an APA flagship that adopted TOP-aligned reporting, Psychological Bulletin treats the transparency
package as a reviewable deliverable, not a courtesy. The bar reviewers apply:
| Transparency item | Pass | Reject / desk-return trigger |
|---|
| Protocol timing | Preregistered before screening, location stated | Registered after coding, or "available on request" |
| Database deposited | One-row-per-effect file with a DOI | No data, or a spreadsheet no one else can run |
| Codebook deposited | Variable definitions and decision rules included | Undocumented columns; codes unexplained |
| Scripts deposited | Reproduce every estimate, table, and figure | Numbers in text that no script regenerates |
| Masking preserved | PROSPERO appendix stripped of number and names | Registration number visible during masked review |
Worked vignette — assembling the package
Illustrative figures only. For the self-affirmation synthesis (k = 42, g = 0.34), the deposit under
this skill's rules:
- Protocol on OSF Registries timestamped before screening, listing eligibility, the search plan, and
the delivery-format moderator as confirmatory.
- Database: 51 rows (42 studies, 9 contributing multiple effects), each with study ID, g, variance,
and moderator codes, in an open CSV with a DOI.
- Codebook carried over from the inclusion-and-coding stage, defining all 23 variables.
- Scripts: one
metafor/robumeta script regenerates the pooled 0.34, the meta-regression
(R²-analog 0.22), every bias diagnostic, the forest and funnel plots, and the summary table.
- Masking: the PROSPERO/OSF appendix is anonymized, with the registration number and author names
removed, so review stays masked.
Referee pushback → venue-specific fix
- "Was this preregistered, and where?" → Add the registry link and the timestamp predating screening;
state explicitly which analyses were confirmatory.
- "'Data available on request' is insufficient." → Deposit the database, codebook, and scripts to a
trusted repository with a persistent DOI and complete the availability statement.
- "Confirmatory and exploratory analyses are blurred." → Separate them in both the manuscript and the
deposited scripts so the distinction is auditable. (Confirm the exact TOP level on the live page.)
Output format
【Protocol】preregistered (PROSPERO/OSF) before screening? [Y/N] + where
【Masking】PROSPERO appendix anonymized (no number/names)? [Y/N]
【Database + codebook】deposited with DOI? [Y/N]
【Scripts】reproduce all estimates/exhibits? [Y/N]
【Availability statement】drafted; restricted data explained? [Y/N]
【Confirmatory vs exploratory】clearly separated? [Y/N]
【Next】psychbull-submission
Supplementary resources