The influence of journal submission strategies on authors and use of open research journals

Updated submission guidelines for Psychological Science have been in force since January 2014; they encourage effect sizes, estimates, and meta-analysis (the “new statistics”), demand more quality methodological details and give out badges for open science practices. We examined the application of these techniques in empirical investigations reported in Psychological Science between January 2013 and December 2015, as well as in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General for comparison. Null hypothesis significance testing (NHST) was common throughout both journals and at all eras. In Psychological Science, confidence intervals increased significantly from 28% in 2013 to 70% in 2015, as did the availability of open data (3 to 39%) and downloadable resources (3 to 39%). (7 to 31 % ). The changes in the other journal were far less significant. Our results suggest that journal-specific submission requirements may encourage authors to change their routines for the better. 

Changing the regulations could be beneficial for certain behaviors but not for others. The collaborative efforts of journal editors, reviewers, and writers appear to be among the numerous change approaches required for a meaningful shift in science practice. It may be argued that many authors use a “bare-minimum” strategy. Therefore, journal-specific submission requirements may have a greater impact than citation to an outside source, like APA. Because of this, even when the guidelines are almost identical to and publicly available from other sources, it may be in the journal’s best interest and best practice to offer authors specific guidance on statistics reporting and open practices. 

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