Ulysses' pact or Ulysses' raft: Using pre-analysis plans in experimental and nonexperimental research

Sarah A. Janzen, Jeffrey D. Michler

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Economists have recently adopted preanalysis plans in response to concerns about robustness and transparency in research. The increased use of registered preanalysis plans has raised competing concerns that detailed plans are costly to create, overly restrictive, and limit the type of inspiration that stems from exploratory analysis. We consider these competing views of preanalysis plans, and make a careful distinction between the roles of preanalysis plans and registries, which provide a record of all planned research. We propose a flexible “packraft” preanalysis plan approach that offers benefits for a wide variety of experimental and nonexperimental applications in applied economics.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1286-1304
Number of pages19
JournalApplied Economic Perspectives and Policy
Volume43
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 2021

Keywords

  • hypothesis registry
  • pre-analysis plan
  • preregistration
  • research ethics
  • transparency

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Development
  • Economics and Econometrics

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