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What is Big Team Science (BTS)?Big Team Science (BTS) is when a large group of researchers collaborate and combine their resources to explore a common research focus. Resources
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Why has research historically focused on WEIRD populations?Historically, research has oversampled North American University students. Within the research community, this population is often referred to using the ‘“WERID” acronym (Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, Democratic). BTS challenges this, by involving a network of individuals from across diverse locations. Resources
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What is Open Science?
Open Science (OS) refers to a method of conducting research in which practices, processes, and results are transparent and accessible to the public.
Resources
- What is Open Science? (Government of Canada)
Defines open science, while offering an overview of its lifecycle and influence on Canadian legislation. - Benefits of Open Science (Springer Nature)
Provides a concise list of the advantages of open science. - What are the Core Principles of OS? (Bertram et al., 2023)
Offers examples for how open science can be implemented throughout the research lifecycle.
What is the Replication Crisis?
Replication of previous research designs allow researchers to verify findings, and confirm the reliability of previous studies. The replication crisis refers to an issue in the scientific community, where researchers are unable to replicate previous studies’ results. This has led the scientific community to question the reliability and validity of previous research findings
| Feature | Replication | Reproducibility |
|---|---|---|
| Workflow | Same workflow | Same workflow |
| Data used | New data | Original data |
| Goal | Generalizability | Computational Validity |
Resources
- Why is Replication in Research Important? (American Journal Experts)
Describes the process of replication, and its importance in the scientific process. - The History of the Replication Crisis (Caffrey, 2024)
Explains the origins of the replication crisis. - Implications of the Replication Crisis (Anvari & Lakens, 2018)
Explores the impact of the replication crisis on the public's trust in psychological science. - What is the Difference Between Replicability and Reproducibility? (UBC)
Differentiates replicability and reproducibility, by comparing how they utilize data sets.
How can you increase the credibility of your research results?
Credible research refers to research that is trusted, reliable, and accurate.
| Feature | Preregistration | Registered Reports |
|---|---|---|
| What is it? | A research plan written before data analysis (or data collection). | A publication format where the study proposal undergoes peer review before results are known. |
| Main Goal | Increase transparency and reduce QRPs. | Increase transparency and reduce publication bias by evaluating research by its hypotheses and methods over its outcomes. |
| Publication Guarantee | No publication guarantee. | “In-principle acceptance” if authors follow approved protocol. |
| Where can it be submitted? | Public repositories | Submitted directly to a journal that offers the Registered Report format. |
| Typical Review Process | No formal feedback. | Two-stage peer review: before and after data collection. |
| Output | Public preregistration document. | Peer-reviewed journal article. |
Resources
- Preregistration (COS)
“...specifying your research plan in advance of your study and submitting it to a registry.” - Registered Reports (COS)
“...a publishing format that emphasizes the importance of the research question and the quality of methodology by conducting peer review prior to data collection.” - What is the Difference Between Preregistration and Registered Reports? (American Journal Experts)
Explains how preregistration and registered reports both serve as open science practices, while differing in their primary intentions.
Introduction to Tools for BTS and OS
- Repository: An online archive for the storage of digital objects including research outputs, manuscripts, analysis code, and/or data (Lonsdorf, 2026).
- Data Sharing: A collection of practices, data, and technologies that make research outputs accessible and reusable by other researchers (Elsherif et al., 2026).
- Open Source Software: Freely accessible software that can be used, modified, and distributed by anyone (Open Source Initiative, 2025).
- PsychoPy: Open-source software based on Python used for conducting behavioral experiments (Peirce et al., 2019 / PsychoPy).
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R / RStudio: R is a programming language for statistical computing, and RStudio is an integrated development environment used for data management, cleaning, and analysis.
Beginner’s Guide to RStudio | Posit Cheatsheets -
GitHub: A cloud-based platform that allows developers and researchers to collaborate, store, and share code—especially useful for large-scale projects such as BTS.
GitHub | Guide to Using GitHub | DataCamp Introduction to GitHub