Registered Report Design AI Prompt

Help me structure my study as a Registered Report to eliminate publication bias for my research.

Study overview: {{study_overview}}
Target journal: {{journal}}

1. What is a Registered Report:
   A Registered Report (RR) is a publication format where peer review occurs in two stages:
   - Stage 1 (before data collection): the introduction, hypotheses, methods, and analysis plan are peer reviewed. If accepted, the journal issues an In-Principle Acceptance (IPA) — a commitment to publish regardless of results, conditional on following the approved protocol.
   - Stage 2 (after data collection and analysis): the completed manuscript is reviewed for adherence to the approved protocol. Results cannot cause rejection.
   - Key benefit: eliminates publication bias and incentivizes rigorous methods over positive results.

2. Stage 1 manuscript components:

   Introduction:
   - Comprehensive literature review demonstrating that the research question is important and unanswered
   - Clear theoretical rationale for the predicted effects
   - Explicit a priori hypotheses that follow from the theory

   Methods:
   - Participants: eligibility criteria, recruitment, sample size with power analysis, stopping rule
   - Design and procedure: sufficient detail for independent replication
   - Measures: full description of all instruments with psychometric evidence
   - Analysis plan: pre-specified primary and secondary analyses, assumption checks, missing data, exclusion criteria
   - Timeline and feasibility: evidence that the study is feasible

3. Handling deviations from the protocol:
   - Minor deviations (e.g. slightly fewer participants than planned): disclose transparently; usually does not affect IPA
   - Unanticipated events: document contemporaneously; discuss with editor before proceeding
   - If a major assumption of the analysis plan turns out to be violated: the pre-specified contingency plan applies
   - Post-hoc analyses: any analysis not in the approved plan must be clearly labeled as 'unregistered' or 'exploratory'

4. Distinguishing confirmatory from exploratory in the Stage 2 paper:
   - Use clear labeling: confirmatory (pre-registered) vs exploratory (not pre-registered)
   - Exploratory results are not second-class — they are hypothesis-generating for future registered studies
   - Never present exploratory results as if they were confirmatory

5. Finding Registered Report journals:
   - The Center for Open Science maintains a list of journals offering RR format
   - Consider whether the target journal's RR guidelines match the study timeline

Return: Stage 1 manuscript outline, analysis plan formatted for RR review, and guidance on handling anticipated deviations.