The ongoing transformation of science towards Open Science is aimed to promote rigor, transparency and reproducibility of scientific research, with a view to guarantee credibility and enhance trust. Preregistration – the a priori registration of study designs and analysis plans in open repositories – is arguably one of the most challenging and potentially transformative Open Science practices. Preregistration has long been established as standard practice in clinical research and more recently is increasingly taken up in many other fields. In animal research, however, preregistration is still far from being widespread. Although study registries for animal studies exist (e.g. animalstudyregistry.org, preclinicaltrials.eu), there appear to be some reservations towards the use of preregistration among the animal research community (Heinl et al., 2022). Moreover, the relevance, applicability, and implementation of preregistration has not yet been properly analysed for animal research. With the rapid development of the Open Science movement and increasing calls for stakeholders (authorities, funders, publishers, and research institutions) setting policies for Open Science practices, including preregistration, there is a risk of changing policies too far or prematurely, before the potential benefits and costs for innovation and quality of research, and the practical implications of preregistration have been understood by all involved parties.
The overall objective of this feasibility study is to examine the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of preregistration in animal research. We will use a mixed-methods approach, including a scoping review of the existing literature on preregistration, as well as a survey, semi-structured interviews, and targeted workshops involving all relevant stakeholders, to provide insights of appropriate application, which could inform future policies and infrastructures when implementing preregistration in animal research.