Editorial

J Exp Psychol Learn Mem Cogn. 2019 Feb;45(2):193-195. doi: 10.1037/xlm0000688.

Abstract

This editorial nudges contributors to Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition (JEP:LMC) in the direction of producing more replicable and reproducible research. This will mean little to no change in practice for many researchers. For others, it will mean paying closer attention to, and being more transparent about, issues of design and analysis. The author would like the journal to provide more tools but few proscriptions for researchers to improve rigor. He encourages author to make data, materials, and analysis scripts openly available when it is feasible to do so. Registered reports are a type of article in which much of the review process and editorial decisions occur prior to data collection. The goal of this editorial policy is to select papers that are valuable by virtue of their rigorous methodology rather than exciting results. Other than Registered Reports, there will no longer be different article types in JEP:LMC. Sections of the journal indicating brief reports, observations, or commentary were appropriate in an era when issues of journals were read. JEP:LMC can remain a standard bearer for high-quality research in cognitive psychology in these heady times. The journal has successfully weathered its collective exuberance over splashy findings and the consequent turn to shorter and shorter articles. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

MeSH terms

  • Cognition*
  • Humans
  • Learning*
  • Periodicals as Topic*
  • Publishing*