Rigor and reproducibility for data analysis and design in the study of eating disorders.

OBJECTIVE

Incorporating open science practices has become a priority for submission criteria in the International Journal of Eating Disorders (IJED). In this systematic review, we used the rigor and reproducibility framework developed by Hildebrandt and Prenoveau (2020) to examine the implementation of statistically sound open science principles in IJED, determining whether the cost and effort of incorporating these practices ultimately make research more likely to be cited.

METHOD

For this systematic review, six trained coders examined 1145 articles published from January 2011 to May 2021, including the 5 years prior to the 2016 introduction of the Open Science Foundation article preregistration. We coded for the presence or absence of 10 specific open science elements and calculated citation metrics for each article.

RESULTS

There was evidence of a significant positive relationship between time and total rigor and reproducibility (Total RR) criteria included in IJED articles following the implementation of preregistration in 2016. For every increase in year from 2011 to 2016, there was a .14 decrease in Total RR criteria. From 2016 to 2021, there was a .42 increase per volume in Total RR criteria. There was no statistically significant relationship between Total RR criteria and citation impact.

DISCUSSION

Although findings indicate that statistical rigor and reproducibility in this field has increased, the lack of direct relationship between open science methods and article visibility for scientists suggests that there is a limited incentive for researchers to participate in reporting guidelines.

PUBLIC SIGNIFICANCE

Statistical controversies within science threaten the rigor and reproducibility of published research. Open science practices, including the preregistration of study hypotheses, links to statistical code, and explicit data-sharing arguably generate reliable and valid inferences. This review illustrates the rigor and reproducibility of articles published in IJED between 2011 and 2021 and identifies whether open sciences practices have become increasingly prevalent in eating disorder research.