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. 2018;1(3):403-414.
doi: 10.1177/2515245918754485. Epub 2018 Jul 13.

Writing Empirical Articles: Transparency, Reproducibility, Clarity, and Memorability

Morton Ann Gernsbacher  1
Affiliations

Writing Empirical Articles: Transparency, Reproducibility, Clarity, and Memorability

Morton Ann Gernsbacher. Adv Methods Pract Psychol Sci. 2018.

Abstract

This article provides recommendations for writing empirical journal articles that enable transparency, reproducibility, clarity, and memorability. Recommendations for transparency include preregistering methods, hypotheses, and analyses; submitting registered reports; distinguishing confirmation from exploration; and showing your warts. Recommendations for reproducibility include documenting methods and results fully and cohesively, by taking advantage of open--science tools, and citing sources responsibly. Recommendations for clarity include writing short paragraphs, composed of short sentences; writing comprehensive abstracts; and seeking feedback from a naive audience. Recommendations for memorability include writing narratively; embracing the hourglass shape of empirical articles; beginning articles with a hook; and synthesizing, rather than Mad Libbing, previous literature.

Keywords: articles; open data; open materials; open science; preregistration; registered reports; tutorial; writing.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Conflicting Interests The author(s) declared no conflicts of interest with respect to the authorship or the publication of this article.

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