ReportingStandardsforResearchinPsychology.pdfVIP

Reporting Standards for Research in Psychology Why Do We Need Them? What Might They Be? APA Publications and Communications Board Working Group on Journal Article Reporting Standards In anticipation of the impending revision of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, APA’s Publications and Communications Board formed the Working Group on Journal Article Reporting Standards (JARS) and charged it to provide the board with background and recommendations on information that should be included in manuscripts submitted to APA journals that report (a) new data collections and (b) meta-analyses. The JARS Group reviewed efforts in related ?elds to develop standards and sought input from other knowledgeable groups. The resulting recommendations contain (a) standards for all journal articles, (b) more speci?c standards for reports of studies with experimental manipulations or evaluations of interventions using research designs involving random or nonrandom assignment, and (c) standards for articles reporting meta-analyses. The JARS Group anticipated that standards for reporting other research designs (e.g., observational studies, longitudinal studies) would emerge over time. This report also (a) examines societal developments that have encouraged researchers to provide more details when reporting their studies, (b) notes important differences between requirements, standards, and recommendations for reporting, and (c) examines bene?ts and obstacles to the development and implementation of reporting standards. Keywords: reporting standards, research methods, metaanalysis The American Psychological Association (APA) Working Group on Journal Article Reporting Standards (the JARS Group) arose out of a request for information from the APA Publications and Communications Board. The Publications and Communications Board had previously allowed any APA journal editor to require that a submission labeled by an author as describing a randomized clinical trial con