Open Research Europe presents an interview with European Research Council (ERC) grantee Veli-Matti Karhulahti, one of the co-authors of ‘A primer for choosing, designing and evaluating Registered Reports for qualitative methods’ published in ORE’s Research Ethics and Integrity Collection. Read on to learn about their Method Article and why they chose Open Research Europe to publish their work.
How would you summarize your Method Article?
Historically, scientific studies have been submitted to research journals and peer reviewed after research is completed. However, this convention is not always optimal.
In peer review, research is scrutinized by external experts, which often leads to various changes in the published study. When these changes concern data and methodology, it may not be possible to implement them because the study is already completed — one cannot change the past.
Therefore, it would be more optimal to split the peer review process into two stages: the pre- and post-study stages. This two-step publication format, known as Registered Reports, has recently become common in positive and quantitative research.
In our Method Article, we outline how Registered Reports can be used to benefit research using qualitative methods as well.
What inspired you to investigate this?
My co-authors and I are involved in an ERC-funded project called ‘An Ontological Reconstruction of Gaming Disorder: A Qualitative Meta-Phenomenological Foundation’, and one aspect of this project is to explore and expand the opportunities for using open science practices in qualitative research.
And, as part of the project, we were involved in putting together some qualitative Registered Reports. Although there was a lot of literature on Registered Reports, it was mostly aimed at quantitative methods and not always applicable to qualitative methods.
So, there was a need to develop practical guidelines aimed at qualitative and exploratory studies.
Why is Open Research important to you and your co-authors?
Open Research is a way to improve the process of knowledge generation and sharing. Increasing awareness of the diverse open research practices available to researchers can make them more accessible and actionable, levelling up the overall quality of research in the long run.
However, I would say that the open research movement does have its limitations and should be applied wisely.
What motivated you to publish with Open Research Europe?
A unique feature of Open Research Europe is that published studies can be updated and re-reviewed in the light of new information. That is a huge benefit for guidelines like the ones presented in our Method Article, which are currently based on limited experiences and act as a starting point.
As we learn more about using Registered Reports for qualitative research and more of these reports are published, we can later expand and update the primer, thus keeping it relevant for all future readers.
What are the next steps of your research?
We look forward to continuing discussions around new academic publication models and their suitability for diverse methodological traditions, and expanding and updating these guidelines as things progress more widely.
We want to thank Veli-Matti for taking the time to contribute their thoughts to the blog. Read the full Method Article today on Open Research Europe to explore the study and its findings in more depth.
