A growing number of scientific publications are allowing authors to preregister their experiments to improve the transparency and quality of results. We asked introductory biology lab students to complete a preregistration-style activity by submitting a series of narrated PowerPoint slides. Students were given an experimental question about cell signaling to investigate, as well as a summary of a previous experiment that served as a model for the experimental setup. Students were asked to describe what experiment they would design (including data collection and statistical analysis) and the possible outcomes. Then, for each outcome, they were asked to discuss the results from their analysis that would match that outcome, and to interpret what the results mean in the context of the experimental question. This lab activity was done remotely so students were not able to conduct the proposed experiment. We believe a preregistration approach to scientific work eventually conducted in an in-person lab setting would be just as valuable.
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