About this Research Topic
Throughout the last decade, social sciences have undergone a credibility revolution that involves increasing adoption of open science practices (e.g., preregistration, sharing data and materials, showing sensitivity to nonsignificant findings). In this spirit, we are pleased to invite submissions for a Research Topic in Frontiers in Social Psychology on “Insights into unexpected research findings”, broadly defined. The Research Topic will serve as an outlet for social and personality psychology findings that might not otherwise see the light of day, including, but not limited to, results that contradict the initial hypothesis, a surprising moderator or pattern of moderation, and (provided statistical power is sufficient and methods are sound) unanticipated null effects.
In creating this Research Topic, our primary goal is to increase transparent communication and dialogue among social and personality psychologists about findings that were not predicted a priori. Just as it is critical to ensure that hypothesized findings are robust and published, it is also important to make space for findings that run counter to original predictions. Doing so would enable our field to continue discussions about these findings and, potentially, reduce pluralistic ignorance about which results are and are not replicable. That is, if one researcher has a set of results they cannot explain and dismisses the results as a fluke, they may never know whether the same has happened to other researchers.
We welcome submissions of empirical research articles in all areas of social and personality psychology, using any type or combination of methodologies. We will prioritize submissions that are theoretically and methodologically robust with sufficient statistical power, as well as submissions that address more than one research question. We encourage authors to be thorough but concise in reporting results and suggest a 5000-word maximum for submissions (excluding references, tables, and figures).
In creating this Research Topic, our primary goal is to increase transparent communication and dialogue among social and personality psychologists about findings that were not predicted a priori. Just as it is critical to ensure that hypothesized findings are robust and published, it is also important to make space for findings that run counter to original predictions. Doing so would enable our field to continue discussions about these findings and, potentially, reduce pluralistic ignorance about which results are and are not replicable. That is, if one researcher has a set of results they cannot explain and dismisses the results as a fluke, they may never know whether the same has happened to other researchers.
We welcome submissions of empirical research articles in all areas of social and personality psychology, using any type or combination of methodologies. We will prioritize submissions that are theoretically and methodologically robust with sufficient statistical power, as well as submissions that address more than one research question. We encourage authors to be thorough but concise in reporting results and suggest a 5000-word maximum for submissions (excluding references, tables, and figures).
Keywords: social psychology, personality psychology, open science, unexpected, counterintuitive, surprising
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
