Study Registration and Data Management

Open science practice involves three distinct pre-collection commitments: study pre-registration, mandatory clinical trial registration, and a data management plan.

Pre-registration

OSF provides the primary infrastructure for study pre-registration, through which researchers commit designs and hypotheses before data collection, reducing publication bias. Registered Reports is a journal format in which acceptance is conditional on study design quality decided before data collection rather than on results. Pre-registration is not mandated for most non-clinical research but is actively encouraged by cOAlition S signatories.

Clinical trial registration

For clinical trials, registration before first patient enrolment is legally mandatory. ClinicalTrials.gov is the primary global registry. CTIS is mandatory for trials under EU clinical trials legislation.

Data management plans

A data management plan (DMP) is a document specifying where and how research data will be stored, described, and shared. The key decision is making repository and format choices before collection begins, because these choices affect consent wording and acquisition from the outset. The tool used is determined by the funder and institution: OPIDoR for ANR-funded projects in France, DMPTool for US-based researchers, DMP Online for UK-funded research, and the ARGOS service via OpenAIRE for Horizon Europe grantees. RDMkit provides comprehensive lifecycle guidance navigable by domain and country. For structural guidance on what a DMP should contain, the Science Europe Practical Guide to the International Alignment of Research Data Management is widely adopted across European funders as a model template. For the specific requirements of your funder or country, see the relevant geographic perspective.

For a practical guide from consent through to data deposit, see Sharing your data.