In collaboration with the Association for the Scientific Study of Consciousness, and with funding from the Templeton World Charity Foundation (TWCF), we are very excited to announce the launch of a new initiative focused on increasing the use of Registered Reports in the field of consciousness research. Through a competitive grant process, a total of $1.125M USD will be awarded to consciousness researchers who use the Registered Reports process to publish their papers in participating journals.
A growing movement to address problematic practices in research and academic publishing has been spreading across disciplines for years and as a result, open science practices have been increasing in practice and popularity. With the support of this TWCF funding, the consciousness research community could be the next field to champion practices like preregistration, data and study materials sharing, and Registered Reports to increase transparency, reproducibility, and integrity in their research. The Registered Reports publishing model, especially, could create a reverberating impact in consciousness research since the format emphasizes the importance of the research question, the quality of the methodology, and focuses on reducing publication bias.
"Registered reports are a great way to help us gain confidence in research publications. This is important for complex topics like consciousness because they include so much uncertainty. The stakes are high, so the standards should be as well." said Dawid Potgieter, Director of Programs in Discovery Science at TWCF.
The Center for Open Science will begin accepting grant applications on April 4, 2022. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until the funds are exhausted or until summer 2023. It is anticipated that 30-75 projects will be funded through this initiative, with grants that range from $15,000 USD to $20,000 USD (individual cap for exceptional proposals at $50,000 USD). After receiving confirmation of eligibility from the Center for Open Science, projects funded through this initiative will submit at participating journals using the Registered Reports model and will engage in other open science practices such as preregistration and open sharing of data, code, and materials.
Additionally, join us for the Funding Consciousness Research with Registered Reports informational webinar on April 28, 2022, 10:30am EDT. COS’s David Mellor will give an overview of COS’s new initiative to fund consciousness research through Registered Reports. Zoltan Dienes, Registered Reports Editor at Neuroscience of Consciousness, will discuss the relevance of Registered Reports in consciousness research. The webinar will include application information, eligibility details, timelines, and a question and answer session.
Applicants can learn more about the project, eligibility, and submission criteria at https://www.cos.io/consciousness.
Proposals will be reviewed on a rolling basis.
This project was made possible through the support of a grant from Templeton World Charity Foundation, Inc. The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Templeton World Charity Foundation, Inc.
