Preregistration posters

Take your planned research to your next conference to build credibility and get feedback from peers



What are preregistration posters?

The preregistration poster format is a relatively new innovation giving researchers the chance to present planned studies yet to be undertaken, rather than research already completed. They usually contain an introduction setting out the study's context, detail on the methods that will be used to test the hypothesis, and the intended approach for statistical analysis of the results.


Prereg posters supplement the Center of Open Science's preregistration service, offering a useful additional step that researchers can take prior to (or alongside) placing a research plan in a registry - helping to counter publication bias and non-reproducibility, and strengthen credibility in their work. [1] Posters seeking to do similar may be termed slightly differently but are aimed at offering an alternative way of presenting research prior to it being conducted - for example, 'planned studies' posters, or 'non-standard abstract' posters.

Why are they useful?

This new poster format allows neuroscientists to benefit by:


  • providing opportunities for feedback from the neuroscience community on research at a stage when is is arguably most useful
  • increasing opportunities for collaboration with colleagues that become aware of the study early on
  • giving the chance for advice on how to carry out statistical analysis on early data, again countering non-reproducibility of research [2]
  • addressing the issue that abstracts need to be submitted many months prior to their presentation, which can encourage rushed analysis of early results [3]
  • promoting credibility in neuroscience. 
Traditional poster abstract Preregistration poster abstract
Describes work that has already been completed. Describes plans for work that has yet to be carried out.
Includes results/data and conclusions. Does NOT include results/data or conclusions.
Describes the statistical approach that was used for assessing data. Describes the statistical approach that will be used to assess data.

How are prereg posters being received?

BNA2019 was the first large conference to support prereg posters in significant numbers, with nearly a fifth of all presented posters (100/491) in this new format, covering a diverse range of neuroscience topics and disciplines.


Presenters of the prereg posters surveyed after BNA2019 found them to be a useful tool in promoting academic discussion of planned and on-going research, encouraging open science, and benefiting early career researchers. [4]


It's important that where conferences introduce this format, clear information is given to both submitters and reviewers on what prereg posters should contain - we're more than happy to share our own experience with this format from the BNA festivals.

Information about prereg posters for presenters

Will people want to discuss a prereg poster?

BNA2019 was the first large conference to support prereg posters in significant numbers, with nearly a fifth of all presented posters (100/491) in this new format, covering a diverse range of neuroscience topics and disciplines.


Presenters of the prereg posters surveyed after BNA2019 found them to be a useful tool in promoting academic discussion of planned and on-going research, encouraging open science, and benefiting early career researchers. [4]


It's important that where conferences introduce this format, clear information is given to both submitters and reviewers on what prereg posters should contain - we're more than happy to share our own experience with this format from the BNA festivals.


Ok, I'm in. Where can I submit my prereg poster?

We are proud to enable neuroscientists to present their research plans through the prereg poster format at BNA conferences - and will continue to offer this opportunity at BNA2025. You can find out more about posters at BNA2025 and what is required at abstract submission stage by reading our BNA2025 poster abstract submission guidelines.


We're also delighted to see other conferences start to provide opportunities to present prereg posters, and the Center for Open Science has identified ten conferences so far accepting submissions of these (see Allied Initiatives section on the COS website).


What else is the BNA doing to promote use of prereg posters?

In addition to encouraging use of the prereg poster format, we're looking at how we can better identify the format and help people demonstrate their use. The open science badges developed by COS are a great way to help show to others that open science practices have been used, with the view of helping display new community norms. With that in mind, in 2021 we introduced a prereg badge that can be added to accepted posters at conferences using this poster format.  Download the prereg poster badge.

Information and tips for conference organisers wishing to introduce prereg posters to their meeting

How can conference organisers find out more about prereg posters?

If you're organising a conference and thinking about introducing prereg posters, it's worth reading around the topic - and making sure those submitting and reviewing these posters understand how they are intended to be used, and what makes them different to standard conference posters.


See the footnotes below for articles specific to this topic, and the COS website for open science initiatives.


What advice do you have for conference organisers?

Preparation is important, as it's highly likely that researchers submitting a prereg poster will be the first person in their lab group (or university) to submit one, and so they won't be able to simply look at what someone has done before! Please feel free to use the explanatory text and/or abstract submission guidelines that we are using for BNA2025 (in whole or part).  We also recommend the following:

  • Make sure your reviewers are familiar with the concept of preregistration posters. Despite sending information to abstract reviewers beforehand, we still had quite a few reviewers rejecting prereg abstracts on the basis that they lacked results. In future, we will spend more time making sure they know what’s required, how to review them, while allowing time to answer any questions they may have. 
  • Pass on constructive feedback from reviewers - and give presenters the opportunity to improve their abstract before it's accepted. One of the main aims of prereg posters is to get useful input. If you, as an organiser, receive comments from your abstract reviewers which will improve the abstract and/or presentation, then take the time to pass on to the submitter so that they can act on the feedback. Ideally give them the chance to incorporate improvements into their abstract before it is accepted and used in the meeting programme and /or published. 
  • Be prepared to be flexible about what’s actually presented. Prereg posters are likely to vary widely in how much data they actually contain, from no data to a set or sets of results. Although the ideal is to present work that hasn't yet been carried out (so that plans can still be changed), the format of preregistration posters is still at a very early stage of development and it's likely you'll receive a wide range of posters. 

Ok, we're prereg-ready. How can we promote the posters at our conference?

Open Science badges were introduced for journals to acknowledge papers which met criteria for open science practices of sharing data, sharing materials, or that were preregistered. You can do the same by having stickers ready to put on posters which have used these practices, further highlighting preregistration. (We found that getting Open Science stickers on your poster was very popular!).


Also, you can celebrate your preregistration posters - and your standard posters too! If you run a poster competition, consider introducing separate categories for preregistration posters. It's important to celebrate those who are venturing into these new ways of doing research, but it's also important to recognise that they are different from 'traditional' posters which include results, and it wouldn't be fair to include both types in the same category. Celebrate the new and celebrate the not-new too! 


Lastly, let the Center for Open Science know about your prereg posters, so you can be added to the list of conferences using them. 

How are prereg posters being received among researchers?

BNA2019 was the first large conference to support prereg posters in significant numbers, with nearly a fifth of all presented posters (100/491) in this new format, covering a diverse range of neuroscience topics and disciplines.


Presenters of the prereg posters surveyed after BNA2019 found them to be a useful tool in promoting academic discussion of planned and on-going research, encouraging open science, and benefiting early career researchers. [4]


It's important that where conferences introduce this format, clear information is given to both submitters and reviewers on what prereg posters should contain - we're more than happy to share our own experience with this format from the BNA conference.

Ok, I'm in. Where can I submit my prereg poster?

For BNA2021, we're once again looking forward to neuroscientists presenting their research plans through the prereg poster format. You can find out more about how to submit a prereg poster to this by reading our BNA2021 poster abstract submission guidelines.


We're also delighted to see other conferences start to provide opportunities to present prereg posters, and the Center for Open Science has identified ten conferences so far accepting submissions of these (see Allied Initiatives section on the COS website).

What else is the BNA doing to promote use of prereg posters?

In addition to encouraging use of the prereg poster format, we're looking at how we can better identify the format and help people demonstrate their use. The open science badges developed by COS are a great way to help show to others that open science practices have been used, with the view of helping display new community norms. With that in mind, we are looking at introducing a prereg badge at BNA2021 that can be added to accepted posters. 

 

Information for conference organisers

Top

How can conference organisers find out more about prereg posters?

If you're organising a conference and thinking about introducing prereg posters, it's worth reading around the topic - and making sure those submitting and reviewing these posters understand how they are intended to be used, and what makes them different to standard conference posters.


See the footnotes below for articles specific to this topic, and the COS website for open science initiatives.

What advice do you have for conference organisers?

Preparation is important, as it's highly likely that researchers submitting a prereg poster will be the first person in their lab group (or university) to submit one, and so they won't be able to simply look at what someone has done before! Please feel free to

use the explanatory text and/or abstract submission guidelines that we are using for BNA2021 (in whole or part).  We also recommend the following:


  • Make sure your reviewers are familiar with the concept of preregistration posters. Despite sending information to abstract reviewers beforehand, we still had quite a few reviewers rejecting prereg abstracts on the basis that they lacked results. In future, we will spend more time making sure they know what’s required, how to review them, while allowing time to answer any questions they may have. 
  • Pass on constructive feedback from reviewers - and give presenters the opportunity to improve their abstract before it's accepted. One of the main aims of prereg posters is to get useful input. If you, as an organiser, receive comments from your abstract reviewers which will improve the abstract and/or presentation, then take the time to pass on to the submitter so that they can act on the feedback. Ideally give them the chance to incorporate improvements into their abstract before it is accepted and used in the meeting programme and /or published. 
  • Be prepared to be flexible about what’s actually presented. Prereg posters are likely to vary widely in how much data they actually contain, from no data to a set or sets of results. Although the ideal is to present work that hasn't yet been carried out (so that plans can still be changed), the format of preregistration posters is still at a very early stage of development and it's likely you'll receive a wide range of posters. 

Ok, we're prereg-ready. How can we promote the posters at our conference?

Open Science badges were introduced for journals to acknowledge papers which met criteria for open science practices of sharing data, sharing materials, or that were preregistered. You can do the same by having stickers ready to put on posters which have used these practices, further highlighting preregistration. (We found that getting Open Science stickers on your poster was very popular!).


Also, you can celebrate your preregistration posters - and your standard posters too! If you run a poster competition, consider introducing separate categories for preregistration posters. It's important to celebrate those who are venturing into these new ways of doing research, but it's also important to recognise that they are different from 'traditional' posters which include results, and it wouldn't be fair to include both types in the same category. Celebrate the new and celebrate the not-new too! 


Lastly, let the Center for Open Science know about your prereg posters, so you can be added to the list of conferences using them.



Information for prereg poster presenters

Top

  1. Nosek BA et al. The Preregistration Revolution. PNAS, vol. 115 no. 11 2600–2606 (2018). doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1708274114
  2. AMS Symposium Report. Reproducibility and reliability of biomedical research: improving research practice (2015). acmedsci.ac.uk/file-download/38189-56531416e2949.pdf
  3. Tibon R et al. Title TBA: Revising the Abstract Submission Process. Trends Cogn. Sci. Vol. 22, Issue 4, 271-274 (2018). doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2018.01.008
  4. Brouwers K, Cooke A, Chambers CD. et al. Evidence for prereg posters as a platform for preregistration. Nat Hum Behav 4, 884–886 (2020). doi.org/10.1101/833640