Peer Review Guidance to Address Selective Reporting in Single-Case Experimental Design Research

Questionable research practices (QRPs) inject bias into single-case experimental design (SCED) research. A prominent QRP is selective reporting, the omission or selective depiction of data or research procedures to inflate the appearance of positive experimental effects. Open and transparent research practices, including clear and appropriate research questions, transparent procedural reporting, and unbiased outcomes reporting, provide evidence that researchers have taken steps to avoid selective reporting in SCED. Peer reviewers have substantial influence in evaluating whether submitted articles reflect these practices. We provide explicit guidance for peer reviewers to appraise how SCED research articles submitted for publication reflect open and transparent reporting as well as describe ways in which clear and constructive feedback to authors can reduce QRPs in behavior science research.