December 5, 2025

JEP:HPP Is TOP: Editorial policies for transparency and openness in publishing.

Key Points

Editorial policies drive the adoption of open science practices, enhancing transparency in published articles.
Almost 100% compliance with sample size justification occurred after policy changes were implemented.
The journal adopted Transparency and Openness in Publishing guidelines to boost open practices between 2022 and 2023.
These changes highlight the significant role editorial reforms can play in ensuring replicability and transparency.

Abstract

The Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance is commemorating its 50th anniversary. To celebrate, this commentary examines the adoption of open science practices as a function of the editorial policies implemented in the journal over a period of 8 years (2016-2023). Between 2016 and 2017, no open science policy was in effect. Accordingly, the rates of materials/data/code sharing and preregistration were nearly zero in published articles. In 2018, policy changed requiring sample size justification and recommending the inclusion of open science practices. This produced almost 100% sample size justification compliance between 2019 and 2020 and an increase in the adoption of all open science practices. Finally, in 2021, the journal adopted the Transparency and Openness in Publishing guidelines. Between 2022 and 2023, the adoption of all open science practices further increased, with over 88% of articles sharing their data and about half sharing the analysis code. This analysis shows that editorial policies can have a pivotal role in driving authors toward more transparent and replicable practices in their published articles. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).

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