Examples
Worked examples
- Is an instance
A Stage 2 publication reporting a null effect, accepted because the Stage 1 protocol was followed
Counter-examples
Looks similar, but isn't
- Not an instance
A paper that was not preceded by Stage 1 acceptance is not a Stage 2 results paper, regardless of its quality
Editorial commentary
A Stage-2 results paper is the completed manuscript submitted after data collection under a Registered Reports arrangement — containing the actual results, discussion, and any exploratory analyses that go beyond the pre-registered plan, clearly labelled as exploratory rather than confirmatory. Its peer review is deliberately narrow: reviewers check adherence to the accepted Stage 1 protocol and the soundness of the conclusions drawn — not whether the results themselves are positive, novel, or statistically significant. A Stage 2 paper cannot legitimately be rejected because its findings were null or unexpected, since the in-principle acceptance granted at Stage 1 is a binding commitment.
How this differs from Stage 1 and from ordinary results papers
Unlike a conventional results paper, a Stage 2 submission’s acceptance was already substantially decided before the data existed — the Stage 1 review is where the scientific gatekeeping happened. Deviations from the registered Stage 1 plan must be transparently disclosed, and any additional analyses not specified in advance must be clearly flagged as exploratory so readers can distinguish confirmatory from post-hoc findings.
Example
A Stage 2 publication reporting a statistically null primary result, accepted for publication because the accepted Stage 1 protocol was followed faithfully — a direct structural counter-measure to publication bias against null findings.
Also known as
Stage 2 RR · RR Stage 2
Machine-readable encodings
Use in your systems
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"datePublished": "2026-05-21T02:04:23",
"dateModified": "2026-08-22T15:29:12",
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