Agreeing to the rules before seeing where the chips fall: How to guarantee that null findings are meaningful

Though replicability is a core value of science, we are rewarded for statistically significant, unexpected findings. This results in a well documented publication bias and a scientific literature that is not reproducible. By evaluating methodology before results are known, we can address the highest barrier to the acceptance of null results: discriminating between true negatives and improperly conducted research. Such a format will also permit us to begin to address the three mutually exclusive explanations for “failed” replications: hidden moderators, changing ecological systems, and spurious conclusions drawn from type 1 errors.