In her preprint titled “Improving transparency in observational social science research: A pre-analysis plan approach”, Fiona Burlig (University of Chicago) presents three scenarios in which study preregistration and pre-analysis plans (PAPs) can be credibly applied in non-experimental settings: cases where researchers collect their own data; prospective studies; and research using restricted-access data. The preprint also includes suggested contents for observational PAPs, and highlights where observational PAPs should deviate from those designed for experimental research.

This work was also published in the journal Economics Letters.