Accelerating addiction research via Open Science and Team Science

The replication crisis of the past decade has taught us that our literature is severely biased. Many empirical findings underlying our theories cannot be replicated. Although the extent of this problem in addiction science is largely unknown, given several factors we discuss in this chapter (e.g., publication bias), there is little reason to believe that replicability in addiction research is any better. Based on meta-science performed over the past decade, we propose that addiction researchers use Open Science and Team Science practices to improve the replicability of their work and thus reduce the bias in the literature and increase the credibility of our field. We walk the reader through six concrete steps necessary for successful implementation of Open Science and Team Science within the field of addiction research. These steps include, (1) preregister; (2) share data, code, and materials; (3) replicate; (4) train Open Science; (5) change the culture and incentivize Open Science; and (6) collaborate in large teams. We discuss evidence supporting the effectiveness of these practices and highlight some limitations and counterpoints to our proposal.

In Psychology of Learning and Motivation