SORTEE Position Statements

SORTEE Position on Open Code in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

Open Code is the practice of publicly archiving analysis or software code in a manner that follows Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable (FAIR) guiding principles¹. Public archiving of code permits increased transparency of data processing and analysis, and facilitates computational reproducibility of research results.

The Society for Open, Reliable, and Transparent Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (SORTEE) holds the position that, wherever possible, analysis or software code should be publicly archived in a manner that follows FAIR guiding principles to enable transparent and computationally reproducible research. We encourage journals to require, or at least recommend, Open Code and recruit data editors to assess the quality of archived code and to help authors adhere to journal mandates.

This position is supported by evidence presented in Ivimey-Cook et al. (2026)¹.

¹Ivimey-Cook, E. R., Bairos-Novak, K. R., Morillo, D., Nakagawa, S., Sharapi, J., Takola, E., Pick, J. L. (2026). Open Code in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology: An Evidence-Based Appraisal by SORTEE. Preprint: https://doi.org/10.32942/X27D4F.

SORTEE Position on Pre-registration and Registered Reports in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

A Pre-Registration is a time-stamped, read-only research plan written prior to data collection and analysis¹. This practice aims to increase transparency in the research process and reduce Questionable Research Practices (QRPs) such as p-hacking, cherry-picking, and hypothesizing after the results are known (HARKing). Although pre-registration may not always prevent QRPs (for example, due to authors not disclosing deviations from their research plan), in general, it supports the replicability and reliability of research.

A Registered Report is a type of research article with two stages of peer review¹. The first stage occurs before the research is conducted (similar to pre-registration) and allows reviewers and editors to check the research question, methods, and planned analysis. At this point, the journal can commit to publishing the article once the study is completed, removing the pressure on researchers to produce significant results. The second stage of review occurs after the study is complete. This allows reviewers and editors to check the research was conducted as planned and that any deviations from the research plan are justified. By integrating the advantages of pre-registration and peer review, Registered Reports support reducing QRPs, research waste and publication bias.

The Society for Open, Reliable, and Transparent Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (SORTEE) actively supports transparency and scientific practices that improve research quality by reducing QRPs, research waste, and publication bias. SORTEE therefore holds the position of supporting the use of pre-registration and Registered Reports and encourages journals to implement the Registered Reports article type. This position is supported by evidence presented in Pick et al. (2026)¹.

¹Pick, J. L., Takola, E., Bairos-Novak, K. R., Ivimey-Cook, E. R., Morillo, D., Nakagawa, S., & Sharapi, J. (2026). Pre-registration and Registered Reports in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology: An Evidence-Based Appraisal by SORTEE. Preprint: https://doi.org/10.32942/X2C37Q.