Do Open Science Badges Increase Trust in Scientists among Undergraduates, Scientists, and the Public?

The Replication Crisis diminishes trust in empirical sciences and with it the perceived value of science (Lupia, 2018, 10.1007/978-3-319-54395-6_41). Open Science Practices (i.a. open data, open analysis script, open materials) are an increasingly popular approach to deal with challenges in replication and to rebuilt trust (Geukes et al, 2016, 10.1026/1612-5010/a000167). First investigations could, however, deliver no evidence toward the effect of Open Science Practices (OSP) on trustworthiness (Wingen, Berkessel & Englich, 2019, 10.31219/osf.io/4ukq5). The study investigated the effect on a discipline level (psychology) with an abstract description of OSP. Within the ongoing discussion about incentives for OSP (e.g. badges for OSP), we want to shift the focus from discipline level to concrete individual journal articles and consider epistemic beliefs of readers to play a role (Merk & Rosman, 2018, 10.31219/osf.io/cduqe): Will visible OSP (vs. not visible vs. visibly non-OSP) foster perceived trustworthiness when reading journal articles of empirical studies? Will multiplistic epistemic beliefs moderate the relationship between OSP and trustworthiness?

As a response to the replication crisis, reforms call for the implementation of open science standards. In this regard, open science badges are a promising method to signal a study’s adherence to open science practices (OSP). In three experimental studies, we investigated whether badges on journal article title pages affect trust in scientists.

As a response to the replication crisis, reforms call for the implementation of open science standards. In this regard, open science badges are a promising method to signal a study’s adherence to open science practices (OSP). In three experimental studies, we investigated whether badges on journal article title pages affect trust in scientists.

As a response to the replication crisis, reforms call for the implementation of open science standards. In this regard, open science badges are a promising method to signal a study’s adherence to open science practices (OSP). In three experimental studies, we investigated whether badges on journal article title pages affect trust in scientists.

This study is an expansion to a prior study of Schneider et al. (2020, http://dx.doi.org/10.23668/psycharchives.3364), in which we investigated the effects of open science badges in journal articles on trust in scientists. Since college students are a population that engage with scientific studies on a regular basis, the sample of the first study focused on this population. Among other results, the study revealed an effect of open science badges on trust in scientists. In two expansion studies we investigate the robustness of the effects over other populations (external validity). This study expands the investigation to include a sample of the public in the United Kingdom.