“Royal Society Open Science has been in the vanguard of efforts to expand the availability of Registered Reports as a journal article type. The journal began offering Registered Reports in 2015 (not long after the journal itself launched in 2014), and in 2018 we launched a modified version of the format to more easily accommodate Replication studies, as part of our Accountable Replication Policy. Now, in April 2021, we take our next step in promoting Registered Reports (RRs) by welcoming the submission of Stage 2 Registered Reports that have been reviewed and recommended by the Peer Community In (PCI) Registered Reports platform.

PCI Registered Reports is a non-profit, non-commercial platform that coordinates the peer review of Registered Report preprints. Once the submissions are accepted following peer review (or in PCI terms “recommended”), the completed Stage 2 Registered Report is posted at the preprint server where the preprint is hosted, and the peer reviews and recommendation of the preprint are posted at the PCI RR website. Following the completion of peer review, authors have the option to publish their articles in a growing list of “PCI RR-friendly” journals that have committed to accepting PCI Registered Report recommendations without further peer review. …”