Advancing Open Science Principles and Practices in Gambling Research
Session Title
Session 3-3-C: Research Perspectives
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation
Location
Park MGM, Las Vegas, NV
Start Date
25-5-2023 1:30 PM
End Date
25-5-2023 3:00 PM
Disciplines
Medicine and Health Sciences | Social and Behavioral Sciences
Abstract
Abstract: Researchers around the world have begun adopting open science research practices to improve scientific rigor, increase transparency, and mitigate the harmful effects of research strategies focused on publishing statistically significant novel effects. Such efforts include strategies like research pre-registration, registered reports, and open data, materials, and publication. Open science practices such as these increase the replicability of published papers and bolster confidence in published research. They also accelerate scientific research by providing easy access to resources needed for assessing the reproducibility of findings and testing new original research questions. This presentation will review the basics of open science principles and practices, their value to industry-funded gambling research, and recent research about open science practices in published gambling studies. Without a sharp turn toward open science, gambling research risks the follies of related fields, including poor replicability of published research findings. Recent open science studies include descriptions of gambling stakeholders' use and views of open science, scoping reviews of open science practices in published papers, and examinations of researchers’ adherence to open science practices. Although such practices currently are limited in gambling research, evidence suggests several areas of promise, including open science uptake and recognition of the importance of research replicability.
Implications: Open science principles and practices can increase the transparency, rigor, and replicability of gambling studies research. Consideration of the state of open science practices among gambling studies is important to efforts to understand the quality of published research, which has implications for practical outcomes like prevention, treatment, policy, and regulation.
Keywords
open science pre-registration registered reports open data open access
Funding Sources
Entain PLC (formally GVC Holdings PLC), a sports betting and gambling company, provided primary funding for this research. Entain had no involvement in the research. The Division on Addiction receives additional funding from a variety of federal, state, local, and private sources, as described on https://www.divisiononaddiction.org/funding-statement/.
Competing Interests
All Division on Addiction funders are listed on https://www.divisiononaddiction.org/funding-statement/. The author declares no conflicts of interest. During the past five years, Debi A. LaPlante has served as a paid grant reviewer for the National Center for Responsible Gaming (NCRG; now International Center for Responsible Gaming), received travel funds, speaker honoraria, and a scientific achievement award from the ICRG, has received speaker honoraria and travel support from the National Collegiate Athletic Association, received honoraria funds for preparation of a book chapter from Universite Laval and for an invited Raschkowan webinar from McGill University, received publication royalty fees from the American Psychological Association, and received course royalty fees from the Harvard Medical School Department of Continuing Education. Dr. LaPlante was a non-paid member of the Conscious Gaming advisory board and is a non-paid member of the New Hampshire Council for Responsible Gambling.
Advancing Open Science Principles and Practices in Gambling Research
Park MGM, Las Vegas, NV
Abstract: Researchers around the world have begun adopting open science research practices to improve scientific rigor, increase transparency, and mitigate the harmful effects of research strategies focused on publishing statistically significant novel effects. Such efforts include strategies like research pre-registration, registered reports, and open data, materials, and publication. Open science practices such as these increase the replicability of published papers and bolster confidence in published research. They also accelerate scientific research by providing easy access to resources needed for assessing the reproducibility of findings and testing new original research questions. This presentation will review the basics of open science principles and practices, their value to industry-funded gambling research, and recent research about open science practices in published gambling studies. Without a sharp turn toward open science, gambling research risks the follies of related fields, including poor replicability of published research findings. Recent open science studies include descriptions of gambling stakeholders' use and views of open science, scoping reviews of open science practices in published papers, and examinations of researchers’ adherence to open science practices. Although such practices currently are limited in gambling research, evidence suggests several areas of promise, including open science uptake and recognition of the importance of research replicability.
Implications: Open science principles and practices can increase the transparency, rigor, and replicability of gambling studies research. Consideration of the state of open science practices among gambling studies is important to efforts to understand the quality of published research, which has implications for practical outcomes like prevention, treatment, policy, and regulation.