Prestigious scientific journals traditionally decide which articles to accept at least partially based on the results of research. This backloaded selectivity enforces publication bias and encourages authors to selectively report their most persuasive findings, even when they are misleading, biased, and unreliable. One answer to backloaded selectivity is to curtail editorial selectivity altogether, deciding publication on the basis of technical merit alone. However, this strategy is unlikely to win appeal among highly selective journals. A third way is to frontload selectivity—reaching editorial decisions based on rigorous evaluation of the research question and methodology but before the research is conducted and thus regardless of the eventual results. This model, now offered at PLOS Biology in the form of “Preregistered Research Articles” (or Registered Reports), allows a scientific journal to maintain high selectivity for the importance and rigor of research while simultaneously eliminating outcome bias by editors, reviewers, and authors. I believe the rise of Registered Reports among selective journals will change how research is evaluated and may trigger the realization that frontloaded selectivity is the most secure way of advancing knowledge.

传统上，著名的科学期刊至少会根据研究结果来决定接受哪些文章。这种背负的选择性增加了出版物的偏见，并鼓励作者有选择地报告他们最有说服力的发现，即使它们具有误导性，偏见和不可靠。解决选择性问题的一种方法是完全减少社论的选择性，仅根据技术优点决定出版。但是，这种策略不太可能在高度挑剔的期刊中赢得吸引力。第三种方法是提前选择-根据对研究问题和方法的严格评估，在研究进行之前就做出编辑决定，因此无论最终结果如何。现在，PLOS Biology提供了这种模型以“预注册研究文章”（或注册报告）的形式，使科学期刊可以对研究的重要性和严谨性保持高度选择性，同时消除编辑，审稿人和作者的结果偏见。我相信精选期刊中注册报告的兴起将改变研究的评估方式，并可能触发人们认识到，最前沿的选择性是提升知识的最安全方式。