Advancing Open Science in School Psychology: Opportunities, Innovations, and Future Directions to Support Transparency, Access, and Accountability
Abstract
Open science is a movement to promote increased access to and trust in research and its products. This article introduces a special topic section in School Psychology Review on advancing open science in the field of school psychology. A brief description of the context for open science is provided, followed by an overview of core open science practices: Open Access, Open Data, Open Analysis, Open Materials, and Preregistration. The six articles in the special topic section are presented and discussed in relation to how they advance open science in the field of school psychology. The first two articles are conceptual papers that outline the benefits of open science for the school psychology community; the next two articles are research studies that demonstrate core open science practices; and the final two articles are innovative extensions of open science that outline analytic methods for mitigating questionable research practices. This article also features a discussion of future directions for advancing open science in school psychology, emphasizing the potential value of understanding (a) the prevalence of open science practices in school psychology journals, (b) the effects of open science practices on school psychologists’ perceptions and use of research evidence, and (c) the relationship of open science practices with other professional values that guide the field. We conclude that open science has great promise for school psychology, that there is much opportunity for advancing work in this area, and that school psychologists should be savvy consumers of open science practices and their impact on the field. Impact Statement The six articles in this special topic section reinforce and extend demonstrations of how open science practices can advance research and practice in school psychology. The school psychology community will benefit from learning about the nature of core open science practices, how these practices can be applied to inform the work of school psychologists, as well as potential future directions for advancing this line of work to further benefit the field.
Publication Title
School Psychology Review
Recommended Citation
Renshaw, T., van Dijk, W., Farmer, R., Brown, J., & Jimerson, S. (2025). Advancing Open Science in School Psychology: Opportunities, Innovations, and Future Directions to Support Transparency, Access, and Accountability. School Psychology Review, 54 (4), 433-442. https://doi.org/10.1080/2372966X.2025.2522589
