Created by the Policy Design and Evaluation Lab (PDEL) at UCSD, this teaching module was developed to demonstrate the credibility crisis in the social sciences caused by a variety of incentives and practices at both the disciplinary and individual levels, and provide practical steps for researchers to improve the credibility of their work throughout the lifecycle of a project. It is intended for use in graduate-level social science methodology courses—including those in political science, economics, sociology, and psychology—at UCSD and beyond.

These materials were developed as part of a BITSS Catalyst Training Project “Creating Pedagogical Materials to Enhance Research Transparency at UCSD” led by Catalysts Scott Desposato and Craig McIntosh along with Julia Clark, PhD candidate at UCSD.