Constraints on Generality (COG)
Definition: A statement that explicitly identifies and justifies the target population, and conditions, for the reported findings. Researchers should be explicit about potential boundary conditions for their generalisations (Simons et al., 2017). Researchers should provide detailed descriptions of the sampled population and/or contextual factors that might have affected the results such that future replication attempts can take these factors into account (Brandt et al., 2014). Conditions not explicitly listed are assumed not to have theoretical relevance to the replicability of the effect.
Related terms: BIZARRE, Diversity, Equity, Generalizability, Inclusion, Reproducibility, Replication, STRANGE, WEIRD
References:
- Busse, C., Kach, A. P., & Wagner, S. M. (2017). Boundary Conditions: What They Are, How to Explore Them, Why We Need Them, and When to Consider Them. Organizational Research Methods, 20(4), 574â609. https://doi.org/10.1177/1094428116641191
- Brandt, M. J., IJzerman, H., Dijksterhuis, A., Farach, F. J., Geller, J., Giner-Sorolla, R., & others. (2014). The replication recipe: What makes for a convincing replication? Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 50, 217â224. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2013.10.005
- Simons, D. J., Shoda, Y., & Lindsay, D. S. (2017). Constraints on generality (COG): A proposed addition to all empirical papers. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 12(6), 1123â1128. https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691617708630
- Yarkoni, T. (2020). The generalizability crisis. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 1â37. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0140525X20001685
Drafted and Reviewed by: Mahmoud Elsherif, Ali H. Al-Hoorie, Jamie P. Cockcroft, Sam Parsons, Charlotte R. Pennington, Timo Roettger