Understanding the exploratory/confirmatory data analysis continuum: Moving beyond the “replication crisis”.

In light of the "replication crisis," some advocate for stricter standards and greater transparency in research methods. These efforts push toward a data analysis approach called "confirmatory data analysis" (CDA; see Wagenmakers et al., 2012). However, some (e.g., Baumeister, 2016; Goldin-Meadow, 2016) suggest that emphasizing CDA may restrict creativity and discovery. These scholars argued (sometimes inadvertently) for greater freedom to...