Once the Ministry agreed with the design of the study, the researchers sent it to the Journal of Accounting Research as what is referred to as a registered report study. These are studies that for which the design is first submitted to a journal. As soon as the journal has issued its approval, the researchers are permitted to start collecting data and write their report. If this is done properly, you are virtually assured of publication.

Enhancing research integrity

The design contains the theories to be tested, definitions of the variables, a detailed description of the data collection procedure and an exact results of the analyses. The researchers are not permitted to deviate from these procedures when conducting their study and this method enhances research integrity. This approach is regarded as an effective way of preventing  experimental manipulation and it is slowly being being incorporated in top-tier journals.