The Digital Experiment Reporting Protocol (DERP)

Transparent reporting is a cornerstone of credible and reproducible research, yet digital experiments—randomized studies conducted in online or computerized environments—often lack clear reporting standards. To address this gap, we adapt and extend the CONSORT Statement, a widely used checklist for clinical trials, to develop a reporting checklist tailored for digital experiments. While the checklist is broadly applicable across disciplines, we demonstrate its relevance through an empirical application to digital experiments published in two leading Information Systems (IS) journals: Information Systems Research and MIS Quarterly. Our analysis reveals substantial shortcomings in reporting quality, with only 43% of the papers providing sufficient detail on core items. These findings highlight the urgent need for standardized reporting in digital experimentation. The proposed checklist offers a practical tool for authors, reviewers, and editors to enhance the transparency, rigor, and replicability of digital experiments.