Methodological Variability and Reporting in the Delay Discounting Paradigm: A Meta-Method Review

Delay discounting tasks (DDTs) are widely used to assess preferences between smaller-sooner and larger-later outcomes. A range of task procedures and scoring methods has been described in the literature. This project aims to systematically document the methodological variability of DDTs reported in the empirical literature. Using standardized coding procedures, a predefined codebook, and detailed coding instructions, methodological characteristics of DDT procedures and scoring approaches will be extracted from a random sample of 30 eligible studies indentified through a systematic literature search. Coding will be performed at the level of methodologically distinct DDT procedures within each publication. The codebooks and coding instructions are provided as part of this registration to ensure transparency and reproducibility. The outcome of this project will be a structured overview of the methodological characteristics of DDTs used in empirical research, with the aim of improving transparency and facilitating comparisons across studies.