International Winter School 2025: The 4 Ms

Meta-research, Measurement, Multi-lab, and Multiverse data analysis in Behavioral Sciences

For five days in February, the University of Padua’s School of Psychology hosted the International Winter School 2025: The 4Ms. From February 17 to 21, 31 participants from 15 countries came together to strengthen their skills in what has become a central concern in psychological science: ensuring research is rigorous, reliable and transparent. The “4Ms” — Meta-research, Measurement, Multi-lab and Multiverse data analysis — reflect both the challenges and the opportunities facing behavioral science today. Against the backdrop of the Replication Crisis, the program addressed methodological issues that have raised questions about the credibility of published findings. Leading international scholars, including Dorothy Bishop (University of Oxford), Daniël Lakens (Eindhoven University of Technology), Jessica Flake (University of British Columbia), Ulrich Schimmack (University of Toronto) and Lisa DeBruine (University of Glasgow), joined Italian colleagues to deliver lectures, workshops and applied sessions. Participants welcomed the balance between theory and practice, with sessions ranging from psychometric validity to multiverse analysis, a technique designed to test how robust results remain across different analytic choices. Outside the classroom, a guided tour of the historic Palazzo Bo and a social dinner at Caffè Pedrocchi offered space for informal exchange and networking.

Feedback from attendees was strongly positive. Many emphasized not only the technical skills acquired but also the value of adopting a more collaborative and open approach to science. Organizers, led by Enrico Toffalini (Department of General Psychology) and Gianmarco Altoé (Department of Developmental and Social Psychology) together with the Psicostat Core Team, are already planning future editions. “The strong interest we saw this year confirms the need for training in open science and advanced methods - Toffalini noted - our aim is to build on this momentum, bringing in new international speakers and expanding the range of workshops”. With its combination of scientific depth, international participation and the welcoming setting of Padua, the Winter School 4Ms offered a model of how universities can help shape not only research practices but also the broader culture of science.