Peer review And Psychology And The Economy

What is peer review?

The assesment of scientific work by others who are specialists in the same field.

What does peer review ensure?

That any research intended for publication is og high quality.

What is the economy?

The state of a country or region in terms of the production and consumption of goods and services.

What is the aim of science?

To produce a body of knowledge through conducting research. What matters is how this knowledge is communicated within the scientific community, and to the wider public.

In psychology, how are research findings publicised?

Through conferences, textbooks, but most often via academic journals.

Before a piece of research can become part of a journal, what must it be subject to a process of?

Peer review.

What does peer review involve?

All aspects of the written investigation being scrutinised by a small group of ususally two or three experts (‘peers‘) in the particular field.

What must the experts conducting peer review be?

Objective and unknown to the author or researcher.

What are the three main aims of peer review?

1. To allocate research funding.

2. To validate the quality and relevance of research.

3. To suggest amendments or improvements.

What is meant by allocating research funding?

Independent peer evaluation also takes place to decide whether or not to award funding for a proposed research project. This may br co-ordinated by government-run funding organisations.

What is meant by validating the quality and relevance of research?

All elements of research are assesed for quality and accuracy: the formulation of hypotheses, the methodology chosen, the statistica tests used and the conclusions drawn.

What is meant by suggesting amendemnts or improvements?

Reviewers may suggest minor revisions of the work and thereby improve the report or, in extreme cases, they may conclude that the work is inappropriate for publication snd should be withdrawn.

What are the benefits of peer review?

It establishes the validity and accuracy of research.

What is anonymity in peer review?

It is usual practice that the ‘peer‘ doing the reviewing remains anonymous thrroughout the process.

Why is anonymity a strength of peer review?

It is likely to produce a more honest appraisal.

Why is anonymity a limitation of peer review?

• A minority of reviwers may use theor anonymity as a way of criticising rival researchers.

• This is made more linkely by the fact that many researchers are in direct competition for limited research funding.

• For this reason, some journals favour a system of open reviewing whereby the names of the reviewer(s) are made public.

What is publication bias?

The natural tendency for editors of journals to want to publish significant ‘headline grabbing‘ findings to increase the credibility and circulation of their publication. They also tend to publish positive results.

What is it called when editors of journals tend to publish positive resulta?

The file drawer problem

What could publication bias and the file drawer problem mean?

That research that does not meet these criteria is ignored or disgarded. This creates a false impression of the current state of psychology if journal editors are being selective in what they publish.

What may the peer review process supress?

Opposition to mainstream theories, wishing to maintain the status quo

What do reviewers tend to be?

Especially critical of research that contradicts their own view and much more favourable to that which matches it.

What is the result of scientists choosing research that supports their own?

Findings that chime with current opinion are more likely to be passed than new and innovative research that challenges the established order.

What may peer review have the effect of?

Slowing down the rate of change within a particular scientific discipline.

What is one of the wider concerns for psychology?

What the implications of research are for the economy.

What is meant by the ‘implications‘ of the economy?

How does what we learn from the findings of psychological research influence, affect, benefit or devalue our economic prosperity?