Peer review, the economy and report writing

Peer review

The practice of using independent experts to assess the quality and validity of scientific research and reports

Peer review process

1) select an expert that works in the same field

2) expert will read the paper looking for mistakes

3) will either say it can be published, is rejected or needs review before publication

4) research makes the changes

Peer review strengths

Strength - must be peer reviewed to be published

Strength - makes sure research is high quality

Strength - helps to allocate research funding

Strength - contributes to rating of university departments

Strength - helps to spot fraudulent data

Peer review weaknesses

Weakness - cant always find an expert

Weakness - publication bias, only publish positive results (negative also important)

Weakness - unconventional work is sometimes ignored

Weakness - impossible to extract once published

Weakness - does not always spot mistakes

What is in the abstract?

Summary of the study, covers the aim hypothesis and findings, written after the report is complete (short)

What is in the introduction?

Discusses previous research in the field and gaps, outline reason for conducting the research, link aims to previous research, starts broad and gets more specific

What is in the method?

Detailed description of what they did, must be able to replicate it (design, participants, apparatus, procedure and ethics)

What is the findings?

What the research found, descriptive and inferential statistics, if you have used a quantitative method state the categories and themes

What is in the discussion?

Interpret the results and consider possible applications (RWA), relate findings to previous research what would you improve?

What is in the references?

Must give credit/mention to those who were used in the report, if you dont its plagiarism

What is the economy?

The system of goods and services are produced, distributed and consumed within a society

What is the attachment link to the economy?

If a woman stays home for a child they leave work, means there is less support of the economy

What is the psychopathology link to the economy?

Those with mental disorders such as depression stay at home and are unable to work, could potentially create a burden on the NHS

What is the example of tax payments of psychology’s impact on the economy?

1) Psychological research - Asch and Milgram social influence

2) Nudge unit applies findings

3) HMRC changes tax letters - puts situational pressures on infividuals to pay their tax on time

4) Increase in tax payments - 1.6 mil paid in 23 days

5) 1.6 mil extra for gov spending - able to spend money on other services (improved economy)