Role of Peer Review

• how does psychological research get published

  findings publisised through: conferences, textbooks & journals
• what is the process of a peer review

  1. other psychologists check the research before deciding if it can be published

  2. usually w/in the same field

  3. look at the validity, significance & originality

  4. assess the appropriateness of methods/designs

  5. reviewer can; accept it as is, accept w/ revisions, suggest revisions & resubmit, reject

  6. editor makes final decision
• what are the purposes of peer reviews

  1. allocate research funding (decide whether to award funding for research)

  2. ensure quality/relevance

  3. ensure high validity/reliability

  4. ensure accuracy of findings

  5. retain integrity of psychology
• what is anonymity

  peer doing review should be anonymous but some may use this as a way of criticising rival Rs - direct competition for limited funding
• what is publication bias

  editors journals want to publish 'headline grabbing' findings to increase circulation of their publication - also prefer +ve results & may ignore research that isn't, this creates a false impression of psychology
• what is burying ground-breaking research

  suppress opposition to mainstream theories to maintain status quo - especially if it contradicts their own view, which slows down rate of change