Peer Review NF!

• Peer review is a process which subjects scientific research to independent scrutiny. It checks for validity and significance before publication in a journal.
• Scrutiny inspects psychologists' research:

  Control of variables,

  Ethics: consent and debrief,

  How results were calculated,

  Hypothesis,

  Design: how the study was carried out.
• Purpose of peer review

  Checks for mistakes, fraudulent claims and unscientific methods.
• Strengths of peer review

  Good for science, researchers don't always notice mistakes.

  Ensures published work is taken seriously.
• Weaknesses of peer review

  Only favourable data will be published by companies (file-drawer effect).

  Research can be biased.

  Doesn't check financial backers of research.

  If anonymity is not maintained, experts with a conflict of interest might not approve research to further their own reputation and career.