Peer review

• what is peer review?

  before publication, all aspects of the investigation are scrutinised by experts ('peers') in the field.

  these experts should be objective and unknown to the researcher.
• aims of peer review

  • funding: allocate research funding
  • validation of the quality and relevance of research
  • improvements and amendments are suggested
• strength of peer review

  protects quality of published research. minimises possibility of fraudulent research and means published research is of the highest quality. preserves the reputation of psychology as a science and increases the credibility and status of the subject.
• a limitation of peer review is that it may be used to criticise rival research. a minority of reviewers may use the anonymous status to criticise rival researchers. often there is competition for limited research funding so this may be an issue.
• a limitation of peer review is publication bias. tendency for editors of journals to want to publish 'headline grabbing' findings. means that research that doesn't meet this criterion is ignored or disregarded
• a limitation of peer review is that ground-breaking research may be buried. reviewers may be much more critical of research that contradicts their own view. peer review may slow down the rate of change within scientific disciplines.