Peer Review

Question 1

How is a peer review done?

Answer 1

1. Once research is complete the researcher may send out a manuscript for the ultimate goal of the research being published in a journal
2. Research is then sent for independent scrutiny by 2-3 anonymous psychologists working in a similar field
3. They then conduct an objective review and decide whether it should be published

Question 2

What do reviewers consider?

Answer 2

• Appropriateness of the methodology
• Importance of the research in a wider context
• How original the work is
• Possible improvements to the work

Question 3

How is quality and validity a strength?

Answer 3

• Reviewers consider: if the study includes a well formed hypothesis, the appropriateness of methodology, statistical tests used, potential errors, conclusions drawn, and ethics
• Based on this, reviewers may suggest ammendments to be made
• Having other people review this also increases the probability of errors being identified as researchers are less objective about their own work

Question 4

How is importance a strength?

Answer 4

• Peer review judges the importance of research in a wider context
• This prevents the spreading of irrelevant findings, unwarrented claims, unacceptable interpretations, personal views, and deliberate fraud

Question 4

How is integrity a strength?

Answer 4

Peer review ensures public research has integrity as it has been independently scrutinised by fellow researchers so the report can be taken more seriously by fellow researchers and lay people

Question 5

How is originality a strength?

Answer 5

Peer review assesses how original the work is and whether it refers to replicant research by other psychologists

Question 6

How is allocating research funding a strength?

Answer 6

• Sometimes reviews will evaluate proposed research in terms of aims, quality, and value and then decide whether or not to award fundings
• This process may be coordinated by government run funding organisations such as the medical council who are invested in establishing which research is most worthwhile

Question 7

What are the potential outcomes of a peer review?

Answer 7

• The reviewers accept the manuscript as it is and publish it
• They accept the manuscript with revisions
• They ask the researcher to make revisions and then resubmit the study for review again
• They reject the research without possibility of resubmission

The editor of the journal makes the final decision on whether to accept or reject the research report based on reviewers comments

Question 8

How is the file drawer effect a weakness?

Answer 8

• Peer review panels are often biased towards publishing headline grabbing findings and statistically significant results
• Research which does not meet this criteria is often disregarded

Question 9

How is failure to detect inaccuracies a weakness?

Answer 9

Peer review panels can still make mistakes and unknowingly fail to detect errors