Peer Review

Question 1

What is it?

Answer 1

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

Question 2

Three Aims of Peer Review

Answer 2

Funding: allocate research funding

Validation of the quality and relevance of research

Improvements and amendments are suggested

Question 3

One Strength of Peer Review

Answer 3

+ Protects the quality of published research. Minimises possibility of fraudulent research and means published research is of the highest quality. Therefore, this preserves the reputation of psychology as a science and increases the credibility and status of the subject

Question 4

Three Limitations of Peer Review

Answer 4

• May be used to criticise rival research. A minority of reviewers may use their anonymous status to criticise rival researchers. Often there is competition for limited research funding so this may be an issue.
• 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.
• 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