The role of peer revieiw in the Scientific Process Flashcards
What is peer review?
the process by which a psychological research paper is assessed and scrutinised by other psychologists working in a similar field to ensure any research intended for publication is of high quality
What could peer review including other psychologists working in a similar field cause?
bias
what is the purpose of peer review?
to act as a quality control system, to make sure no flawed data enters the public arena.
What does peer review provide? (purpose)
-a way to check the validity of research by assessing the quality, accuracy and appropriateness of its methodology. -This is especially important where research is investigating a new area in the field
What does the peer review process help ensure? (purpose)
that any research paper published in a well-respected journal is of high
quality and has the credibility to be taken seriously by fellow researchers and lay people
What is the process of peer review?
•editor of a journal will send a research paper to a number of peer reviewers who are unconnected to the authors, but who are experts in the field.
• They read all aspects of the work carefully and assess its accuracy and quality. They judge the importance and significance of the research, assess its originality and whether it has
relevance to other research by other psychologists.
• The reviewers send the paper back to the editor with comments and a recommendation as to whether it should be published in its original form, revised in some way, or rejected.
• The editor ultimately decides whether to publish the paper as an article in their journal or send it back to the author to be improved. This process ensures that only high-quality research enters the public realm.
What is the strength of peer review?
1maintains the standards of published work by ensuring the research is
methodologically sound, valid and does not involve plagiarism of other people’s research.
-This also allows university research departments to be rated and funded in terms of quality.
What is the limitation of theoretical bias in peer review?
A reviewer’s theoretical bias may lead them to judge a paper in an excessively lenient or harsh way (e.g. accept a paper that is aligned with their own view).
What is the limitation of institution bias and gender bias in peer review?
-institution bias= the tendency to favour research from prestigious institutions
and gender bias= the tendency to favour male researchers.
-Biases such as these can lead to fraudulent research not being detect
