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In Search Of True Things Worth Knowing: Considerations For A New Article Prototype
Author(s) -
Tullett Alexa M.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
social and personality psychology compass
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.699
H-Index - 53
ISSN - 1751-9004
DOI - 10.1111/spc3.12166
Subject(s) - novelty , psychology , value (mathematics) , odds , personality , social psychology , product (mathematics) , psychological research , applied psychology , computer science , logistic regression , geometry , mathematics , machine learning
Within social and personality psychology, the existing “old prototype” of a publishable article is at odds with new expectations for transparent reporting. If researchers anticipate having to report everything while continuing to aim for a research product that includes multiple studies, examining a novel effect, with only statistically significant results, this will have negative implications for initial decisions about what research to conduct. First, researchers will be discouraged from collecting additional data because this could potentially mar existing findings. Second, they will be discouraged from pursuing questions for which the answers are unknown, as this would be a waste if the results do not fit old‐prototype expectations. These practices undermine what seem to be two universal values within personality and social psychology: truth and interestingness. Suggestions for a “new prototype” that de‐emphasizes p ‐value cutoffs, multiple studies, and novelty will be discussed with an eye toward encouraging research decisions that foster true and interesting findings.