I assume when you say that professionals have "dismissed the research in this publication" you are referring to summaries of current research published in the magazine. Psychology Today does not publish original peer-reviewed research. It contains summaries, in some cases, of current research. These are not usually written by the authors of the original research (although they sometimes do feature interviews with researchers). I wouldn't automatically rule out Psychology Today as a means for learning about new research but I wouldn't pass anything I learned there along to students without checking the original research for myself. As a teacher, I would attempt to locate the primary sources about which the summaries were written and make a judgment for myself. Otherwise, it will be difficult to judge the quality of the research.
I have no problem with attempts to popularize research results (in fact I give my students a number of assignments requiring them to do just that since that skill seems to be in short supply today). Many organizations (including APA, APS and most research universities) attempt to provide summaries of current research targeted to a lay audience and that can be a useful exercise. However, I would not teach students something that I knew only on the basis of a summary provided by a popular press magazine. As is always the case in passing along info from the original source to subsequent hearers, some important information will be lost in the process (and things tend to mysteriously morph from correlations to causal connections in the process also). Rick Dr. Rick Froman, Chair Division of Humanities and Social Sciences Box 3055 x7295 [email protected] http://tinyurl.com/DrFroman Proverbs 14:15 "A simple man believes anything, but a prudent man gives thought to his steps." -----Original Message----- From: James K. Denson [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Tuesday, October 27, 2009 7:13 AM To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) Subject: [tips] Feedback on Psychology Today I am asking for feedback from the experts on the research/teaching value of Psychology today. This month's issue had, (in my humble High School Psychology teacher opinion), great articles on sleep disorders and personality traits correlated with astrological signs. I know in the past many professionals have dismissed the research in this publication. Can any of you help me here? On the surface this seems to be good information that I can share with my students. Thanks in advance for your assistance. J. Kevin Denson AP Psychology Teacher Social Studies Department Chair Kempsville High School 5194 Chief Trail Virginia Beach, VA 23464 [email protected] --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly ([email protected]) --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly ([email protected])
