What is it about?

In this his article we provide a background to the paradigm shift towards Open Science currently occurring in Psychology. We then conduct a systematic review to measure the uptake of the practices that have been recommended. We conclude by providing recommendations directly to those who research in Psychology of Religion.

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Why is it important?

Meta-methods articles are incredibly important for ensuring that science is always conducted in the best possible way so that it remains trustworthy to others, both other scientists and non-scientists. This article shows that the Psychology of Religion field has yet to take on the most up-to-date research practices that have been recommended within other science subfields. Our recommendations, which are specific to the Psychology of Religion, will help improve the research in the discipline and, thus, increase trust in the field.

Perspectives

Meta-methods articles - i.e. articles that discuss the epistemology and use of methods - are incredibly important for getting scientists to understand which methods they should be using and why. By having these discussions, scientists across the field can be more assured that the methods they are using are state-of-the-art and are more likely to lead to better, more accurate models of reality. By having these discussions, and adopting the recommendations by articles such as this, scientists and non-scientists alike can be more sure that the methods being used will lead to more trustworthy results. This is of vital importance since the huge shock to the system that the 'replication crisis' revelations caused at the turn of the decade. This article shows that the Psychology of Religion field has yet to take on some of the most up-to-date research practices that have been recommended within other science subfields. I believe that our recommendations will help improve the research in the discipline and, thus, increase trust in the field in the longer term.

Sarah Charles
Coventry University

Read the Original

This page is a summary of: Researcher Degrees of Freedom in the Psychology of Religion, International Journal for the Psychology of Religion, October 2019, Taylor & Francis,
DOI: 10.1080/10508619.2019.1660573.
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