How Do Psychology Journals Handle Postpublication Critique? A Cross-Sectional Study of Policy and Practice

Abstract

Postpublication critique, such as letters to the editor, can contribute to the validity and trustworthiness of scientific research. We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of the policy and practice of postpublication critique in (a) randomly selected ( N = 100) and (b) prominent ( N = 100) psychology journals. In 2023, an explicit submission option for postpublication critique was available at 23% (95% confidence interval [CI] = [16%, 32%]) of randomly sampled psychology journals and 38% of the most prominent psychology journals. Journals sometimes imposed limits on the length and time allowed to submit critiques. We manually inspected two random samples of empirical articles published in 2020 (articles per sample: N = 101), estimating the prevalence of postpublication critique to be 0% (95% CI = [0%, 3.7%]) in psychology journals generally and 1% (95% CI = [0.2%, 5.4%]) in the most prominent psychology journals. The policy and practice of postpublication critique is seriously neglected in psychology journals.