Psychology journals varied widely in reporting participant samples

What the study found: The study found that psychology journals showed an over-reliance on Western perspectives, with participants from Latin America, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa making up 8.7% of samples combined. It also found substantial variation in how participant gender, race, socioeconomic status (SES), and education were reported across five areas of psychology.
Why the authors say this matters: The authors conclude that these reporting differences matter because psychology faces challenges in representation, and readers need clearer information to judge how well findings may generalise beyond the sampled groups. They say a unified standard of reporting would help make that information easier to access.
What the researchers tested: The researchers systematically examined the Methods sections of five journals in social, health, clinical, developmental, and general psychological science. The journals were published by the British Psychological Society between January 2021 and December 2023, covering 661 articles and 1,293 samples.
What worked and what didn't: The analysis showed low representation of participants from Latin America, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa combined. It also showed different norms across psychology areas in whether and where gender, race, SES indicators, and education were reported, as well as differences in the use of students and crowd-sourcing platforms.
What to keep in mind: The summary is limited to what was reported in the abstract, which does not provide detailed journal-by-journal results or specific reporting guidelines used. It also does not describe study limitations beyond the case for a unified reporting standard.

Key points

• Participants from Latin America, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa made up 8.7% of samples combined.
• Reporting of participant gender, race, SES indicators, and education varied across areas of psychology.
• The researchers reviewed Methods sections from five British Psychological Society journals published from 2021 to 2023.
• The study covered 661 articles and 1,293 samples.
• The authors call for a unified standard of reporting.