The qualitative methodology exposure and experiences of journal reviewers

Reviewing is a necessary part of the scientific validity and quality of research. Quality outputs promote the advancement of a field such as psychology and growing methods like the qualitative method. This study sought to explore the qualitative knowledge and experiences of reviewers of psychology journals to gain insight into how this process could be improved and if reviewers feel equipped to review the broad qualitative research method. A mixed-method lite research design utilising an online survey (n=27) and purposive and snowball sampling was conducted. Data were analysed using frequency counts and thematic analysis. Overall, reviewers received their education as postgraduates and reading, which they reported, equipped them to review qualitative studies. Reviewers experienced authors as unskilled, which created difficulty in accepting and reviewing qualitative articles and made various recommendations on the aspects authors should focus on when preparing their manuscript for publication.