Claims

Most evaluated journals score low on the TOP Factor, with a mean of 3.36 and a median of 1 out of a possible 29 points

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · theoretical r3 · q2
Currency · newest study 2021 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims

Reading the evidence codes

q is the design tier, i the impact, n the sample, and the kind with its r the rigour judged within that kind: what each code means.

This claim: no standardized effect is recorded in observations/ for it yet, so no benchmark reading is possible.

q2 i? Among 683 journals evaluated as of January 2021, the mean TOP Factor score is 3.36 and the median is 1, indicating most journals take only minimal disclosure steps. → Mellor 2021

Evidence

Mellor 2021

Mellor, D. (2021). Improving norms in research culture to incentivize transparency and rigor. Educational Psychologist, 56(2). https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3125-5888

q2 · i? · theoretical · r3

Descriptive analysis of the TOP Factor database of journal policies: the article reports a "mean TOP Factor score of 3.36 and median of 1" across evaluated journals, with 683 journals evaluated as of January 2021. Descriptive statistics only; no inferential test is printed.

"With a mean TOP Factor score of 3.36 and median of 1, most peer reviewed journals are not even taking minimal steps of disclosure to show whether or not underlying evidence is available for peers to review and verify"

Discussion

Page metadata
Field Value
type claim
id top-factor-journal-scores-low-mean-3-36
title Most evaluated journals score low on the TOP Factor, with a mean of 3.36 and a median of 1 out of a possible 29 points
description Most evaluated journals score low on the TOP Factor, with a mean of 3.36 and a median of 1 out of a possible 29 points
status review
evidence_strength weak
newest_evidence 2021
generated by process:wiki-ingest on 2026-10-22
trust unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content
sources 1 — mellor-2021

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