Peer Review

Society for Health Psychology

Material Detail page

Reviewed:: Jul 17, 2018 by Psychology

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Ratings

Overall Rating:

Content Quality:

Effectiveness:

Ease of Use:

Overview:

The website of the Society for Health Psychology (Division 38 of APA) includes information and resources for instructors and students as well as for practitioners and researchers in the field of Health Psychology. The site includes a modern interface with multiple, embedded social media features and a wide range of excellent resources for students, faculty, and professionals in the field.

Type of Material:

Collection/Website

Recommended Uses:

• The site is useful for anyone interested in the field of Health Psychology but particularly for those teaching Health Psychology. Abstracts of Health Psychology since 1982 are available in a searchable format, the Newsletter provides funding opportunities for students, and those teaching a course will find multiple resources.

• About the resources: This site has a great deal of supplemental information available for students, with student-driven resources located under the Resources link. Most impressive among the student support resources are a series of audio conference call recordings. Slides of each conference call are made available and may inform a range of student class activities and assignments. Additionally, teaching support is found under the Training link and offers excellent supplemental information for both TAs and new faculty in the field.

Technical Requirements:

The site can be surfed effectively with all browsers (e.g., Chrome, Explorer, and Firefox). Only a web browser and Internet access are required.

Identify Major Learning Goals:

• This site may be used to teach students studying biopsychology and health psychology about a number of excellent topics presented by specialists in the field, including both written and audio supplements for learning.

• Users will learn about the Society, the field of Health Psychology, the current topics of research in the field, as well as have access to sample syllabi and additional teaching resources.

Target Student Population:

• Overall, students in undergraduate through graduate programs will benefit from the research materials; faculty will benefit from these materials and the teaching resources.

• Students studying biopsychology and health psychology, as well as general psychology and electing these areas as special topics, will find this website especially beneficial. Psychology professionals in the area of health psychology also will find a number of contemporary, useful items available for teaching and research as well as for collaborative purposes. The section specifically designed for early career professionals (where a Q&A is available) is especially valuable.

Prerequisite Knowledge or Skills:

• Due to the moderately advanced nature of the presented materials, students should preferably have completed at least introductory psychology.

Content Quality

Rating:
Strengths:: • This site provides numerous valuable resources for students across the ranges of preparation, new faculty, new career professionals, TAs, and more. The range of features available--including both prepared documents in audio and text format as well as interactive opportunities---makes this a fantastic resource. • The database incorporates materials explaining the Society, including research and teaching resources. Information on training and other resources is very helpful for those interested in the field. As a teaching resource, it is helpful that students can see Abstracts and possibly obtain articles from their own institution.
Concerns:: • It would be helpful to update the Sample Syllabi.

Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching Tool

Rating:
Strengths:: • Skimming titles and abstracts is helpful for students looking for research ideas. Faculty teaching the course for the first time have a clear list of content and objectives to consider.(Learning objectives are explicitly noted in association with teaching materials.) Those considering the field or beginning in the field have access to multiple resources including institutions for training.
Concerns:: None.

Ease of Use for Both Students and Faculty

Rating:

Strengths:

• The site is contemporary in appearance, and its modern "look & feel" makes it appealing, easy to follow, and engaging for all visitors. • The site is well-organized and very navigable. At the top of the page, visitors can click whether they are Student/Trainee[s] or Early Career Professional[s]; this action will direct them to relevant information on the site. In addition, each page's introduction/description/title clearly communicates what is presented on that page • The built-in interactivity that allows site visitors to interact across the board with various professionals is excellent. • One reviewer noted that this site is among the best of the various Division pages from APA.

Concerns:

• Accessibility may be a concern. The exceptional resources provided to the site's visitors via the Resources (student) area include audio files--with no closed captions/transcripts available. It would be wonderful (and make the site more accessible to all) if at minimum the transcripts were provided for these audio recordings.

• Since the Training link clearly includes Education, it might be beneficial to rename the link accordingly (i.e., an instructor seeking resources might not look under Training).

• The Student Resources page is somewhat difficult to read through; bolding the titles of the presentations to help separate the different topics would help visitors utilize the site.

• The Articles page has excellent resources, but the page itself is buried several levels deep and is seemingly less easily accessible to web visitors. It would be beneficial if the navigation more readily highlighted the resources available from this page.

Other Issues and Comments:: Overall, this website is a fantastic resource with multiple learning applications for both students and professionals/faculty in the field.
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