Peer Review

Today in the History of Psychology

Material Detail page

Reviewed:: Jun 25, 2004 by Psychology

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Ratings

Overall Rating:

Content Quality:

Effectiveness:

Ease of Use:

Overview:: This site is an American Psychological Association compilation of "noteworthy
events" in the history of psychology. It includes over 3100 brief, chronological
entries that are updated and/or corrected on a periodic basis. The site is
structured so that users perform a date or keyword search to access desired
information.
Type of Material:: The body of the site is comprised of text that offers brief descriptors of
people and events related to the field of psychology. Links to further
information is provided in some cases.
Recommended Uses:: The site is a good reference source for those interested in the history of
psychology and can be used to initiate basic historical research on the field of
psychology. In the classroom, a variety of exercises could be formulated around
this site, such as an internet "scavenger hunt."
Technical Requirements:: None.
Identify Major Learning Goals:: This site provides a broad amount of information related to the field of
psychology. As such, the content can be used on its own or as a springboard for
more in-depth research on various topics or dates.
Target Student Population:: This site can be utilized by high school, college, and graduate students, as
well as faculty seeking to identify specific psychological events.
Prerequisite Knowledge or Skills:: Some coursework in psychology would be helpful to fully benefit from the site,
but it is not required. A familiarity with cursory internet library research
skills would be most helpful as the site is structured in a similar fashion
(e.g., understanding the BOOLEAN system).

Content Quality

Rating:
Strengths:: The site has thousands of historical entries, and more entries have been added
since its inception. Also included is an extensive bibliography as well as a
list of errors in the chronology. Instructors of a variety of psychology classes
would be able to incorporate this site into assignments or exercises.
Concerns:: The content for each entry is quite brief and should not be regarded as complete
information about the cited event. Although comprehensive, entries are limited
to those deemed "notable" by the APA and may not be all-inclusive. For example,
a search for "Heinz Kohut" yielded no hits.

Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching Tool

Rating:
Strengths:: This is a good tool to initiate research or gather information at a variety of
levels.
Concerns:: Content should not be confused with a thorough investigation into content.The
site's effectiveness as a teaching tool might be somewhat limited.

Ease of Use for Both Students and Faculty

Rating:
Strengths:: This site is quite easy to use and requires only basic computer and research
skills.
Concerns:: When the user submits a keyword search (such as "Freud"), the screen exhibits a
series of dates (about 10 or so) outlining notable events on those dates. The
user must scan all the dates with their events to find their targeted
information. Can be somewhat cumbersome and time consuming for the user.

Other Issues and Comments:: The only area of concern appears to be with the display of results for a simple
Boolean search. For example, a Boolean search for "President Clinton" results in
three dates that match: October 31, October 18, and June 10. However, when
displaying the October 31st date, the search results provide ALL years with a
database entry of October 31(1905,1963,1970, and 1994). In this particular
example, "President Clinton" appeared only in the 1994 reference and did NOT
appear in the 1905,1963, and 1970 references. Similar results occur for the
dates of October 18 and June 10.
Creative Commons: