Taking Stock; A Review of the State of Forensic Psychology as Revealed Through an Analysis of Journal Articles 2015–20

ABSTRACT

A total of 3719 articles appearing in five key generalist forensic psychology journals (n = 1374) and six more specialist targeted forensically related journals (n = 2345) between 2015 and 2020 were subject to a bibliometric analysis to reveal trends in research topics, populations studied, jurisdiction, and research methods employed. Research on offenders dominated and over half of all the papers were located in North American jurisdictions. About a third of papers made explicit reference to diversity and two thirds of research designs employed quantitative methodologies. The discussion features comments on changing trends over time from forensic psychology’s initial narrow focus on witness testimony to its current broader remit, and the different coverage between targeted and generalist journals. The conclusion offers some reflections for future forensic psychology.

KEYWORDS:

• Forensic psychology
• research trends
• forensic psychology journals
• research methods
• diversity

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

¹ Psychologists in the prison service: finding the real story inside – Working in the Prison and Probation Service (blog.gov.uk)