Editorial, September 2023

I was at a Qualitative Methods in Psychology Conference last July when keynote speaker Brendan Gough paused in mid-flow and pondered, almost to himself, 'Is that a load of rubbish? I don't know.'

He had already promised to be 'provocative, playful, pushing boundaries', and all of this was still fresh in my mind when Miltos Hadjiosif contacted me about what became our cover feature.

I wasn't sure what to make of his article. I thought there was a chance it might be a 'load of rubbish'. So then, including a reviewer's perspective too, we had a good to and fro about what is 'rubbish' in Psychology, and who gets to decide.

Of course, this month, you do. For me, it comes down to something very generous Miltos once said to me: 'The Psychologist is alive!' I just love the idea of a magazine being human, animal, a beast even… and yes, provocative, playful, pushing boundaries.

There's loads more here (and, of course, on our website and in the app). 

In particular, happy 20th to our Research Digest! 

Dr Jon Sutton
Managing Editor @psychmag