This week is peer review week, and it’s acknowledged and celebrated worldwide. This community-led event provides the opportunity to consider, question, and explore the role of peer review in research quality and scholarly communication. Peer review has been defined many ways, and it has been critiqued and described from multiple angles. One definition suggests it is “a longstanding system of appraisal where journal editors rely on the views of outside content experts in making decisions on publication of submitted manuscripts”.[1]
Some authors write about peer review to inform about the principles, processes, elements, and intent. Others take a critical approach and aim to expose the potential limitations and problematic influences. Each discourse is valuable and contributes to the overall conversation.
The theme of Peer Review Week 2022 is “Research Integrity: Creating and supporting trust in research,” which ties in to both informative and critical discourses. Here are a few resources about peer review. Note, this list is not meant to be comprehensive but rather to introduce multiple perspectives. See also the reference at the end.
- Charlotte R. Owning the peer review process: If we have to do this work, we should own it.
- Eldredge J. Characteristics of peer reviewed clinical medicine journals.
- Houghton F. Keep calm and carry on: Moral panic, predatory publishers, peer review, and the emperor’s new clothes.
After reading, consider whether, and how, your response has changed to the question: What does peer review mean to you?
References:
- Jefferson T, Rudin M, Brodney Folse S, Davidoff F. Editorial peer review for improving the quality of reports of biomedical studies. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2007 Apr 18;2007(2):MR000016. https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.MR000016.pub3