Why do we need peer review?
Education Articles Peer review in scholarly publishing part A: why do it?Koshy, Kirona,b,; Fowler, Alexander J.b,c; Gundogan, Buketb,d; Agha, Riaz A.b,e Show
aBrighton and Sussex University Hospitals, Brighton bAcademic Surgical Collaborative cDepartment of Emergency Medicine, Guys and St Thomas NHS Foundation Trust, London dEast and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust, Hertfordshire eBalliol College, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK Published online 12 January 2018 *Corresponding author. Address: Royal Sussex County Hospital, Brighton, United Kingdom. Tel.: +01273 696955; fax: +01273 696955. E-mail address: [emailprotected] (K. Koshy). This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives License 4.0 (CCBY-NC-ND), where it is permissible to download and share the work provided it is properly cited. The work cannot be changed in any way or used commercially without permission from the journal. International Journal of Surgery Oncology: February 2018 - Volume 3 - Issue 2 - p e56 doi: 10.1097/IJ9.0000000000000056
AbstractPeer review is a process whereby scientific experts evaluate a manuscript and provide feedback, offering a recommendation of whether the work is suitable for publication. In this article, we discuss the principles behind peer review and the different forms that it can take. We discuss the importance of peer reviewing, its drawbacks and the reasons an individual may want to become a peer reviewer. What is scientific peer review?Publication forms a vital part of the scientific process. It allows the dissemination of novel ideas or validation/refutal of existing concepts. Before publication, peer review is a process whereby scientific experts evaluate a manuscript and provide feedback on the work, offering a recommendation of whether the work is suitable for publication1,2. There are a number of different forms of peer review:
Why peer review?Drawbacks of peer reviewingPeer reviewing can be a time consuming process. The vast majority of peer reviewers are unpaid and therefore, some will find it to be a poor use of their time. The peer review process has also heavily criticized. Issues that have been raised include:
These issues have been discussed for decades, however, despite other means being proposed, there does not appear to be a more effective method9. Furthermore, Research Councils UK stated that the strengths of peer review far outweigh the weaknesses2. Advantages of peer reviewingPeer reviewing has many advantages, which are expanded upon below. Importance to the scientific community and readersPeer review is important because it serves to uphold the quality of the literature as well as advance the scientific knowledgebase10. In theory, peer reviewers serve to filter out poor research. As a result, readers may put more faith in what they read in scientific journals since the published work has already been vetted by a peer who has expertise in the field. However, as peer reviewers cannot pick up all cases of fraudulent work and poor research, the honus still lies on authors to submit good quality work. Importance to governments, responsible authorities, and industryScientific research has far reaching applications beyond academia. It is instructive in governmental policies, regional schemes, and in industry2. All of these areas rely on high quality research, of which peer review in instrumental. Furthermore, the peer review process itself is utilized in the production and evaluation of governmental policies. An example of this is health technology assessment used by the World Health Organisation11. Importance to authorsThe purpose of peer reviewing is not just to filter poor research, but also to improve it. Providing comments and suggesting revisions to authors is with the intent of improving the ultimately finished product. This is often an invaluable tool for authors since it allows them to produce a more polished and rigorous piece of work. Importance to editorsA well peer-reviewed manuscript is essential for journal editors in deciding whether a manuscript is suitable for publication. Editors value peer reviews from experts in the field who can often advise if the work will make a contribution to the field or if the manuscript is robust8. PrestigeBeing invited to peer review a paper suggests the reviewers knowledge of the field and/or critical appraisal skills are respected enough to be entrusted with gauging the quality of scientific research. Working as a peer reviewer, therefore, carries a level of prestige that can be used in ones credentials. Awareness of the fieldPeer reviewing allows access to a larger breadth of the scientific literature. It also enables reviewers to read the most up-to-date research that others do not yet have access to and before it is put into the public domain8. Being privy to the latest developments in your research field can stimulate new ideas and encourage innovative solutions to existing research. TrainingPeer reviewing requires critical analysis of research. This is a skill that is developed through practice and experience in peer reviewing. This skill is often turned inwards to critically appraise and improve ones own research and writing. Furthermore, it provides some inside knowledge on the level of quality required for publication. There is a now a push for increased standardization of training in peer reviewing, to help peer reviewers develop these skills2. Peer reviewer recognitionSeveral platforms have emerged to recognize the work peer reviewers do. Publons emerged in 2012 as a service for academics to showcase their peer review and editorial contributions12. This platform has now been adopted by many publishing groups13,14. Publons merits are a method of measuring peer reviewer contribution, whereby peer reviewers gain points on their profile for each peer review and further points if this review is verified and made publicly available. These points provide quantitative proof of a peer reviewers contributions. There is the possibility that this could lead to peer reviewing being the latest focus of career advancement. However, given the important attributes required to peer review and the skills developed, this trend can easily be justified. Bonuses from publishing groupsA UK House of Commons report 2011 highlighted. All publishers need to have in place systems for recording and acknowledging the contribution of those involved in peer review2. While the majority of peer reviewers are unpaid, journals often provide other perks to their reviewers, as added incentives and recognition of their work. Some journals publish the names of the reviewers in the final paper, or list reviewers at the end of an issue for the entire year1518. Elsevier also gives 30 days access to its products SCOPUS and ScienceDirect19. One example is Elseviers Reviewer Recognition Programme20. This scheme aims to acknowledge and reward the work of peer reviewers. Peer reviewers are provided special access to the publishing groups journal resources and discounts on affiliated services such as Elsevier Web shop and Elsevier Book Store. Awards are also provided to the top reviewers of the year. PublicationSome journals now offer to publish peer reviewer alongside the main paper or in batch with each review given its own digital object identifier. This provides further recognition of the peer reviewers contribution to the field. Publication of peer reviews also increases the transparency of the peer review process; it provides accountability and responsibility to peer reviewers and clarity to authors21. Publication of peer review has many legal and ethical intricacies for reviewers, authors, and publishers. This is an ongoing debate22, however, it is likely that the trend for peer review publication will continue. ConclusionsPeer reviewing forms a fundamental part of the scientific process and has a long tradition. Although it does have drawbacks, such as being time-consuming and having potential conflicts of interest, overall there are many advantages to the peer review system. It is important, both for authors and editors, who greatly benefit from the expertise and recommendations delivered by a good peer reviewer. Moreover, it ensures, as much as possible, to filter and uphold the quality of the scientific literature and help advance the scientific knowledgebase. Reviewers are now increasingly recognized for their work, providing peer reviewing with a bright future. Ethical approvalEthical approval was not required for this study. Sources of fundingThere were no external sources of funding for this study. Author contributionAll authors contributed toward the final paper. A.J.F., K.K., B.G., and R.A.A.: production of content/editing. Conflict of interest disclosureR.A.A. is the founding and executive editor of the IJS Publishing Group. The remaining authors declare that they have no financial conflict of interest with regard to the content of this report. Research registration unique identifying number (UIN)No research registration was required for this study. GuarantorThe guarantor for this study is author R.A.A. AcknowledgmentThe authors are indebted to all members who helped them complete this study. References1. Wilson J. Peer review: the nuts and bolts. BioMed Central: Sense About Science; 2014.
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Keywords: Peer review; Critical appraisal; Publication; Guide; How to |