Peer Review: Flashcards
What is Peer Review?
When before the publication in a journal, an authors scientific paper is assessed by people who are experts in the same scientific area as the author.
What is the process of Peer review?
1) Submit a paper to an academic journal. the journal then sends this paper to independent experts ‘peers’
2) Peers decide if they can recommend the paper for publication - either reject or accept.
3) The journal editor makes the final decision on if the paper will be published.
What do peers check for?
The peers will consider the quality of the paper - including research design and the methods used.
Check for extraneous variables.
Data analysis and if the results actually support the conclusions drawn by the author.
What are the strengths of Peer review? (AO3)
1) The scientists knowledge that their work will be checked and assessed by experts is thought to self-regulate the quality of their work. This makes the scientists likely to be more honest in their reporting, more careful in their planning, how they conduct their study and how they analyse data and justify their conclusions.
2) The peer review system aids in science communication as it helps journalists / the public if scientific claims should be trusted or not. This is important as acceptance of scientific claims that turn out to be false can reduce result public trust in Science.
3) The quality and amount of published peer-reviewed work can help to assess the quality of different academic institutions (gives them each a research rating) Universities and research labs that carry out peer review are more likely to be favoured by students and gain government funding for future research.
What are the limitations of Peer Review? (AO3)
1) Journals may struggle to find suitable peer with enough knowledge in new or very specialised areas of scientific research with few experts.
2) Professional rivalry may occur. This can result in peers rejecting papers on purpose, or even so they can publish the findings first.
3) Peers may feel unable to challenge the work of academic leaders in a scientific field due to either assuming the author must be correct. or fearing a negative response.
4) Publication Bias- want to publish more positive findings than negative.
What is a single blind peer review?
This is when the author does not know who the peers are.
What is a double blind peer review?
This is when the author does not know who the peers are and the peers do not know who the author is.
