Peer Review + The Economy Flashcards
Give 3 aims of peer review.
To allocate research funding
To validate quality and relevance of research
To suggest amendments or improvements to research
Why do we peer review to check for funding?
Funding is competitive, therefore we check whether it is worth allocating money to a researcher before the experiment takes place.
What do we peer review when checking for quality and relevance of research?
Hypothesis, methodology, statistical test and conclusions drawn are checked.
Why do we peer review when checking for amendments to research?
So other people can assess the quality of the methodology. This allows improvements to be made. In extreme cases, some people may conclude that the work is inappropriate for publication and should be withdrawn.
Why is it important to measure the implications of research on the economy?
Research can be expensive to fund so it must be worthwhile.
Why does the peer who is reviewing the research remain anonymous?
The review is more likely to be honest.
Why might researchers use their anonymity to disadvantage other researchers when peer reviewing?
They might use their anonymity to hide behind, allowing them to criticise rival researchers who may have crossed them in the past. This may be fuelled by the idea of funding. Researchers may anonymously criticise others so their research gets funded while other studies are dismissed.
Why is publication bias a risk with peer review?
Researchers may only publish research that proves their hypothesis. Research that does not prove anything may be disregarded, meaning only positive results that benefit the researcher are published, giving a false impression about the true findings.
Why might peer review lead to the burying of ground breaking research?
Peer reviewers are usually well known established scientists. Therefore, they are more likely to publish research that only supports their own theories and not any new, contradicting ground breaking research.
