Peer review

• Peer review is a process that takes place before a study is published to ensure that the research is of a high-quality, contributes to the field of research and is accurately presented
• The process is carried out by experts in the related field of research
• Research findings are then publicised during conferences and in journals
• Main aims of peer review:

  1. to allocate research funding
  2. To validate the quality and relevance of the research
  3. To suggest amendments
• Allocating research funding:

  • helps to decide whether to fund the research proposal
  • can be government-run funding organisations
• To validate the quality and relevance of research:

  • assesses elements of research for quality and accuracy such as the hypotheses, methodology, statistical tests and conclusions
• Suggest amendments:

  • may suggest minor revisions to improve the report
  • in extreme cases, the report may be inappropriate for publishing and will be withdrawn
• Evaluation of peer review:

  • anonymity
  • publication bias
  • burying ground-breaking research
• Anonymity:

  • produces more honest appraisal
  • can lead to rival researchers criticising competition so they get the research funding
• Publication bias:

  • publications want to increase their credibility and circulation by only publishing significant, "head grabbing" research
  • file drawer problem- publish positive results
• Burying ground-breaking research:

  • suppress opposing research to maintain a status-quo
  • Reviewers favour research that supports theirs and are more critical of contradictory work
  • can slow down the rate of change within a scientific discipline