RIN publishes a guide on peer review

The guide comes at a time when researchers and other information.

professionals need to understand how peer review system works, the challenges as.

well as the opportunities it faces in the internet age because it is both a.

principle and a set of mechanisms at the heart of the arrangements for.

evaluating and assuring the quality of research..

The document looks at how effective peer review is in selecting the best.

research proposals, as well as in detecting misconduct and malpractice. It also.

assesses how fair the system is, and at the different levels of transparency.

involved in the process: from completely closed systems, where the identities of.

reviewers and those whose work is being reviewed are kept hidden from each.

other, and reports are not revealed, to completely transparent systems where.

identities and reports are openly revealed..

According to RIN, the organisation that enhances and broadens understanding.

of the information resources and services, the growth in the size of the.

research community and of the volumes of research being undertaken in the UK and.

across the world means that the amount of time and effort put into the peer.

review system is growing too, and that it is coming under increasing scrutiny..

According to the report, the burdens on researchers as submitters and.

reviewers are by far the biggest costs in the peer review system. It outlines.

some of the measures that are being taken to reduce those burdens, or at least.

to keep them in check..

Many researchers are taking the view that they should be paid for the time.

they spend in reviewing grant applications and draft publications. But there are.

also concerns that such payment would significantly increase the costs of the.

system, and also of scholarly publications. A 2008 RIN report estimated that if.

reviewers were to be paid in cash for the full economic costs of their time,.

then UK academic libraries would have to pay 45% more for their subscriptions to.

scholarly journals..

In the wake of the digital age, the internet has speeded up the peer review.

process, and widened the pool of reviewers. It has also provided new channels.

through which researchers can communicate their findings, and through which.

other researchers can comment on, annotate and evaluate them..

RIN experts said these new opportunities bring new challenges as well. The.

take-up of the opportunities for open comments, ratings and recommender systems.

has been patchy to date; and there is a lack clear protocols for the review of.

findings circulated in multiple formats, including blogs and wikis.

Taken from here