Executive Summary: Strengthening Peer Review in Federal Agencies that Support Education Research

Traditionally the medical profession and, more recently, federal agencies have promoted peer review to improve quality of health care, although its effectiveness is uncertain. To assess ability of peer review to increase recording of comprehensive care, the resident charting of growth, immunizations, and family, past medical, developmental, and birth history was monitored in randomly selected charts six months before (747 charts) and six months after institution of peer review (691 charts). Faculty emphasis for charting remained uniform throughout the study. During ten 1-hour sessions, pediatric residents reviewed the charts of their colleagues for comprehensive care and other measurements using a standard form. Although faculty were not present, residents reported by post-study interview that vigorous discussion and peer pressure occurred during the sessions, and subjectively they felt their charting had improved. An objective assessment indicated charting of past medical history worsened after peer review was initiated, and charting of family history improved slightly. All changes were marginal. Charting was not related to the volume of patients seen by individual residents or their level of training but was relatively consistent for individual residents over successive rotations.

Download Full-text

Introduction

10.1093/oso/9780198817611.003.0001 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Mathias Kende

Keyword(s):

Peer Review ◽

Executive Summary ◽

Actual Performance ◽

Academic Literature ◽

Specific Focus ◽

International Trading ◽

The Government ◽

Naming And Shaming

The Introduction contains an executive summary of the book. It also encompasses some background highlighting the rationale for the book, detailing the still persistent lack of comprehensive academic literature on the TPRM and the need for further research with regard to the TPRM, both as an ‘understudied’ WTO entity and as a prime example of a mechanism for peer review, and an explanation with regard to the methodology, which aims to assess the TPRM’s historic and actual performance as the WTO’s system for peer review through a specific focus (1) on the implementation of the TPRM’s objectives (transparency and naming and shaming); (2) its evolving structures, thereby focusing on individual TPRs and on the yearly Overviews of Developments in the International Trading Environment; and (3) its participants, the government under review and its peers, the WTO Secretariat, and the discussant(s)).

Download Full-text

“Like Upgrading From a Typewriter to a Computer”: Registered Reports in Education Research

AERA Open ◽

10.1177/2332858420917640 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 6 (2) ◽

pp. 233285842091764

Author(s):

Justin Reich ◽

Hunter Gehlbach ◽

Casper J. Albers

Keyword(s):

Education Research ◽

Peer Review ◽

Research Design ◽

Review Process ◽

Peer Review Process ◽

Research Question

Registered reports engender a review process in which reviewers evaluate the merits of the research question rather than the magnitude or direction of the results. In this process, authors first submit introduction, methods, and prespecified analyses sections of an article. Next, an initial peer-review process assesses the merits of the research question, in the absence of knowing the results. Worthy articles are granted an “in-principle acceptance.” The authors, then conduct their study, analyze their data, write up the remainder of their article, and resubmit it. The in-principle acceptance means that if the authors adhere to the research design as originally submitted, then the article will be accepted. Building from seven of the earliest registered reports in education research, our introduction describes the benefits, opportunities, and challenges of registered reports as a means to increasing transparency in research and reducing the number of illusory results.

Download Full-text