scholarly journals Peer review in scientific journal

2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-2
Author(s):  
Jay N Shah

Peer review is the critical assessment of manuscripts submitted to scientific journals to facilitate ‘a fair hearing’ by experts in the field, to help authors and editors to improve the quality of reporting. It plays important role to ensure the integrity of research and publication, help maintain trust and ethical conduct of researcher and journal. By and large it is a quality control measure. Peer review starts with internal review for the suitability of manuscript to the journal, whether author have followed the guidelines. Normally two experts are sent the manuscript for review to see for the originality of work, study design, methodology, and relevance of the research. When both reviewers advise to accept, or reject the work, the decision is easier for the editor. When there are controversies, the editor may send for 3rd review. The final decision is solely that of the editor. Peer review is the basis of good science. Reviewing is a skill that requires to be developed. The reviewers are contacted by journal office, requesting their availability to complete the review within a certain time frame, usually 1-2 weeks. First abstract is sent to and if the reviewer agrees, the full manuscript is made available, either by email or by providing link to the online peer review system. The reviewers are required to declare any conflicts of interest to maintain ethics, keep the information confidential and do not publicly disclose or uses the information for personal gain. All comments regarding the review are communicated to the journal and not to the authors directly. The reviewers are requested for ‘constructive, concise and polite’ comments.

1969 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
pp. 14-23
Author(s):  
F. Sánchez-Nieva ◽  
M. A. González ◽  
J. R. Benero ◽  
I. Hernández

The possibility of using brine-grading to improve the quality of canned pigeonpeas by separating the overmature yellow from the more tender green pigeonpeas was investigated. The results obtained show that brine-grading separated pigeonpeas into two groups, floaters and sinkers, the floaters being less developed than the sinkers, which were the more mature, but failed completely to separate the overmature yellow peas from the green. Failure to separate the overmature yellow peas from the green occurred because green and overripe yellow pigeonpeas, although having a different starch content, apparently have similar specific gravity, and may float or sink together in a brine of any given specific gravity, making a clear-cut separation between the two groups impossible. The results from this work suggest that brine-grading is of doubtful value as a quality-control measure in the canning of pigeonpeas because a high percentage of sinkers is generally obtained, which, when canned, result either in a low-C grade or a substandard product.


2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yali Liu ◽  
Yuchen Feng ◽  
Lili Zhang ◽  
Xiaohuan Feng ◽  
Qin Feng ◽  
...  

Objective: The aim of this study was to use the Animals in Research: Reporting In Vivo Experiments (ARRIVE) guidelines to evaluate the quality of reporting of recent gastric cancer animal experiments. Materials and Methods: A literature search of studies was performed using the Chinese Biomedical Literature Database, Chinese Journal Full-text Database, Chinese Scientific Journal Full-text Database, and Wanfang Database from January 2010 to December 2012. We extracted data using pre-prepared Excel data-extraction forms. Reporting quality was evaluated based on the ARRIVE guidelines. Results: Of the 1816 studies that were identified by our search, 170 were subjected to quantitative analysis using the ARRIVE guidelines. The results of the evaluation based on the ARRIVE guidelines were that 132 studies (77.61%) provided an accurate and concise description of baseline conditions and clinical conditions. Only 2 (1.18%) papers provided relevant certificates of ethical review or institutional guidelines, and 2 (1.18%) papers provided an explanation of animal experiments requiring algorithms and formulas for sample size. Forty-seven (27.65%) studies described in detail how animals were assigned to each experimental group, including the randomization procedure, 2 (1.18%) reported whether blinding was used, and 15 (8.82%) evaluated the limitations of the study. Conclusions: The reporting quality of recent animal experiments of gastric cancer is inadequate. We should improve not only the quality of the methodology but also the reporting quality of the animal experiments.


2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yali Liu ◽  
Yuchen Feng ◽  
Lili Zhang ◽  
Xiaohuan Feng ◽  
Qin Feng ◽  
...  

Objective: The aim of this study was to use the Animals in Research: Reporting In Vivo Experiments (ARRIVE) guidelines to evaluate the quality of reporting of recent gastric cancer animal experiments. Materials and Methods: A literature search of studies was performed using the Chinese Biomedical Literature Database, Chinese Journal Full-text Database, Chinese Scientific Journal Full-text Database, and Wanfang Database from January 2010 to December 2012. We extracted data using pre-prepared Excel data-extraction forms. Reporting quality was evaluated based on the ARRIVE guidelines. Results: Of the 1816 studies that were identified by our search, 170 were subjected to quantitative analysis using the ARRIVE guidelines. The results of the evaluation based on the ARRIVE guidelines were that 132 studies (77.61%) provided an accurate and concise description of baseline conditions and clinical conditions. Only 2 (1.18%) papers provided relevant certificates of ethical review or institutional guidelines, and 2 (1.18%) papers provided an explanation of animal experiments requiring algorithms and formulas for sample size. Forty-seven (27.65%) studies described in detail how animals were assigned to each experimental group, including the randomization procedure, 2 (1.18%) reported whether blinding was used, and 15 (8.82%) evaluated the limitations of the study. Conclusions: The reporting quality of recent animal experiments of gastric cancer is inadequate. We should improve not only the quality of the methodology but also the reporting quality of the animal experiments.


2021 ◽  
Vol 895 (1) ◽  
pp. 011002

Abstract All papers published in this volume of IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science have been peer reviewed through processes administered by the Editors. Reviews were conducted by expert referees to the professional and scientific standards expected of a proceedings journal published by IOP Publishing. Type of peer review: All submitted full papers were peer-reviewed by two reviewers. The acceptance was granted if the recommendations from the reviewers are positive. The criteria are based on compliance with the directions of the International Scientific Conference “Regions of new development: the current state of natural complexes and their protection”, technical and scientific content and article submission guidelines. There were three review processes: Initial Review, Peer Review and Recommendation. Initial Review The editor evaluates each manuscript in the submission track to determine if its topic and content are suitable for consideration for the conference before being reviewed. Manuscripts that do not meet the minimum criteria are returned to the authors. Peer Review Manuscripts that pass the initial review by the editors will be sent to two (2) referees based on their expertise. Reviewer identities are concealed from the author, and throughout the review process. The reviewers are asked to evaluate the manuscript based on its originality, the correspondence of the name and its content, informative content of the abstract, adequacy and correctness of citation of works in this field, confirmation of conclusions and conclusions by the data of the work, compliance, quality of references and design of the list of references. Reviewers were asked to fill out a review form and submit it within two weeks. After collecting all the reviews of the articles, the editors make a recommendation on the acceptability of the manuscript. Acceptance Decision Based on the reviewer’s comments, the editor makes a final decision on the acceptability of the manuscript and communicates to the authors the decision, along with reviewers’ reports. Based on the reviewer’s comments, the editor makes a final decision on the acceptability of the manuscript and communicates to the authors the decision, along with reviewers’ reports. Conference submission management system: Participants submitted an application for participation in the conference by sending it to the conference address: [email protected] After submitting the application, the author sent his article to the conference address: [email protected] Number of submissions received: 82 articles received Number of submissions sent for review: 70 articles submitted for review Number of submissions accepted: 44 articles were accepted by the scientific committee of the conference Acceptance Rate (Number of Submissions Accepted / Number of Submissions Received X 100): 44/82x100 = 53,7% Average number of reviews per paper: On average, two reviews per article Total number of reviewers involved: 30 reviewers Any additional info on review process: The review process was conducted using the e-mail of the organizing committee of the conference and the e-mail of the reviewers. The invitation to review the full paper was sent by email. Each full paper submitted was sent to two (2) reviewers to assess the full paper based on sections as follows: 1. Compliance of the content of the article with the profile of the publication. 2. The originality of the full paper. 3. Whether the work has previously been published in other journals. 4. Adequacy of consideration and correctness of citation of work in this field. 5. The correspondence of the name and its content. 6. Informative content of the report. 7. The quality of the drawings. 8. The quality of the tables in terms of content. 9. Confirmation of conclusions and conclusions by the data of the work. 10. Compliance, quality of references and design of the list of references. 11. The need to clarify the conclusions. 12. Strengths and weaknesses of the article in terms of content. 13. General evaluation of the article by reviewers. 14. Reviewer’s recommendations, accepted or rejected article. 15. The reviewer’s specific comment to the author of the article. All the comments by the reviewer were sent to the author to do the correction within two (2) weeks. The author needs to submit the corrected version of the full paper together with the checklist of corrections. The editor checked if the authors made all corrections. After that, the finished article was sent to the author for final verification before being sent to the publisher. Contact person for queries: Interim Director, Sc.D. (Biology), IWEP FEB RAS Maria V. Kryukova E-mail: [email protected]


2020 ◽  
Vol 318 (5) ◽  
pp. H1051-H1058
Author(s):  
Kara Hansell Keehan ◽  
Michelle C. Gaffney ◽  
Irving H. Zucker

The present study was undertaken to address the concern that author compliance with American Physiological Society (APS) journal instructions to authors for data presentation in manuscript figures is inadequate. Common instances of noncompliance are omitted molecular weight markers for immunoblots and bar graphs lacking individual data points. The American Journal of Physiology-Heart and Circulatory Physiology ( AJP-Heart and Circ) editorial team designed a program to assess figure data presentation in submitted manuscripts. The intended outcome was to improve author compliance with APS data presentation guidelines and to improve overall rigor and reproducibility in articles published in AJP-Heart and Circ. The AJP-Heart and Circ team invited 37 peer reviewers to participate in a figure reviewer project (FRp). Over a period of five months, 32 first-revision manuscripts were enrolled in the FRp. Each manuscript was reviewed by the original peer reviewers and an additional figure reviewer (FR). Post-peer review, corresponding authors and FRs were surveyed for insight into their experiences. Of the 32 corresponding authors invited, 20 (63%) responded to the survey. In response to the survey, 100% of respondents stated that peer review was performed in a timely fashion despite the additional FR. When asked whether the FR experience had any effect on how one would present data in manuscript figures in future submissions, 65% of authors and 83% of FRs said yes. In addition, 63% of authors responding agreed that the overall quality of their figures was improved after revising based on FR comments. This exercise resulted in improved compliance with APS data presentation guidelines and changed attitudes among both authors and reviewers as to the need for consistent and clear data presentation in manuscript figures. NEW & NOTEWORTHY The goal of the American Journal of Physiology-Heart and Circulatory Physiology figure reviewer program was to improve author compliance with existing APS data presentation instructions for manuscript figures. The result was an improvement in compliance with these guidelines. Time from submission to final decision did not significantly increase for papers with the additional figure reviewer, and both figure reviewers and corresponding authors reported positive feedback in post-program surveys.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melissa Rethlefsen ◽  
Sara Schroter ◽  
Lex Bouter ◽  
David Moher ◽  
Ana Patricia Ayala ◽  
...  

Background: Problems continue to exist with the reporting of and risk of bias in search methods and strategies in systematic reviews and related review types. Peer reviewers who are not familiar with what is required to transparently and fully report a search may not be prepared to review the search components of systematic reviews, nor may they know what is likely to introduce bias into a search. Librarians and information specialists, who have expertise in searching, may offer specialized knowledge that would help improve systematic review search reporting and lessen risk of bias, but they are underutilized as methodological peer reviewers.Methods: This study will evaluate the effect of adding librarians and information specialists as methodological peer reviewers on the quality of search reporting and risk of bias in systematic review searches. The study will be a pragmatic randomized controlled trial using 150 systematic review manuscripts submitted to BMJ and BMJ Open as the unit of randomization. Manuscripts that report on completed systematic reviews and related review types and have been sent for peer review are eligible. For each manuscript randomized to the intervention, a librarian/information specialist will be invited as an additional peer reviewer using standard practices for each journal. First revision manuscripts will be assessed in duplicate for reporting quality and risk of bias, using adherence to 4 items from PRISMA-S and assessors’ judgements on 4 signaling questions from ROBIS Domain 2, respectively. Identifying information from the manuscripts will be removed prior to assessment.Discussion: The primary outcomes for this study are quality of reporting as indicated by differences in the proportion of adequately reported searches in first revision manuscripts between intervention and control groups and risk of bias as indicated by differences in the proportions of first revision manuscripts with high, low, and unclear bias. If the intervention demonstrates an effect on search reporting or bias, this may indicate a need for journal editors to work with librarians and information specialists as methodological peer reviewers.Trial registration: This trial was registered on the Open Science Framework on June 17, 2021 at https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/W4CK2.


2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 348
Author(s):  
Jovan Shopovski ◽  
Dejan Marolov

With their broad scope, high publishing volume, a peer review process based on the scientific soundness of the content, and an open access model, mega journals have become an important part of scholarly publishing.The main aim of this paper is to determine the most important factor that influenced researchers’ decisions to submit their academic work to these type of journal. To this end, an online survey has been disseminated from November 2016 to August 2017, targeting the corresponding authors of the European Scientific Journal, ESJ. Data from 413 corresponding authors was collected.The focus was mainly on how they discover the journal and what led them to submit a paper to the journal. However, questions concerning their satisfaction with the peer review procedure were also part of the survey.The results have shown that a recommendation of a colleague is not only the main channel through which authors found out about the journal, but is also the major reason they decided to submit their paper to a mega-journal. Furthermore, the quality of the editorial board of the journal, the strong portfolio of papers and the open access concept are also significant factors in encouraging submission to a mega-journal. A majority of the respondents are satisfied with the communication and peer review procedure of the mega-journal, which might encourage new submissions in the future.


2011 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 5
Author(s):  
Wai Tong Chien

To be high quality and international recognized scientific journal for health care professions, such as medical and nursing disciplines, a well-structured and effective peer review system is of an utmost importance. Beckstead (2009) in his guest editorial published in the September issue of International Journal of Nursing Studies suggested that it was important for authors, as well as editors and publishers, to have a clear understanding of whom the intended readers of the journal are; and for the peer reviewers, to answer a key question: <em>whom are we writing to?</em> and more importantly, to assure a transparent, rigorous and quality peer-review. Their questions and declarations stimulated us to think about two important issues: first, the importance of a high quality and effective peer-review in a scientific nursing journal and second, the peer-review system, its monitoring and contribution to quality improvement.


Publications ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jaime A. Teixeira da Silva

In this day and age of challenging post-publication peer review and heightened academic scrutiny, editors serve an increasingly important role in screening submissions and managing the quality of information that is published in scholarly journals. Publishers compete for an intellectual market while commercial publishers compete for a commercial share of the market. The assumption argued in this perspective is that having editorial positions in competing journals or publishers (CJPs) may represent competing intellectual, professional and/or financial interests. Thus, based on this assumption, an editor would be expected to show loyalty to a single entity (journal or publisher). Editorial positions on the editorial boards of CJPs, as well as conflicts, financial or other, should be clearly indicated for all editors on the editorial board page of a journal’s website, for transparency. In science and academia, based on these arguments, the author is of the belief that editors should thus generally not serve on the editorial boards of CJPs, or only under limited and fully transparent conditions, even if they serve as editors voluntarily. The author recognizes that not all academics, including editors, might agree with this perspective, so a wider debate is encouraged.


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