The peer review process is the assessment of your work, or someone else’s, by critical examination from experts in the same field. The peer review process is used in science to assess if the author’s work is up to standards for publication in a scientific journal. There are different amounts of anonymity depending on the process, i.e. the author and/or the names of the peer reviewers can be withheld. The work is accepted by the peer review process if it is sound, high quality, original research written in good quality. Once a paper has passed a peer review it is published and accepted by the academic community. Peer reviewers make suggestions and point out any errors to improve the writing. Researchers are pressured by self pride and the looming fear of scrutiny to submit high quality work, which maintains the integrity of research.
Bias is an interference in the peer-review process, which can be eliminated by removing the names of the author and the reviewers. A review free of prejudice or bias is a huge advantage for the scientific process which relies on objectivity. However, there are advantages and disadvantages to withholding the names of those involved:
The pros –
- able to offer honest criticism when their name is not known
- removes bias based on author, reputation, or country of origin
- improvements suggested to the manuscript
The cons –
- plagiarism if the author’s name is unknown
- fear of giving criticism if the author’s name is known or the reviewers name is known
- competition – delaying review to publish one own’s work first
