Intended for healthcare professionals
In 2011 the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee held an inquiry into peer review and sought written and oral evidence from a wide range of experts and organisations. BMJ's written evidence reviewed the latest research evidence on the strengths and weaknesses of peer review as a quality control mechanism for scientists, publishers, and the public including:
• Measures to strengthen peer review;
• The processes by which reviewers with the requisite skills and knowledge are identified, in particular as the volume of multidisciplinary research increases;
• The impact of IT and greater use of online resources on the peer review process;
• Possible alternatives to peer review.
Do you review work for The BMJ, or are you thinking about becoming a reviewer for The BMJ? If so, we hope you will use this training pack. It will help you to learn more about peer review, and to understand what makes a review really useful to editors and authors.
The pack includes PowerPoint presentations and written exercises. Much of the material here relates to the general art of peer review, but we have also included specific guidance on what The BMJ needs from you.
We developed this pack for use in a randomised controlled trial of peer reviewer training. Now you can use it as you wish; for your own learning or to teach others. There are four objectives:
• To inform participants on the state of peer review research;
• To make clear what constitutes a good review;
• To help participants understand what matters to editors about reviews; and
• To give participants help in producing a good review.