Examines peer review in the National Institutes of Health and in scholarly journals and discusses limitations--time, paperwork, subjectivity, limited resources, and increased instances of misconduct and unethical behavior. Suggests reforms: eliminate anonymity, use review specialists, have institutions monitor their own faculty, and conduct…

Addresses the recognition of differences between clinical and research data in using computerized clinical nursing databases and the issues of privacy and confidentiality for patients whose records are involved. Describes procedures for assessing the quality and usability of these data for nursing research. (SK)