The primary aim of peer review of manuscripts is to:

Peer review is the system used to assess the quality of a manuscript before it is published. Independent researchers in the relevant research area assess submitted manuscripts for originality, validity and significance to help editors determine whether a manuscript should be published in their journal.

How does it work?

When a manuscript is submitted to a journal, it is assessed to see if it meets the criteria for submission. If it does, the editorial team will select potential peer reviewers within the field of research to peer-review the manuscript and make recommendations.

There are four main types of peer review used by BMC:

Single-blind: the reviewers know the names of the authors, but the authors do not know who reviewed their manuscript unless the reviewer chooses to sign their report.

Double-blind: the reviewers do not know the names of the authors, and the authors do not know who reviewed their manuscript.

Open peer: authors know who the reviewers are, and the reviewers know who the authors are. If the manuscript is accepted, the named reviewer reports are published alongside the article and the authors’ response to the reviewer.

Transparent peer: the reviewers know the names of the authors, but the authors do not know who reviewed their manuscript unless the reviewer chooses to sign their report. If the manuscript is accepted, the anonymous reviewer reports are published alongside the article and the authors’ response to the reviewer.

Different journals use different types of peer review. You can find out which peer-review system is used by a particular journal in the journal’s ‘About’ page.

Why do peer review?

Peer review is an integral part of scientific publishing that confirms the validity of the manuscript. Peer reviewers are experts who volunteer their time to help improve the manuscripts they review. By undergoing peer review, manuscripts should become:

More robust - peer reviewers may point out gaps in a paper that require more explanation or additional experiments.

Easier to read - if parts of your paper are difficult to understand, reviewers can suggest changes.

More useful - peer reviewers also consider the importance of your paper to others in your field.

For more information and advice on how to get published, please see our blog series here.

How peer review works

The peer review process can be single-blind, double-blind, open or transparent.

You can find out which peer review system is used by a particular journal in the journal's 'About' page.

N. B. This diagram is a representation of the peer review process, and should not be taken as the definitive approach used by every journal.

You've been invited to peer review an article, but are you the right person for the job? Read more to find out what's on our peer review checklist

Image from geralt, Pixabay

You’ve been invited to peer review a manuscript. To reach this stage in your career you must have received many peer reviewers’ comments on your work. No doubt you experience a warm glow of satisfaction as you realise that now, at last, someone considers you to be an expert in your own right. It’s your turn to pass judgment on somebody else’s work.

If you have never peer reviewed before, once the warm glow has worn off you may well be left feeling a bit lost and daunted. Scientists don’t usually get any formal training on how to peer review. You have to rely on what you’ve read, observed, and your own experiences of peer reviewers’ comments on your own work.

Now it’s your turn to peer review in your own right. If you want to do a good job, there are a few places you can turn to for help.

The Sense about Science guide for early career researchers is an excellent source of information about peer review and includes some advice on what to look out for when peer reviewing. Although there are lots of general tips and advice available, it is difficult to translate general advice into a useful, detailed peer review report, especially if you have never done it independently before.

This series of blogs aims to help the novice peer reviewer by providing comprehensive and detailed advice on how to conduct peer review.

So, first things first, you’ve been invited to peer review a manuscript. What should you do next? Read on…

When to accept an invitation to peer review

The primary aim for a journal when it asks for peer review reports is to determine a manuscript’s suitability for publication. For authors, peer review provides credibility and might improve their manuscript while, more generally, peer review can help to maintain standards of scientific quality.

When you receive an invitation to peer review a manuscript, you’ll need to consider various factors before you decide whether to accept.

What is the primary purpose of the peer review process?

Peer review is designed to assess the validity, quality and often the originality of articles for publication. Its ultimate purpose is to maintain the integrity of science by filtering out invalid or poor quality articles.

What is the primary purpose of peer review quizlet?

The purpose of peer review is for other scientists to provide feedback on an article and tell the editor of the publication whether or not they think the study is of high enough quality to be published.

What are the three aims of peer review?

The primary goals of a peer review are to determine whether a scholarly work falls within the journal's scope, to check whether the research topic has been clearly formulated, and to decide if a suitable approach has been taken to address the scientific issues involved.

What is the purpose of peer reviewing a nursing manuscript?

Peer review, or the use of peers or experts to assist in judging the value of submitted work, is used—in common with other fields—in nursing to help decide which manuscripts are published in nursing journals and how they should be changed before publication (Godlee & Jefferson, 2003; Polit & Beck, 2017).