Research In Practice Blog
To maintain accurate and high-quality scientific literature, novel, comprehensive strategies are needed to train and recruit more peer reviewers. Historically mid to senior level faculty complete literature review, but some scientific journals are experiencing a shortage of available reviewers because of increased volumes of publications and reviewer fatigue. Fellows can utilize group peer review, in which a group of reviewers collaborate to systematically critique a manuscript, to help fill gaps and foster a new generation of scholars.
In this Hospital Pediatrics Review, Clinical Futures experts Michael J. Luke, MD, MSHP and Christopher P. Bonafide, MD, MSCE along with their colleague Rebecca Tenney-Soeiro, MD, MSEd, outline four steps to conduct effective group peer reviews.
“We emphasize peer review for a few reasons. The peer review improves trainees’ abilities to appraise scientific literature and publish their own academic work by providing trainees with insight into the journal submission process. Peer review can immerse fellows in the research community, keeping them updated on the latest developments in their field, facilitating networking and helping to mitigate the impostor syndrome of becoming a researcher and claiming the title of scholar.” said Michael J. Luke, MD, MSHP.
Step 1: Fundamentals
Before trainees can participate in group peer reviews, they should receive education on how to conduct a review. Lu et al published a reference for a systematic process to evaluate manuscripts and write reviews, which Dr. Luke uses as an outline for his introductory didactic session.
Step 2: Journal Selection
Establish an informal partnership with a journal of interest with content most relevant to our field and one that is amenable to assigning articles for GPRs.
Step 3: Facilitation
Designate a GPR leader who is responsible for coordinating with the journal, facilitating group discussion, and finalizing the review. After the review, the leader should collate the feedback into a final, clean version, share it with the group so they can see what a final product looks like, and submit it to the journal.
Step 4: Promoting Independence
After GPR, provide the fellows with instructions on how they can become independent peer reviewers at their preferred journals.
Clinical Implications
Dedicated training in peer review can help reduce trainees’ barriers to becoming independent reviewers such as a lack of formal education on peer review throughout medical training, logistical barriers to entering the reviewer network, and sense of self-doubt.
As the volume of new research and submitted manuscripts increase, GPR will offer an opportunity to ensure that published clinical research maintains its rigor and is continually trusted by the public. Further, the process of engaging with the peer review process will help clinical trainees better interpret medical literature, so they can more adeptly apply evidence-based medicine to their routine practice. Finally, since journals regularly evaluate the quality of the reviews they receive, as GPR models increase, there will be a promising opportunity to evaluate the effects of these models on the quality of peer review into the future.
Clinical Futures author(s): Michael J. Luke, MD, MSHP and Christopher P. Bonafide, MD, MSCE