Peer Review Process

Purpose and Importance of Peer Review

• Purpose

  • Allow thorough evaluation of scientific/scholarly work by experts in the given field

• Importance

  • Provides vital feedback to author(s)

  • Allows journals to assess quality of work prior to publication

What do Peer Reviewers Do?

• Peer reviewers may assess:

  • Impact of research in the context of current literature

  • Effectiveness and accuracy of research methods and statistical analysis

  • Presentation of data

  • Quality of writing

• Based on these factors, they can choose to accept the manuscript as-is, after minor edits, or after major revision, or reject entirely

• Typically an anonymous process or “double blind”

Peer Reviewer Process

Limitations to the Peer Review Process

• Can feel intimidating and deter professionals from submitting

• Can be a lengthy process

• Paid for in part by “Article Processing Charge”, which can cost authors thousands of dollars

• Reviewers may hold certain biases

• May differ greatly between different journals

  • May be accepted to one with minor revisions and outright rejected by others

Tips for Peer Reviewing

• Start with one read through to begin to digest the overall feel of the manuscript from a typical audience members perspective

• Perform separate read-throughs for each aspect you are examining

  • Read-through to assess validity and accuracy

  • Separate read-through to focus on grammar and writing flow

• Provide constructive feedback

  • Compliments are great, but don’t be afraid to give constructive commentary

  • As the author, you do not have to adopt every recommendation from the peer reviewer

• Consider the target audience and how the overall message is conveyed

Why Reference?

• Provides credibility to a manuscript

• Validates your various points with evidence

• Show the extent of your literature review and can help determine effectiveness of synthesis of the literature

• Helps to avoid plagiarism

• Can give the audience other resources for similar topics

Referencing Journal Articles

Name

• What to do with different numbers of authors

  • If under or at 6 authors, include all in your reference with no “and” to signify the last author

  • If over 6 authors → add the first 3 to the citation and add et al

• No commas between last names and first initials

• If no authors, can instead use name of group/organization that put out article (capitalized), followed by title

Titles

• Keep in sentence form with no capitalization unless proper noun or abbreviation

• Do not capitalize after a colon

Journal Name

• Use ISO4 abbreviations

• Needs to be italicized and capitalize abbreviations

• No periods until the end of the journal abbreviation

Year and Journal Details

• Year;volume(issue number):page#-page#. doi## (if included)

• No space in between except for between page numbers and doi

• No period after doi

• If no page numbers, can put as volume(issue number). doi##

• If e-page numbers provided, can include as e###

DOI

• Ideal article identifier to include in reference: do not change, unlike URLs

• If there is no doi, can use full URL and accessed date → accessed month day, year. Full URL

Pre-Prints and Forthcoming Articles

• Forthcoming: have been accepted but are not yet published

  • Example: Tian D, Araki H, Stahl E, Bergelson J, Kreitman M. Signature of balancing selection in Arabidopsis. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. Forthcoming 2002.

• Pre-prints: draft that has yet to be peer reviewed (not a great source)

  • Kording KP, Mensh B. Ten simple rules for structuring papers. BioRxiv [Preprint]. 2016 bioRxiv 088278 [posted 2016 Nov 28; revised 2016 Dec 14; revised 2016 Dec 15; cited 2017 Feb 9]: [12 p.]. Available from: https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/088278v5 doi:10.1101/088278

Articles with Retractions

Retracted

• Feifel D, Moutier CY, Perry W. Safety and tolerability of a rapidly escalating dose-loading regimen for risperidone. J Clin Psychiatry. 2000;61(12):909-11. Retraction in: Feifel D, Moutier CY, Perry W. J Clin Psychiatry. 2002;63(2):169.

Partial

• Starkman JS, Wolter C, Gomelsky A, Scarpero HM, Dmochowski RR. Voiding dysfunction following removal of eroded synthetic mid urethral slings. J Urol. 2006 Sep;176(3):1040-4. Partial retraction in: Starkman JS, Wolder CE, Gomelsky A, Scarpero HM, Dmochowski RR. J Urol. 2006 Dec;176(6 Pt 1):2749.

Re-published with corrections

• Mansharamani M, Chilton BS. The reproductive importance of P-type ATPases. Mol Cell Endocrinol. 2002;188(1-2):22-5. Corrected and republished from: Mol Cell Endocrinol. 2001;183(1-2):123-6.

Articles in Other Languages

• Keep in original language if it is read in original language

• Translate reference to English, if used translated version of article

Website Citation

• Author Last name First Initial Middle Initial. Title with no capitalization. Name of the website, [date published]. Updated [date]. Accessed [date]. URL

  • If the title can’t be found → put the name of the organization responsible for website creation

• Example

• Zika travel information. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. January 26, 2016. Updated August 11, 2016. Accessed June 18, 2019. https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/page/zika-travel-information

Books Citation

Whole book (no chapters)

• Author Last name First initial Middle initial. Title of book and subtitle with capitalization and italicized. Volume #. Edition #. Publisher’s name: copyright year: page # - page #

• Can include page number if applicable

• Do not include edition number if first edition

• Use Arabic numerals (1,2,3) unless Roman numerals included in book

• If you want to cite entire book, then citation would end as “copyright year.”

• If no author available, then you can include editor(s) followed by “, eds.” for multiple editors or “, ed.” for a single editor

• Example

  • Riegelman RK, Kirkwood B. Public Health 101 : Healthy People-Healthy Populations. 2nd ed. Jones Bartlett Learning; 2015.

Specific Chapters

• Chapter Author Last name First initial Middle initial. Chapter title not capitalized or italicized. In: Author Last name, First initial, Middle initial. Title of Book and Subtitle with Capitalization and Italicized. Edition #. Publisher’s name; copyright year.

• Example

  • Bliss CM, Wolfe M. Common clinical manifestations of gastrointestinal disease. In: Andreoli TE, Cecil RL, eds. Andreoli and Carpenter’s Cecil Essential of Medicine. 8th ed. Saunders/Elsevier; 2010:382-400

Online Books

• Similar to printed books except: include access date and full URL

• Example

  • Riegelman RK, Kirkwood B. Public Health 101: Healthy People-Healthy Populations. 2nd ed. Jones and Bartlett Learning; 2015. Accessed May 5, 2024. URL

Package Inserts and Patents

Patent

• Inventor 1, Inventor 2, inventors. Name of Assignee, assignee. Title of Patent. Patent number with country code followed by word “patent” and number with commas. Date of Publication.

• Example:

  • Christiansen, GK, inventor; Interlego AG, assignee. Toy Building Set. US patent 3,597,875. August 10, 1971.

• If pending, can instead include “US patent application” followed by number

Package Insert

• Medication Name. Package insert. Manufacturer’s Name; Year

• Example:

  • Byetta. Package insert. Amylin Pharmaceuticals Inc; 2007.

• If found online, also include accessed date and URL, similar to how you cite online books

Tips for Reference List

• Should be single spaced within each reference, but double spaced between each reference

• Listed in the order that they appear in the body of the paper with associated numbers

In-Text Citations

• Should be superscript: comes at the end of the sentence/paragraph

• Is after periods/commas

• Is before colons and semicolons

• If more than one reference for a sentence or paragraph, can include as:

  • 1,5,7

  • 1-4,6

• If including author’s last name in text, citation could come directly after name or names discussed

  • McCookie⁸ discusses

• Do not place superscripts immediately after numbers or units of measure

  • NO: One study found that salt should be restricted to 2 grams.²

  • YES: One study² found that salt should be restricted to 2 grams.

Plagiarism

• Utilizing another individual’s work (writing, figures, tables) or intellectual property (ideas) and passing them off as your own without providing appropriate credit to the original creator

Tips to Avoiding Plagiarism

• Cite all sources that you use in your literature review and throughout your medical writing

  • Even what you may consider background or common knowledge may need to be cited depending on audience

• Be sure to cite appropriately, so that anyone that looks at your paper is able to find the original source

• Be familiar with what constitutes as plagiarism

• Learn to paraphrase appropriately and effectively

Paraphrasing

• Conveying the message of another original piece using your unique voice/words

• Helps to avoid plagiarism when done correctly

• Unlike copying or quoting, paraphrasing is an effective way to capture meaning of original research, while adding in your own ideas and flare

How to Paraphrase Effectively

• Start with an initial read-through of the original piece you are attempting to paraphrase

• Garner an understanding of the meaning of the original work

• Once ready, put aside the original piece and in your own words, write what you believe the meaning of the piece is

• Once satisfied with paraphrased writing, compare to the original to assure that there is no overlap

Use of Quotation in Scientific Writing

• Not frequently used in medical/scientific writing

• Audience wants to hear your unique voice, which cannot be conveyed through the use of quotations

• Some examples of when they might be used:

  • If interested in capturing qualitative data with patient/participant comments, may put those in quotes

  • If you notice that there are some novel phrases or words in an original piece of writing that you would like to use, then you can put that section in quotes and appropriately use in-text citations

• If you do use quotes, typically the shorter, the better

  • Long quotations typically require specific permission from original author

Tables and Figures

• Purpose: provide visual aid to further demonstrate your point

  • Can help summarize your data and put it in a more digestible format

  • Can provide a better understanding of the scale or impact of your topic

• Generally, should not contain any new information and should help to enhance points made within the text as a supplement to the text

• Can represent both qualitative or quantitative data

  • Quantitative– blood pressure measurement, morbidity and mortality, lab values

  • Qualitative – open-ended survey questions, observations

General Guidelines for Referencing Tables and Figures

• Number figures and tables in the order that they are utilized within the paper

  • Figures are numbered separately from tables

• If you need to explain anything within the table, can add a superscript letter and expand in footnotes

  • First letter (a) is typically reserved for your title and will be used in footnote to describe where data came from

• Tables/figures should also originate from primary sources

  • Do not use algorithms from UpToDate or Epocrates

How to Reference within a Table/Figure

• Changing the format of a table or figure from another source

  • Adapted from [Name of Organization]^{citation number}

• Adding new calculations or quantitative input to data, table or figure from another source

  • Ideal as you are synthesizing data to create new table/figure

  • Data adapted from [Name of Organization]^{citation number} or Derived from [Name of Organization]^{citation number}

• Typically, tables and figures are not copied exactly from another original work

  • If it is, would want permission from original author(s) to use their tables or figures

    • Reproduced with permission from [Name of Organization]^{citation number}

Figures

Types:

• Any kind of graph

  • Line, dot, bar, pie chart, boxplot, histogram, etc.

• Images

  • X-rays, US, MRI, CT

  • Images of clinical presentations

• Algorithms

  • Ex. ACLS algorithms

Includes:

• Title, Legend/key, Footnote

• Can include axises (if graph)

Referring to Tables/Figures In Text

• Number tables separately from figures

  • Should be labeled sequentially (as they appear in your paper)

• Can directly reference tables/figures

  • Table 4 depicts … .^{citation number(s)}

  • As seen in Table 4, … .^{citation number(s)}

• Can also indirectly reference tables/figures

  • There is a directly proportional relationship between number of pints of ice cream consumed and percent completion of didactic year (Figure 5).^{citation number(s)}

• Don’t refer to tables being above or below as they may not align if your work gets published

Primary Source

• Literature focused on original research with author(s) that were involved in the original research

• Not reviews of pre-existing literature

• How to spot primary sources

  • Materials/methods section to describe study set-up, operationalization of variables, and statistical analyses used

  • Results section with statistical analyses and study findings, often followed with a Discussion section

  • May have specific study aims

  • Doesn’t state a purpose of “reviewing”, unless it is a systematic review/meta-analysis

  • Look for “original research”, “original study”, or “primary”

Other Tips for Picking Good References

• The more recent, the better

  • Tend to try within 2 years, then expand out to past 5 years if information is limited

  • May have to continue to do literature review even after you start the writing process, especially when writing about hot topics where new research is published regularly

• Want to pay attention to parameters of study

  • Pay attention to sample size – if too small, findings may not be as meaningful

  • Where is the study completed?

    • Remote village in Northern Canada versus NYC, can greatly influence results

  • Take a peek at the methods, do they make sense?

What Primary Sources to Use

• Types

  • Randomized control trial (RCT)

  • Cohort studies (retrospective and prospective)

  • Cross-sectional studies

  • Case-control studies

  • Clinical trials

  • Survey research

• For clinical guidelines, try to find research that guidelines and gold standards originate from

• Make sure these are also peer-reviewed!

• Technically, meta-analyses and systematic reviews are not primary sources, but tend to be credible sources

Utilizing Resources

• Do not cite the introduction or background of original research as this is often synthesized from other original research

  • Find the reference they used and trace it back to the original source

• May find it hard not to use books for pathophysiology or clinical presentations

• May be included in methods such as in inclusion and exclusion criteria or in results

Clinical Study Reports

• Thorough report describing Materials and Results of clinical trials to mainly emphasize safety and efficacy of what is being studied

• Often used to send to regulatory bodies to help further develop new medications or treatments

• Typically longer and more meticulous than original research published within journals

• Can include:

  • Study significance and importance

    • Found towards end of introduction (like thesis statement)

  • Study aims

    • Can be within Methods section

  • Research Questions and Hypotheses

    • Typically in methods section

  • Limitations

    • Often found in discussion section

How to Critique Medical Literature

• Try to take a systematic approach

• Assure thorough introduction/background that exhibits author(s) understanding and synthesis of pre-existing literature

  • Is this novel research or has this been done before?

• Research Design

  • Adequate sample size? How is sample divided? Blinding? Random? Appropriate inclusion and exclusion criteria?

  • Can research design answer questions?

  • Was study type appropriate?

  • Was process of enrolling participants effective? Ethical study procedure?

  • Appropriate and accurate data collection tools? Variables defined appropriately?

• Results

  • Are findings meaningful? Organized?

  • Do tables/figures help depict findings?

• Discussion

  • Are meaningful conclusions drawn? Answered initial question or hypothesis?

  • Thorough list of limitations?

  • Provide any further considerations for moving forward?

• References

  • Within past 5 years? Primary sources? Cited appropriately?

• Other

  • Any conflicts of interest? Who is sponsoring the research? Pharmaceutical company?

  • Quality of the writing: is it proof-read well and edited appropriately?