How do peer reviewers of journal articles perform? Evaluating the reviewers with a sham paper.

ABSTRACT

Peer review process is widely used to assess the quality of scientific research and select papers for publication in biomedical journals. The method lacks standardization and objectivity. To standardize the peer review process, evaluation and rating of the performance of individual peer reviewers using a sham paper is suggested. The present study of 7 reviewers revealed ratings ranging from 0.34 (SD 0.33) to 0.45 (SD 0.5), widely differing from the set standard (ideal 0). This indicates less than optimal performance by the peer reviewers. Feedback to the peer reviewers might help in improving the standards.