Variation in journal peer review systems. Possible causes and consequences.

To investigate disciplinary differences in how scientific journals evaluate submissions, I collected data from the Astrophysical Journal, Physiological Zoology, and the American Sociological Review. Referees' evaluations of submissions to these journals differed strikingly: nearly half of the referee reports for American Sociological Review recommended outright rejection, while the corresponding proportions for the other two journals were about one fourth and one tenth. Final dispositions show even greater variation, with Astrophysical Journal accepting 91% of submissions, Physiological Zoology 59%, and American Sociological Review 13%. The journals also differed substantially in the average number of revisions of eventually accepted papers and the average time lags between submission and final editorial decisions. Such differences conform to claims that disciplinary differences in consensus on research priorities and procedures contribute to variation in typical journal peer review systems. Review systems, in turn, influence authors' experiences in the peer review process.

The threshold hypothesis: evidence from less developed Latin American countries, 1950 to 1980.

Historical research among European countries finds large differences in the level of social, economic or demographic development among countries, or regions within countries at the time marital fertility rates began their decline from traditional high levels. This research tests a threshold hypothesis which holds that fertility will decline from traditional high levels if threshold levels of life expectancy and literacy are surpassed. Using a pooled regression analysis of 1950, 1960, 1970 and 1980 crude births rates (CBRs) in 20 less developed Latin American countries, in conjunction with 10-year lagged measures of social, economic and family planning program development, analyses reveal statistically significant effects of passing Beaver's (1975) threshold levels of 1950 literacy, or 1950 life expectancy, that are independent of levels of lagged literacy (or lagged life expectancy), economic and family planning program development, as well as measures that control period effects.