Peer Review Problems

The most common problem that two-thirds of scientists have with the peer review process is reviewer incompetence, says the Chronicle of Higher Education. A recent survey asked environmental researchers at NIH about unethical behavior they encountered during the peer review process. The study was non-random (the authors call it "exploratory"), yet highlights some grievances with the process.

At Science in the Open, Cameron Neylon says, "To me, anonymous peer review is, and always has been, broken." He goes on to look at peer review experiments, especially at PLoS One for its "range of commenting features." He adds, "I believe strongly that we need to develop better mechanisms for handling peer review and that it will be a very difficult process getting there."