Peer review: The experience and views of early career researchers

Abstract

This paper presents selected findings from the first year of a 3‐year longitudinal study of early career researchers ( ECRs ), which sought to ascertain current and changing habits in scholarly communication. Specifically, the aims of the paper are to show: (1) how much experience and knowledge ECRs had of peer review – both as authors and as reviewers; (2) what they felt the benefits were and what suggestions they had for improvement; (3) what they thought of open peer review ( OPR ); and (4) who they felt should organize peer review. Data were obtained from 116 science and social science ECRs , most of whom had published and were subject to in‐depth interviews conducted face‐to‐face, via Skype, or over the telephone. An extensive literature review was also conducted to provide a context and supplementary data for the findings. The main findings were that: (1) most ECRS are well informed about peer review and generally like the experience, largely because of the learning experiences obtained; (2) they like blind double‐peer review, but would like some improvements, especially with regards to reviewer quality; (3) most are uncomfortable with the idea of OPR ; and (4) most would like publishers to continue organizing peer review because of their perceived independence.