Benefits of Peer-Review Research

Peer-Review Search

Abstract

 Peer-review is a method of reviewing a person that completes a research paper on their ideas and thought to be reviewed by other individuals that are of the same rank a field of their research. It helps assist people that write achieve high standards. It also helps assist in controlling and sending the information of their research data to ensure that unwarranted claims, unacceptable interpretations or personal views are not published without prior expert review (Kelly, Sadeghieh, Adeli, 2014), Peer review has become essential in aiding editors in choosing credible, high quality, novel and thought-provoking research papers to publish in scientific journals and to confirm the correction of any faults or issues present in presented papers. Though the peer review process still has some flaws and deficiencies, a more suitable screening method for scientific papers has not yet been proposed or developed (Kelly, Sadeghieh, Adeli, 2014), 

 There has to be a way to determine and evaluating journal articles, websites and information that is going to be used for research. This is important because in order to pass the peer review the information utilized has to be validated. Peer review will look to see if the information that was used from the websites is valid. In it is not valid it will not pass the peer review process.

Peer review is reviewing/ evaluating the research of others that are in the similar field and same rank. In health care it peer-review is very important because this helps with us provide best-practice standards in the care we provide patients. Peer evaluation presents a method to safeguard that new nursing standards of care are addressed. Effective peer review includes evidence-based nursing practice and quality and safety standards, with a focus on outcomes (Fostet, 2015). Research articles must be reviewed before they are published.

 It is important that person that is completing the peer review is timely because information is always changing and it affects the best practices that are provided. Utilizing peer-review best practices always affects the patients and the nurses. This helps encourage health care providers improve the quality and safety asking questions when providing care. Is there a way to improve the quality being delivered to improve the current practice?

 ANA’s Code of Ethics recognizes that effective peer review is indispensable for holding nursing practice to the highest standards (Foster, 2015). Peer review supports address the limitations of duty and loyalty for all nurses, including “the responsibility to preserve integrity and safety, to uphold proficiency, and to convey on personal and professional development (Foster, 2015).”

 In order to determine if an article is in fact peer reviewed you can search the site limiting to peer-reviewed articles on the database you are searching. Not all sites have the capability to narrow it down, but it is an option on some. Some let you do am-advanced search and it might be an option to click on to help only show those peer-reviewed articles. One should try to utilize web sites that are academic in nature if possible.

 There is a website that one can utilize to determine if an article is peer-reviewed. The site is as follows Ulrichsweb.com. This site can help you to determine if the journal is indicated as being peer-reviewed. When you are in the website you will want to enter the title of the article you are searching for. This is one way to help determine if the article it in fact a peer review article.

  An added way to verify if an article is peer reviewed is to search for the “referred” word on the article. If you are unable to locate, the whole are should be opened up to see if it could be located. Peer-reviewed (refereed or scholarly) journals - Articles are composed by professionals and are evaluated by numerous additional professionals in the topic before the article is available in the journal in order to assure the article’s value (Angelo State University, 2018).

 There are other ways on evaluating if the information you are reading is credible or not credible. When conducting research it is important to be able to distinguish between the two especially when you are writing an article yourself for best practice or validating the process. The reason is the research as mentioned above will have to go through scrutiny from other peers through peer review and they will have to validate that the information that you are using and writing about is from reliable sources.

 When evaluating websites or journal articles we should look at the authority, accuracy, objectivity, currency, coverage and appearance of the information (Northern Michigan Library, 2018). The authority is can we figure out who wrote the information, Accuracy is can we verify the information written somewhere else and objectivity is the information biased.  Are there times, dates on the information to validate currency. Does the site appear to be well organized and written appropriately (Northern Michigan Library, 2018)?

 Authority in a website or article is important because there is an amount of accountability for any of the ideas expressed (Northern Michigan Library, 2018).  Once the individual or organization accountable for the information is identified, we can then begin to validate and look at the person’s reliability and character. One can search for other things this this person has written and review the peer reviews if available or any other reviews that are available. Once can also look at the domain to see where it stems from the government and educational intuitions have domains that start with .gov and .edu. Another was to look for authority is does the website offer a way to contact them either by address or phone number. If it is not listed, the reliability of the site should be questioned. Does the person writing the article offer qualifications or credentials? For example, Clues include an author’s educational background (e.g. PhD, Masters, MD in in the specialty, current position (Wildlife Biologist for the Department of Natural Resources), or note what the author’s current position is any that can validate the persons reputation (Northern Michigan Library, 2018).  

 Proclamations from well-known and trustworthy groups practically all the time have been investigated and supported by numerous individuals. Therefore, this analysis assists in avoiding the proclamation of unreliable data. Government sites (.gov) are very good examples of organizations where information is disseminated through this type of system (Northern Michigan Library, 2018).  It can be difficult for additional groups, it to sometimes conclude if the information they are searching is reliable. Signs to search for is to make sure that the date an organization was founded, the number of members, their mission, the types of publications they produce, whether they have annual conferences, etc (Northern Michigan Library, 2018) . Normally, reputable groups and organizations that have written peer-reviewed articles or repeated publications have a good reputation and are found to be valid.

 Objectivity is also important in determining if a website or an article is valid. Does the writer write only one sided or do they present the research fairly and balanced in all directions. There has to be some bias to validate all sides of the research. As pointed out by Northern Michigan Library, good information sources will use a calm, reasoned tone to present information in a balanced manner and it is important to pay attention to the tone and be cautious of sites that contain highly emotional writing (Northern Michigan Library, 2018).  IF the writer is attacking or one sided and showing an unfair presentation of all sides it is important that we step back and questions the validity. We have to remember what is peer-review a scholarly research articles?

Peer review and scholarly articles helps assist in controlling and sending the information of their research data to ensure that unwarranted claims, unacceptable interpretations or personal views are not published without prior expert review (Kelly, Sadeghieh, Adeli, 2014), Peer review has become essential in aiding editors in choosing credible, high quality, novel and thought-provoking research papers to publish in scientific journals and to confirm the correction of any faults or issues present in presented papers. If one is displaying emotions and is one sided they are only showing one view. Once it goes through expert review it might not be credible if the information being written is seen to have faults.

 In conclusion, peer-review research is an important process because it helps validate the research that was conducted. The process allows for others of the same rank to validate the research by scrutinizing the information. Once the research has been validated and been looked at for errors it assists in reassuring or increasing the current process for best practices for patient care. It also assists in controlling and sending the information of their research data to ensure that unwarranted claims, unacceptable interpretations or personal views are not published without prior expert review (Kelly, Sadeghieh, Adeli, 2014).  Peer review has become essential in patient care to assure that we are providing quality and the most up to date practice. Though the peer review process still has some flaws and deficiencies, a more suitable screening method for scientific papers has not yet been proposed or developed (Kelly, Sadeghieh, Adeli, 2014).

References

• Angelo State University, 2018. How to recognize peer-reviewed journals. Library Guides. Retrieved from https://www.angelo.edu/services/library/handouts/peerrev.php

         Foster, R. 2015. American Nurses Association (ANA). Peer Review Tip: Distinguishing the Difference Between Peer Review, Peer Evaluation, and Peer Feedback. Retrieved from https://www.nursingworld.org/organizational-programs/ana-consultation-services/tips-articles–videos/distinguishing-the-difference-between-peer-review-peer-evaluation-and-peer-feedback/

• Kelly, Sadeghieh, Adeli, 2014. Peer Review in Scientific Publications: Benefits, Critiques, & Survival Guide. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4975196/
• Norther Michigan University, 2018. Evaluating Sources. Retrieved from https://library.nmu.edu/guides/userguides/webeval.htm