In academic publishing, an article is first a drafted manuscript that is carefully reviewed by scientists of a particular discipline and specialization. Their in-depth commentary identifies the flaws and highlights the benefits of the experimental study design and results. Receiving research grants and scholarships is impossible without getting a manuscript approved by a group of esteemed peer reviewers, who are usually mid-career researchers with an impressive track record of publications.
What are the flaws in peer review process of academic publishing?
Most early career researchers are post-doc candidates who have to scrutinize their work from the eagle eyes of three to four peer reviewers. The authenticity of the research and its related findings need to be officially recognized by peer reviewers. After peer review process is completed, the article is polished by an academic publisher.
Some of the flaws of academic peer review process is that it is a slow and lengthy process, often determined by the type of peer review model followed by a journal. Academics are overworked people and they work on volunteer basis for journals. Therefore, peer review process seems to be exploitative for academics as it offers very little or no remuneration. The time and effort put in reviewing is an integral part of the publication process, so it should be compensated.
Another striking flaw of the peer review process is that is getting biased and lacks transparency. Most journals follow the double blind peer review system. The names of the authors of the manuscript are concealed. The reviewers do not know the names of the authors of the manuscript. At the same time, the names of the reviewers and their credentials are not furnished to authors. Thus, the current system lacks transparency and acts as a “black box.”
Finally, the speed of the peer review process is associated with a long waiting time. Whenever, a paper is submitted to a journal, it is scrutinized for the novelty of findings. Once the content is approved, the authors have to wait for a long time before the paper is sent to set of esteemed peer reviewers.
Once the peer review process is completed, the final publication process is initiated: here, the editors do NOT work in tandem with reviewers. Usually, researchers get their work published in peer-reviewed journals within one year or two. Delays in peer review process makes policymakers rely on outdated findings of science.
Early career researchers have to make a mark in the field of scholarly publications. They need to get a tenure of post-doc research positions and professorship only on the basis of their successful publications. Most post-doc researchers are very good in laboratory activities. Writing of experimental manuscripts is an art, which needs to be deciphered from the constructive comments of peer reviewers.