Beyond Scholarly Publishing: The Human Dimension of Peer Review in LIS

Abstract

Focusing on the human dimension, we look at scholarly peer review as a space for relationship building and analyze how negligent reviewing can detrimentally affect a sense of community. We introduce an analytical framework that is based on the humanistic pedagogical approach developed by Carl Rogers and Natalie Rogers and that operates with Rogerian concepts of empathy, unconditional positive regard, realness of reviewers, psychological safety, psychological freedom, and opportunity for challenging intellectual experiences. We briefly address the role of peer review in the changed scholarly landscape; posit it as a privilege and an unmatched opportunity; examine in detail the elements of helpful and unhelpful reviews; and give advice to authors on how to respond to reviews, especially the unhelpful ones. It is our hope that the article will be of interest to faculty, PhD students, practitioners who aspire to publish, and anyone involved in scholarly communication and grant reviewing.