Abstract
Journal peer review lies at the heart of academic quality control. This article explores the journal peer review process and seeks to examine how the reviewing process might itself contribute to papers, leading them to be more highly cited and to achieve greater recognition. Our work builds on previous observations and views expressed in the literature about (a) the role of actors involved in the research and publication process that suggest that peer review is inherent in the research process and (b) on the contribution reviewers themselves might make to the content and increased citation of papers. Using data from the journal peer review process of a single journal in the Social Sciences field (Business, Management and Accounting), we examine the effects of peer review on papers submitted to that journal including the effect upon citation, a novel step in the study of the outcome of peer review. Our detailed analysis suggests, contrary to initial assumptions, that it is not the time taken to revise papers but the actual number of revisions that leads to greater recognition for papers in terms of citation impact. Our study provides evidence, albeit limited to the case of a single journal, that the peer review process may constitute a form of knowledge production and is not the simple correction of errors contained in submitted papers.
Highlights
This article explores journal peer review and seeks to examine how the reviewing process might itself contribute to the citedness of papers
Our work builds on previous observations and views expressed in the literature about (a) the role of actors involved in the research and publication process that suggest that peer review is inherent in the research process and (b) on the contribution reviewers themselves might make to the content and increased citation of papers
Using data from the journal peer review process of a single journal in the Social Sciences field (Business, Management and Accounting), we examine the effects of peer review on papers submitted to that journal including the effect upon citation, a novel step in the study of the outcome of peer review
Summary
This article explores journal peer review and seeks to examine how the reviewing process might itself contribute to the citedness of papers. Our work builds on previous observations about (a) the role of actors involved in the research and publication process which has argued that peer review is inherent in the research process (Rigby and Edler 2005); (b) work which emphasises the contribution which reviewers themselves make to the content and citedness of papers, in the social and behavioural sciences; and (c) the claims by Cowley (2015) of peer review as systemic, distributed, complex knowledge production process within which larger frame of reference journal peer review occurs. In respect of these observations, and in particular our focus on the role of reviewers, we note the words of Bakanic et al (1987, p. 641) who claimed that ‘expert peer participation may not come until after the journal’s review is underway... and where manuscript review, revision, and resubmission process are vital contributions to the construction of the scholarship reported’—a claim made fully a decade and a half before Frey (2003) asked authors to choose between writing their own work and academic success
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