Perceptions in Science

Unit 5:D1

Peer Review

Aims: to understand peer review and identify its strengths and

weaknesses

D1 explain the necessity for peer review and why sometimes there is resistance to new scientific theories

For D1, learners need to be aware of a range of professional journals and understand that this is how scientific developments are communicated to the scientific world. They must understand the process a scientific paper is subject to in order for it to be published, and be able to explain the peer-review process. Drawing on their understanding of the development of scientific theories, they must then explain using examples, why a new theory is often greeted with scepticism and takes time to become accepted.

Hand in w/c Nov 30th 2009

The scientist writes up the research...

And sends it to the editor...

Who sends it to other scientists for peer review...

They give their recommendations to the editor...

...who may reject it...

...return it to the scientist for corrections...

...or accept it for publication!

Peer review: key questions

What are the strengths of peer review?

What are the shortfalls of peer review?

Does it rely too much upon scientists being honest?

Is there a better system for appraising research?

Does peer review detect fraud and misconduct?

Is maverick science rejected through peer review?

Does the peer review process slow down advances in scientific and medical knowledge?

Other avenues to pursue:

Stephen C. Meyer’s paper inProceedings of the Biological Society of Washington.Peer review journal edited by Sternberghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sternberg_peer_review_controversy

Alan Sokal’s hoax paper:“Transgressing the Boundaries: Towards a Transformative Hermeneutics of Quantum Gravity” Social Text 46/47 (1996) pp. 217-252. http://www.nytimes.com/books/98/11/15/specials/sokal-fish.htmlhttp://www.physics.nyu.edu/faculty/sokal/lingua_franca_v4/lingua_franca_v4.html

http://www.nature.com/nature/peerreview/debate/index.html

http://www.senseaboutscience.org.uk/

Thomas Kuhn1922-1996