The Open Medicine Student Peer Review Program

Peer review of manuscripts is an important means of ensuring the scientific rigour of published research. Across the spectrum of biomedical journals, the sheer number of articles reviewed, together with the volume of donated time required for review, is monumental. Most submissions are peer reviewed by at least two experts, although many journals eventually accept fewer than 25% of the papers they receive.

Despite the extent of this effort, the elements that constitute a good peer review are not always well understood. Given the highly variable quality and thoroughness of peer reviews—which can range from a cursory paragraph to a ten-page exegesis—we believe that the skills needed to conduct a meaningful peer review should be among the competencies taught as part of graduate research-training programs.

Open Medicine has provided an opportunity to acquire experience in peer review for a group of graduate students in the Department of Community Health Sciences at the University of Calgary. This particular department within the Faculty of Medicine cuts across the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) research categories of Pillar 3 (health services) and Pillar 4 (population health) and involves students with undergraduate science degrees (researchers in training) and medical school graduates in residency programs (clinician-scientists in training). Research expertise in Community Health Sciences covers subject areas as diverse as childhood obesity, patient safety indicators and administrative health data coding.