Reading Research

The peer review process is the cornerstone in ensuring that published research is rigorous, reproducible and ethically sound. Watch this 2.30 mins video that introduces peer review; explains what peer reviewers do; how peer reviewers assess research; and how peer reviewers evaluate research.

In simple terms, peer review is a quality control process applied to an author’s scholarly work and is designed to ensure that published works are valid, original and of high quality.

This guide explores what the peer review process is and how to find peer review resources.

After your manuscript has gone through peer review, you may need to revise it to address the reviewers’ concerns. If this is not done sufficiently, it could subject your manuscript to another round of ‘revise and resubmit’, ‘accept with revisions’, or worse ‘reject after revisions’.

So how do you respond to reviewer comments productively? You will be expected to prepare a revised version of the manuscript and write a response letter explaining how you have addressed the feedback from your reviewers.

There can be a lot to consider, so read on for a step-by-step guide to make it a straightforward process.

Peer review is the independent assessment of your research paper by experts in your field. The purpose of peer review is to evaluate the paper’s quality and suitability for publication. As well as peer review acting as a form of quality control for academic journals, it is a very useful source of feedback for you. The feedback can be used to improve your paper before it is published. So at its best, peer review is a collaborative process, where authors engage in a dialogue with peers in their field, and receive constructive support to advance their work.

Use our free guide to discover how you can get the most out of the peer review process.

Peer review is an integral component of publishing the best quality research. Its purpose is to:

1.  Aid in the vetting and selection of research for publication, ensuring that the best work is taken forward

2.  Provide suggestions for improving articles that go through review, raising the general quality of published research.

The purpose of this guide is to give a practical introduction to
conducting effective peer reviews, especially for those who are new to the process. While the information here is generally applicable to all journals with standard peer review practices, it’s important to ensure that you take into account any specific instructions given by the particular journal you are reviewing for

Reading scientific research papers can be a tricky task. It is important to ensure you not only understand the research, but to read it critically and evaluate its reliability.

This website provides some advice to help you efficiently read, understand and critically evaluate scientific research articles.

Understanding and interpreting research evidence is an important part of practicing evidence-informed decision making in public health. You need to understand some basic concepts.

This series of short videos explains some important terms that you are likely to encounter when looking at research evidence.

In this comprehensive online course, you’ll gain a deep understanding of the critical appraisal process and why it’s essential in evaluating scientific publications. Our expert instructors will guide you through the key steps involved in critically appraising research articles, helping you develop the skills to conduct independent evaluations.

Click on ‘Learn more’, then on the RET Program website, click on ‘log in’, sign up as a new member with your details. When you come to ‘Institution’ in the drop-down box, click on ‘@research’, you will then be asked to click on your health service in the drop-down box. In the next box where it asks for the @Research Access Code, enter ‘atResearch’. Registering this way will provide free access to the RET Program courses, courtesy of @research.

Given the sheer volume and variable quality of published papers even in high impact journals, it is essential to have skills to target and rapidly appraise relevant literature to answer current clinical questions. This seminar provides simple strategies to help focus your reading, examine validity of results, and decide whether to accept and apply them in your setting.

Understanding Health Research is a tool designed to help people understand and review published health research to decide how dependable and relevant a piece of research is. The tool was developed by researchers at MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit, University of Glasgow, in collaboration with two other MRC Units and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

Links to articles in the BMJ that explain how to read and interpret different kinds of research papers, including quantitative research, systematic reviews and meta-analyses, economic analyses, statistical analyses, assessing methodology quality, and the Medline database.

Explores what a systematic review is, its aims and objectives, and how to read and interpret its results for maximum benefit.

Links to risk of bias assessment tools for randomised trials; non randomised studies of interventions; prognostic studies; diagnositic studies; prevalence studies; mixed methods studies; measurement studies; qualitative studies; systematic reviews.

Checklists to assist critical appraisal for a range of research approaches, assessing the trustworthiness, relevance and results of published papers, includes: Analytical Cross Sectional Studies, Case Control Studies, Case Reports, Case Series, Cohort Studies, Diagnostic Test Accuracy Studies, Economic Evaluations, Prevalence Studies, Qualitative Research, Quasi-Experimental Studies, Randomised Controlled Trials, Systematic Reviews, Text and Opinion.

Online workshops and virtual learning available at cost, however checklists free for Randomised Controlled Trials; Systematic review; qualitative research; cohort study; diagnositic study; case control study; economic evaluation; clinical prediction rule.