peer review

New Directions In Scientific Peer Review

Posted 13 February 2013 by Jalees Rehman

Most scientists have a need-hate relationship with scientific peer review. We know that we need some form of peer review, because it is an important quality control measure that is supposed to help prevent the publication of scientifically invalid results. However, we also tend to hate scientific peer review in its current form, because we have had many frustrating experiences with it. We recently submitted a manuscript to a journal, where it was stuck for more than one year, undergoing... Read more

Posted in academia, research, science communication, scientific method, scientific methodology |

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Is Kindness Key to Happiness and Acceptance for Children?

Posted 28 December 2012 by Jalees Rehman

The study "Kindness Counts: Prompting Prosocial Behavior in Preadolescents Boosts Peer Acceptance and Well-Being" published by Layous and colleagues in the journal PLOS One on December 26, 2012 was cited by multiple websites as proof of how important it is to teach children to be kind. NPR commented on the study in the blog post "Random Acts Of Kindness Can Make Kids More Popular", and the study was also discussed in ScienceDaily in "Kindness Key to Happiness and Acceptance for... Read more

Posted in education, journalism, peer review, professionalism, psychology, research, science journalism, science writing, scientific method, scientific methodology |

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Great Expectations For Scientific Publication: How Digital Publishing Is Helping Science

Posted 22 November 2012 by Jalees Rehman

I recently came across a rant that lamented the advent of digital publishing, open access publishing and self-publishing in science. The rant was published in the Huffington Post as a “digital” blog post (ah, the irony), entitled “50 Shades of Grey in Scientific Publication: How Digital Publishing Is Harming Science”. It was reminiscent of the rants that might have been uttered by calligraphers who were upset about the emergence of Gutenberg’s printing press or concerns of European aristocrats in the... Read more

Posted in open access, peer review |

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