Beyond objective and balanced: Writing constructive manuscript reviews.

摘要

The crafting of manuscript critiques relies on considerable efforts of largely volunteer peer reviewers-scholars and scientists called upon to use a complex set of analytic skills honed, typically, through years of experience in conducting research and providing critical analysis in the interest of improving outcome. It is an art requiring both skill and finesse (Foster, 2002). Although a resource-intensive process, the rewards of peer reviewing, for the discipline, the fields of inquiry, the scientific journals, and the authors make it a worthy investment. Manuscripts having undergone peer review, refined in response, and readied for publication following the scrutiny of editors, demonstrate the value of the process-the product surpasses the quality of the initial submission (Goodman, Berlin, Fletcher, & Fletcher, 1994).