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How blind is blind review?
1Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical Center, Worcester 01655.
American Journal of Public Health
|July 1, 1991
Summary
Most reviewers favor blind review, believing it reduces bias. While not always successful, blind review is generally effective when personal knowledge is the only clue for identification.
Area of Science:
- Bibliometrics
- Scholarly Communication
Background:
- Limited data exists on scientific opinion and success rates of blind review.
- The American Journal of Public Health has utilized blind review since 1977.
Purpose of the Study:
- To survey reviewer opinions on blind review.
- To assess the success rate of the blinding process in manuscript review.
Main Methods:
- 312 reviewers were surveyed regarding their ability to identify authors/institutions.
- Reviewers provided clues for identification and opinions on blind review.
Main Results:
- Reviewers identified authors/institutions in 47% of cases; 39% were correct.
- Self-referencing (62%) and personal knowledge (38%) were key identification clues.
- Blinding was successful in 83% of personal knowledge cases; 75% of reviewers favored blind review, citing bias reduction.
Conclusions:
- Blind review at the American Journal of Public Health is generally successful but not foolproof.
- Reviewer preference, which varies by journal, is a valid basis for policy on blind review in the absence of definitive data.