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An Empirical Assessment of Reviewer 2
Christopher Worsham1,2,3, Jaemin Woo1, André Zimerman4
1Department of Health Care Policy, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
The common belief that the second peer reviewer (Reviewer 2) is harsher is unfounded. This study found no significant difference in the sentiment or content of reviews from Reviewer 2 compared to other reviewers.
Area of Science:
- Scientific Publishing
- Peer Review Process
Background:
- A prevalent notion in academic circles suggests that the second peer reviewer (Reviewer 2) tends to be more critical.
- This perception could potentially influence the review process and authors' expectations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To empirically test the widely held belief about the critical nature of the second peer reviewer.
- To provide data-driven insights into reviewer behavior in scientific publishing.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of 2,546 open peer reviews for 796 manuscripts published in the British Medical Journal.
- Quantitative assessment of review content, including word count, positive/negative phrases, question marks, and use of 'please'.
Main Results:
- No statistically significant differences were observed between Reviewer 2 and other reviewers in word count (P = .16), negative phrases (P = .29), positive phrases (P = .10), question marks (P = .26), or use of 'please' (P = .86).
- Reviewer 2's reviews exhibited similar sentiment and content to those of other reviewers.
Conclusions:
- The findings suggest that the popular belief regarding the harsher critique by the second peer reviewer is not supported by empirical evidence.
- This study indicates that reviewer identity (e.g., being Reviewer 2) does not inherently correlate with review severity.
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