We conducted a literature review of best practice in peer review. Following this research, we identified five principles for better peer review: Content Integrity, Content Ethics, Fairness, Usefulness, and Timeliness. For each of these principles, we have developed a set of recommendations to improve peer review standards. In this article, we describe the role of peer review and how our five principles support that goal. This article is intended to continue the conversation about improving peer review standards and provide guidance to journal teams looking to improve their standards. It is accompanied by a detailed checklist, which could be used by journal teams to assess their current peer review standards.
Aim: To define a set of standards for better peer review. Method: We set out the expectations of five groups of stakeholders in the peer review process: authors, reviewers, editors, readers, and the general public. We then solicited case studies from people involved in peer review, to capture practical insights into how journal teams address the essential areas of integrity, ethics, fairness, usefulness and timeliness. Results: We received 40 case studies from stakeholders of journals published by Wiley in a range of subject areas from around the globe. The case studies identified areas of existing best practices and highlighted problems that might require better practices. Conclusion: We used this information to define essential areas of practice for peer review and to provide recommendations in each area, synthesizing these into a practical checklist to help journal teams improve their practices.
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