Group Peer Review

Abstract

Invitation to review a manuscript for publication marks an exciting milestone in graduate and postgraduate students’ training. Yet, peer reviewing is seldom explicitly taught. First-time reviewers approaching this task often lack mentorship, guidelines, and confidence. The ongoing debate about how to judge the quality of qualitative research can further complicate the task. In this article, we introduce an innovative model for conducting group peer reviews in the context of qualitative research training. After setting out the model's principles and process, we discuss its merits and reflect on our experiences as trainees and supervisor using the approach. In addition to providing opportunities for mentorship in appraisal methods, writing strategies, and approaches for framing constructive feedback, we suggest the model has the potential to advance trainees’ development as collegial peers and their overall learning as qualitative researchers. Finally, we discuss potential ways forward to extend the model in other contexts.