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Peer review and editorial decision-making

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 January 2018

Louise Howard  and
Greg Wilkinson
Louise Howard*
Affiliation:
Institute of Psychiatry, De Crespigny Park, London
Greg Wilkinson
Affiliation:
University Department of Psychiatry, Royal Liverpool University Hospital, Liverpool
*
Dr Louise Howard, Institute of Psychiatry, De Crespigny Park, London SE5 8AF
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Abstract

Introduction

This paper describes and analyses the editor's decision-making process at the British Journal of Psychiatry (BJP), and investigates the association between reviewers' assessments and editorial decisions.

Method

Four hundred consecutive manuscripts submitted over a six-month period to the BJP were examined prospectively for assessors' comments and editorial decisions on acceptance or rejection. Interrater reliability of assessments was calculated and a logistic regression analysis investigated the effect of the rank allocated by assessors and the comprehensiveness of the assessments on the editor's decision.

Results

The editor sent 248/400 (62%) manuscripts to assessors for peer review. Kappa for reliability of assessors' rankings was 0.1 indicating poor interrater reliability. Assessors agreed best on whether to reject a paper. A ranking of five (indicating rejection) had the greatest association with editor's rejection (P < 0.001, odds ratio 0.079), and the mean ranking of assessments was also significantly associated with editorial acceptance or rejection (P=0.004, odds ratio 0.24)

Conclusion

Assessors and editors tend to agree on what is clearly not acceptable for publication but there is less agreement on what is suitable.

Type
Papers
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 173 , Issue 2 , August 1998 , pp. 110 - 113
Copyright
Copyright © 1998 The Royal College of Psychiatrists 

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Footnotes

†

See invited commentaries pp. 114–115. this issue.

Declaration of interest

The second author is Editor of the BJP.

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