Back to school

Why are abstracts so important?

A lot can be gleaned from the title and abstract. Most readers only go through the first page to gauge whether an article is of interest to them. ➜ These sections are therefore critical. 

The abstract should clearly describe the main idea of the article; however, in papers "produced" by papermills, the abstract often does not match what is represented in the title.

Other times, authors add keywords to titles/abstracts (keyword stuffing) to pass scope checks, but the actual content of the article is unrelated to the keywords. These discrepancies are even the main cause for declarations of concern by publishers.


It is increasingly difficult to discern reality from fiction. A lot of this is caused by the ever increasing rise in submitted papers and lack of formal standards or guidelines for peer review. Moreover, the notion of reviewing as a professional obligation fails to sufficiently recognize or reward the burden it imposes.

The restricted and top-heavy pool of qualified reviewers that results is insufficient and unwilling. Additionally, current prompts can already lead to abstracts that fool scientists. How can we then combat this? Shall we continue to trust the scholarly record?

 

I believe the best way to proceed is through learning: treating peer review with the respect it deserves, learn it properly, and be recognised by performing it.

As much as the publishing industry relies on peer review, this is not yet an accredited skill. Nevertheless, there is a profusion of resouces available online that I found helpful when trying to learn how to be a better reviewer:

 

This specific masterclass is free of charge, you only need an account. It is designed for researchers in the natural sciences who are new to peer review or wish to refresh their skills. 

It is comprised of 4 modules, each lasting about an hour: (1) Your role as a peer reviewer, (2) The peer review report, (3) Ethics in peer review, and (4) Variations and innovations in peer review.  

 

It's necessary to have membership to the European Association of Science Editors (EASE) for full access to its resources. This includes general guides for journal editors managing the peer review process, a compilation of training resources for peer reviewers, and purpose-built infographics, like the one below. 


It also includes access to the only card game designed around peer review I've ever come across.


These resources explore how the peer review process works, who benefits from peer review, and which questions to ask when evaluating manuscripts.

I found the sections on Common problems with methods and statistics, Reviewing review articles, and Issues to watch for in the use of references especially useful. 

 

These on-demand free courses are especially good as an overview for early career researchers getting started. The courses focus on research integrity and a thorough understanding of the academic publishing process. 

I especially recommend An Introduction to Peer Review, which lasts about 30 minutes and provides a template for how to structure a peer review report.

 

In addition to sharpening and updating literature research skills, the ability to shift perspectives is essential when comparing and contrasting results described in previously published papers to the ones being presented in the study under assessment. Asking clarification questions, challenging assumptions, pointing out missing important evidence, and uncovering potential sources of bias are all attributes of the critical analysis of a research manuscript. Thus, spending considerable amount of time and resources into assessing the quality of somebody else's research is a surprisingly good self-investment. It exercises effective writing and critical thinking skills.



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