image: The locations of the journals and their editors-in-chief were found to be concentrated in just a few parts of the world – exactly the same ones with the best outcomes in peer review. view more
Credit: Michigan State University Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior Program
Scientists’ careers are defined by their contributions to the peer-reviewed literature. Yet, a study just out in Nature Ecology & Evolution by Michigan State University researchers reveals that peer review disadvantages some scientists more than others, but solutions to rectify this disparity remain elusive.
Despite ever increasing cries for greater diversity, equity, and inclusion in science, the peer reviewed literature remains largely dominated by a handful of groups such as male authors from the United States and United Kingdom. While the causes for this are multifaceted, the role that bias in peer review plays has remained controversial.
MSU researchers analyzed data from more than 300,000 biological science manuscripts to see if the authors’ demographics mattered when it came to deciding if research was worthy of publication.
Their conclusions: Authors from historically excluded groups generally face worse peer review outcomes; few studies have examined how well interventions address peer review bias; and journals aren’t doing much to ensure an equitable review process.
“We were inspired to conduct the study after observing explicitly biased comments as co-authors and co-reviewers and experiencing seemingly worse peer review outcomes compared to colleagues that do not identify as members of historically excluded groups,” said Olivia Smith, the study’s lead author who is an MSU Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior (EEB) ProgramPresidential Postdoctoral Fellow.
The study analyzed data collected from 31 prior studies to look for evidence of bias due to author demographics. The study found lower overall acceptance rates for authors who were affiliated with institutions in Asia, whose country’s primary language was not English and were in countries with relatively low measures of social and economic development. Authors’ assumed gender also was linked to worse review outcomes.
The study looked for solutions to reduce bias and found few studies given the wide disparities they uncovered in the review system. The team only uncovered data on how diversity of reviewers and editorial boards and double-blind review – where the authors and reviewers remain anonymous to each other throughout the review process – impact review outcomes.
“Academics often self-identify as progressive and profoundly opposed to ethnic and gender discrimination. However, as a community we have been extremely reticent to make the effort to introduce double-blind peer review,” said Tom Tregenza, professor of evolutionary ecology at the University of Exeter. Tregenza was not involved in the study and has published research on the peer review process. “With Smith et al.’s study the jury is in – single blind peer review is discriminatory and we’re not doing enough about it.
“Double blind review is far from perfect, but do we need another million data points to convince us that we can’t just keep limping on with a review system that assumes scientists are not subject to the biases that are so well established by their own research.”
The authors also examined policies that journals have in place for the peer review process including what peer review models are being used and specific review guidelines for authors and reviewers, particularly around inflammatory comments towards authors for whom English is not a primary language. They found that journals aren’t really doing much to mitigate potential bias. For example, less than 16% of journals in ecology and evolutionary biology were using a double-blind review model. Further, only 2% had guidelines for peer reviewers that explicitly mentioned social justice issues.
Smith and colleagues further traced the locations of the journals and their editors-in-chief and found them to be concentrated in just a few parts of the world – the same ones with the best outcomes in peer review.
With that said, the authors acknowledge their study’s limitations including the fact that it is difficult to tell if a manuscript is rejected because of bias, or because the work did not meet a journals’ standards.
Whether it is truly bias or disparate outcomes due to other factors, the study clearly shows that across hundreds of thousands of manuscripts, author demographics are a strong predictor of success in peer review – and that the system needs to change.
“Peer review is a central part of the scientific process and key to the advancement of scientists’ careers,” Smith said. “We hope our synthesis will prompt future studies to swiftly and fully document the extent of bias and identify effective solutions. We also hope that it will be a driving force for journals to adopt stronger policies for an equitable peer review system.”
Besides Smith, the paper is authored by MSU-EEB scholars Kayla Davis, Riley Pizza, Robin Waterman, Kara Dobson, Brianna Foster, Julie Jarvey, Leonard Jones, Wendy Leuenberger, Nan Nourn, Emily Conway, Cynthia Fiser, Zoe Hansen, Ani Hristova, Caitlin Mack, Alyssa Saunders, Olivia Utley, Moriah Young, and Courtney Davis.
Journal
Nature Ecology & Evolution
Article Title
Peer review perpetuates barriers for historically excluded groups
Article Publication Date
13-Mar-2023
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NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The body of Ugandan Olympic athlete Rebecca Cheptegei — who died after being set on fire by her partner in Kenya — was received Friday by family and anti-femicide crusaders, ahead of her burial a day later.
Cheptegei’s family met with dozens of activists Friday who had marched to the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital’s morgue in the western city of Eldoret while chanting anti-femicide slogans.
She is the fourth female athlete to have been killed by her partner in Kenya in yet another case of gender-based violence in recent years.
Viola Cheptoo, the founder of Tirop Angels – an organization that was formed in honor of athlete Agnes Tirop, who was stabbed to death in 2021, said stakeholders need to ensure this is the last death of an athlete due to gender-based violence.
“We are here to say that enough is enough, we are tired of burying our sisters due to GBV,” she said.
It was a somber mood at the morgue as athletes and family members viewed Cheptegei’s body which sustained 80% of burns after she was doused with gasoline by her partner Dickson Ndiema. Ndiema sustained 30% burns on his body and later succumbed.
Ndiema and Cheptegei were said to have quarreled over a piece of land that the athlete bought in Kenya, according to a report filed by the local chief.
Cheptegei competed in the women’s marathon at the Paris Olympics less than a month before the attack. She finished in 44th place.
Cheptegei’s father, Joseph, said that the body will make a brief stop at their home in the Endebess area before proceeding to Bukwo in eastern Uganda for a night vigil and burial on Saturday.
“We are in the final part of giving my daughter the last respect,” a visibly distraught Joseph said.
He told reporters last week that Ndiema was stalking and threatening Cheptegei and the family had informed police.
Four in 10 women or an estimated 41% of dating or married Kenyan women have experienced physical or sexual violence perpetrated by their current or most recent partner, according to the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey 2022.
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — A rare Bronze-Era jar accidentally smashed by a 4-year-old visiting a museum was back on display Wednesday after restoration experts were able to carefully piece the artifact back together.
Last month, a family from northern Israel was visiting the museum when their youngest son tipped over the jar, which smashed into pieces.
Alex Geller, the boy’s father, said his son — the youngest of three — is exceptionally curious, and that the moment he heard the crash, “please let that not be my child” was the first thought that raced through his head.
The jar has been on display at the Hecht Museum in Haifa for 35 years. It was one of the only containers of its size and from that period still complete when it was discovered.
The Bronze Age jar is one of many artifacts exhibited out in the open, part of the Hecht Museum’s vision of letting visitors explore history without glass barriers, said Inbal Rivlin, the director of the museum, which is associated with Haifa University in northern Israel.
It was likely used to hold wine or oil, and dates back to between 2200 and 1500 B.C.
Rivlin and the museum decided to turn the moment, which captured international attention, into a teaching moment, inviting the Geller family back for a special visit and hands-on activity to illustrate the restoration process.
Rivlin added that the incident provided a welcome distraction from the ongoing war in Gaza. “Well, he’s just a kid. So I think that somehow it touches the heart of the people in Israel and around the world,“ said Rivlin.
Roee Shafir, a restoration expert at the museum, said the repairs would be fairly simple, as the pieces were from a single, complete jar. Archaeologists often face the more daunting task of sifting through piles of shards from multiple objects and trying to piece them together.
Experts used 3D technology, hi-resolution videos, and special glue to painstakingly reconstruct the large jar.
Less than two weeks after it broke, the jar went back on display at the museum. The gluing process left small hairline cracks, and a few pieces are missing, but the jar’s impressive size remains.
The only noticeable difference in the exhibit was a new sign reading “please don’t touch.”
VICTORIA – The British Columbia government is partnering with a bear welfare group to reduce the number of bears being euthanized in the province.
Nicholas Scapillati, executive director of Grizzly Bear Foundation, said Monday that it comes after months-long discussions with the province on how to protect bears, with the goal to give the animals a “better and second chance at life in the wild.”
Scapillati said what’s exciting about the project is that the government is open to working with outside experts and the public.
“So, they’ll be working through Indigenous knowledge and scientific understanding, bringing in the latest techniques and training expertise from leading experts,” he said in an interview.
B.C. government data show conservation officers destroyed 603 black bears and 23 grizzly bears in 2023, while 154 black bears were killed by officers in the first six months of this year.
Scapillati said the group will publish a report with recommendations by next spring, while an independent oversight committee will be set up to review all bear encounters with conservation officers to provide advice to the government.
Environment Minister George Heyman said in a statement that they are looking for new ways to ensure conservation officers “have the trust of the communities they serve,” and the panel will make recommendations to enhance officer training and improve policies.
Lesley Fox, with the wildlife protection group The Fur-Bearers, said they’ve been calling for such a committee for decades.
“This move demonstrates the government is listening,” said Fox. “I suspect, because of the impending election, their listening skills are potentially a little sharper than they normally are.”
Fox said the partnership came from “a place of long frustration” as provincial conservation officers kill more than 500 black bears every year on average, and the public is “no longer tolerating this kind of approach.”
“I think that the conservation officer service and the B.C. government are aware they need to change, and certainly the public has been asking for it,” said Fox.
Fox said there’s a lot of optimism about the new partnership, but, as with any government, there will likely be a lot of red tape to get through.
“I think speed is going to be important, whether or not the committee has the ability to make change and make change relatively quickly without having to study an issue to death, ” said Fox.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 9, 2024.
