Why do I have to find a Peer Reviewed Scientific Journal Article?

Peer review is the most potent way of separating false from true claims. It enables experts who have an interest in the relevant area, but not a vested interest in the narrow sense, to

look critically at the methods and findings of their fellow scientists. The approach is transparent and has to satisfy objective criteria of fairness. Without peer review, it is not possible for the public to know what is mere opinion and what is underpinned by good

research; consequently charlatans and dubious findings are given as much of a hearing as the well-founded views of reputable scientists.”

Professor Raymond Tallis, University of Manchester; author of Hippocratic Oath: Medicine and its Discontents

Adapted from: http://libraryjournal.firstlightera.com/EN/Microsites/1/Elsevier/PeerReview

What is NOT a peer reviewed science journal article?

• Newspaper article• Opinion article• Summary of other people’s ideas or research• Encyclopedia article• Science magazine article• Any magazine article• Consumer report• Product Review

What exactly is a peer reviewed science journal article, then?

• It is someone’s research experiment in print form that has been submitted to a peer reviewed journal

• It has all the parts of a good lab report• It is in a trusted peer reviewed journal, not the

other sources listed previously

Why do I have to do this?

• It will show you what research has been done on your subject matter

• It will give you an idea of how to set up your own experiment

• It is “doing” real world science• It will give you a good grade• It may give you some new ideas or techniques• It will give you an acceptable standard with

which to compare your experimental data and conclusions

Again, teacher, why peer review?

• The immense volume of information available today brings an unprecedented potential for public confusion. With greater understanding of the peer-review process, which is rarely shared with the public, we can start to sift through massive amounts of material and begin to distinguish good science from flawed science and conjecture.

How does it work?

• See the next slide….

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Knowing about peer review can help us determine which claims should be taken seriously and which to ignore. This may sound like a surprising claim but when a paper has been published in a peer-reviewed journal, we know the research has passed the scrutiny of other scientists and is considered valid, significant and original.

Peer review is an important arbiter of scientific quality and a useful tool for everyone who has an interest in new medical and scientific advances.Peer review is, however, only the first step in adding research to the scientific body of knowledge.

Scientists are rightly cautious and never draw firm conclusions from just one paper or set of results. They consider the contribution in the context of other work and their own experience. It usually takes more than one research paper for results to be seen as good evidence.

So, what you’re telling me is…

• That peer review “is what makes science scientific.”

• Therefore, no matter how exciting or compelling new scientific or medical research is, we must always ask: Is it peer-reviewed? If not, why not?

Your job today

• Pick one narrow variable or topic you have been thinking about since your last research.

• Variables: Independent=1 thing you can change; Dependent= what you can measure in response to that change named above

• Find a peer reviewed journal article.• Print it. • Summarize the experiment, results, and

conclusions from your article.• Turn this in tomorrow.