They Rejected My Paper: Why?

• Published in: JOURNAL OF SCHOLARLY PUBLISHING
• Main Authors: Dah, John; Hussin, Norhayati; Shahibi, Mohd Sazili; Helda, Linda Isaac; Ametefe, Divine Senanu; Aliu, Abdulmalik Adozuka; Ametefe, George Dzorgbenya
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: UNIV TORONTO PRESS INC 2024
• Subjects: Arts & Humanities - Other Topics; Information Science & Library Science
• Online Access: https://www-webofscience-com.uitm.idm.oclc.org/wos/woscc/full-record/WOS:001338960200002
• ISSN: 1198-9742; 1710-1166
• DOI: 10.3138/jsp-2024-0023

This article critically examines biases in the peer review process, essential for maintaining academic scholarship's integrity. Despite its pivotal role, the peer review system is susceptible to various biases, including gender, institutional, confirmation, publication, and reviewer biases. These biases can undermine the objectivity and fairness of the academic publishing process, skewing the representation of research and the dissemination of scientific knowledge. Through a comprehensive literature review, the study explores these biases' implications on the credibility of individual studies and the broader scientific discourse. The article proposes several solutions to address these issues, including adopting double-blind reviews, diversifying reviewer pools, enhancing transparency in editorial decisions, and promoting ethical standards in peer review. While recognizing the difficulty of completely eliminating biases, the paper emphasizes the importance of continued efforts to minimize their impact, striving for a more equitable, transparent, and rigorous scholarly ecosystem.