Reviewing the review process: towards good practice in the peer review of manuscripts submitted to nursing journals

Publishing in peer reviewed journals is an essential activity for nurses working in higher education. This paper offers some reflections on the processes involve in the reviewing of articles submitted for publication, and explores some ways in which this system may be improved. All journals operate some kind of review process. This can range from, at one end, the editor making decisions about the suitability for publication of a submitted paper to, at the other end, papers being blind-reviewed by two (or sometimes more) external referees. This paper notes that there appears to be little or no consistency amongst the various nursing journals with respect to reviewing processes. Suggestions put forward in this article for consideration include: the standardisation of peer review systems across journals; the construction of guidelines for referees which caution against ad hominem attacks on authors; and the introduction of ‘open’ reviewing