Outsider bias: how your name influences the peer review process

The peer review process serves as a major determinant of the biomedical literature, forming the foundation for scientific dissemination and the advancement of knowledge. Its outputs direct further research and funding, inform clinical practice and ultimately impact patient lives. Yet, it is not without flaws. Peer review outcomes can also be sensitive to editorial behaviour.1 As such, reviewer and editorial board bias can impact publication outcomes.1 Explicit biases have been documented, such as ideological bias, which arises when an editor or reviewer has a strong view for or against an author’s findings.2 In recent years, implicit biases have received increased attention. The gender publication bias is an important example, where disparities have been described at all levels of the process, including fewer women on journal editorial boards and serving as peer reviewers, delays in review time for manuscripts with women corresponding authors, and under-representation…

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