Comments on: Liz Wager: Are journal editors like used car salesmen?

By: Douglas Carnall

Douglas Carnall — Sat, 21 May 2011 02:11:45 +0000

The MoT test was introduced in 1960 not “to prevent breakdowns and keep traffic flowing” but because so many vehicles on the road had defective brakes, lights and steering and were a hazard to others. Peer review doesn't take the crocks off the road, it merely displaces them to less travelled by-ways where they can be safely ignored.
Publication in peer reviewed journals is much more about mediating competition for scarce resources, generating hierarchy and establishing the dominant discourse than it is about communication or verification of knowledge per se.A better analogy might be a department store on a busy city corner which has plentiful footfall but limited shelf space. Naturally the manager wishes to stock the shop with the classiest goods available. Fortunately, the customers queue up to stock the shelves for free, then pay at the cashdesk for the privilege of taking home a fraction of what's on offer. Great business!”Rabbit stew” for “peer review” is rather fun, though “rabbit and pork” for talk is already well established. Perhaps “Pay-per-view” would be more apposite?

By: Richard Smith

Richard Smith — Thu, 19 May 2011 13:14:02 +0000

Arguing by analogy can be helpful an fun but ultimately misleads, as it
does here, I fear. My predecessor as editor of the BMJ, Stephen Lock, used to
say that being an editor was "taking in other people's washing." He also said
that most of what is published has "the impact of a doughnut in the North
Sea.

By: Liz Wager

Liz Wager — Thu, 19 May 2011 13:12:48 +0000

Thanks for the suggestions — funnily enough I had stew on the brain and the first one I thought of was 'Irish stew', but I like the lavatorial suggestion as well!

By: Mark Thornton

Mark Thornton — Thu, 19 May 2011 11:28:15 +0000

Re: rhyming slang . . “Rabbit Stew = Peer review” ??? As in “that's a nice bit of Rabbit Stew”.

By: TheMedicalRoundtable

TheMedicalRoundtable — Tue, 17 May 2011 20:32:22 +0000

My ancestors came to America from Wales in the mid 1600s, so any British/Welsh/Cockney is certainly about as diluted as free drinks at an open bar…. that being stated… almost anything rhymes with Peer Review…. so how about “Gone to the Loo”… which is where much of the reading/reviewing may be actually done… great blog and thanks for posting….

By: felix freshwater

felix freshwater — Tue, 17 May 2011 18:05:27 +0000

Another analogy would be related to drugs. Some editors are drug pushers, others are apothecaries. Publishers are like big pharma or cocaine cartels. Authors are chemists creating drugs – some useful, some harmful, some original, some copycat. Peer reviewers test the products and offer opinions on how good the drug is.