Tools for Peer Review Design

This page provides links to pictures of the Workshop Toolkit that has been developed to help academics think through their peer review designs.  The Toolkit consists a set of conceptual artefacts (i.e. principles of good peer review design) that can be used in workshops where academics engage in dialogue while they produce a peer review design (a set of peer review activities for students). In designing such activities it is useful to map out a timeline for the activities - e.g. the initial assignment, the reviewing process including self-review if it is included, the distribution of reviews, responses to reviews and so on.  Research shows that such artefacts facilitate discussion of ideas without needing the presence of a facilitator..

Importantly, the principles capture important ideas from the research on peer review and what makes it effective and the examples help to give the principles meaning. This means that academics can easily use research ideas to produce more powerful designs without having to study all the research.  Each card has a principle and a question on one side and examples of practice on the other.side.  There is one master card. 

Please note that the cards below represent the first set - since piloting them in workshops there has been some updates to the principles with some principles replaced and others being reworded (see design page) - the new updated set will be uploaded here when they are produced, which will be in the month of June 2013. However, the set here provides a feel for what they look like.

  • Master card  This provides a the rationale for peer review and identifies the purpose of the cards - to help staff design peer review. The other side lists the nine principles with a space for users to add their own. see here.
  • Card 1: Encourage an atmosphere of trust - principle 1
  • Card 2: Give practice with criteria - principle 2
  • Card 3: Require explanations for reviews - principle 3
  • Card 4: Give practice in holistic appraisals - principle 4
  • Card 5: Facilitate dialogue around reviews - principle 5
  • Card 6: Integrate self-reviews - principle 6
  • Card 7: Provide signposts for quality - principle 7
  • Card 8: Encourage reflection on received reviews - principle 8
  • Card 9: Make peer review a regular activity - principle 9

For information about how to run a workshop with the principle/cards see Viewpoints project evaluation or contact Professor David Nicol at d.j.nicol@strath.ac.uk