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Why the referees’ reports I receive as an editor are so much better than the reports I receive as an author?

Author

Listed:
  • J. A. García

    (CITIC-UGR, Universidad de Granada)

  • Rosa Rodriguez-Sánchez

    (CITIC-UGR, Universidad de Granada)

  • J. Fdez-Valdivia

    (CITIC-UGR, Universidad de Granada)

Abstract

Authors tend to attribute manuscript acceptance to their own ability to write quality papers and simultaneously to blame rejections on negative bias in peer review, displaying a self-serving attributional bias. Here, a formal model provides rational explanations for this self-serving bias in a Bayesian framework. For the high-ability authors in a very active scientific field, the model predictions are: (1) Bayesian-rational authors are relatively overconfident about their likelihood of manuscript acceptance, whereas authors who play the role of referees have less confidence in manuscripts of other authors; (2) if the final disposition of his or her manuscript is acceptance, the Bayesian-rational author almost surely attributes this decision more to his or her own ability; (3) when the final disposition is rejection, the Bayesian-rational author almost surely attributes this decision more to negative bias in peer review; (4) some rational authors do not learn as much from the critical reviewers’ comments in case of rejection as they should from the journal editor’s perspective. In order to validate the model predictions, we present results from a survey of 156 authors. The participants in the experimental study are authors of articles published in Scientometrics from 2000 to 2012.

Suggested Citation

  • J. A. García & Rosa Rodriguez-Sánchez & J. Fdez-Valdivia, 2016. "Why the referees’ reports I receive as an editor are so much better than the reports I receive as an author?," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 106(3), pages 967-986, March.
  • Handle: RePEc:spr:scient:v:106:y:2016:i:3:d:10.1007_s11192-015-1827-8
    DOI: 10.1007/s11192-015-1827-8
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Eric Van den Steen, 2005. "Organizational Beliefs and Managerial Vision," The Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization, Oxford University Press, vol. 21(1), pages 256-283, April.
    2. Jose A. García & Rosa Rodriguez-Sánchez & Joaquín Fdez-Valdivia, 2015. "Bias and effort in peer review," Journal of the Association for Information Science & Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 66(10), pages 2020-2030, October.
    3. Eric Van den Steen, 2011. "Overconfidence by Bayesian-Rational Agents," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 57(5), pages 884-896, May.
    4. Cassidy R. Sugimoto & Blaise Cronin, 2013. "Citation gamesmanship: testing for evidence of ego bias in peer review," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 95(3), pages 851-862, June.
    5. Carole J. Lee & Cassidy R. Sugimoto & Guo Zhang & Blaise Cronin, 2013. "Bias in peer review," Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 64(1), pages 2-17, January.
    6. Carole J. Lee & Cassidy R. Sugimoto & Guo Zhang & Blaise Cronin, 2013. "Bias in peer review," Journal of the Association for Information Science & Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 64(1), pages 2-17, January.
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Claus, Edda & Nguyen, Viet Hoang, 2023. "Biased expectations," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 154(C).
    2. J. A. García & Rosa Rodriguez-Sánchez & J. Fdez-Valdivia, 2016. "Authors and reviewers who suffer from confirmatory bias," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 109(2), pages 1377-1395, November.
    3. Edda Claus, Viet Hoang Nguyen, 2019. "The downside of being upbeat: The effects of consumer optimism on real economic activity," LCERPA Working Papers 0117, Laurier Centre for Economic Research and Policy Analysis, revised 01 May 2019.
    4. Ivana Drvenica & Giangiacomo Bravo & Lucija Vejmelka & Aleksandar Dekanski & Olgica Nedić, 2018. "Peer Review of Reviewers: The Author’s Perspective," Publications, MDPI, vol. 7(1), pages 1-10, December.
    5. Jorge Chamorro-Padial & Rosa Rodriguez-Sánchez & J. Fdez-Valdivia & J. A. Garcia, 2019. "An evolutionary explanation of assassins and zealots in peer review," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 120(3), pages 1373-1385, September.
    6. Rosa Rodriguez-Sánchez & J. A. García & J. Fdez-Valdivia, 2018. "Editorial decisions with informed and uninformed reviewers," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 117(1), pages 25-43, October.
    7. Janine Huisman & Jeroen Smits, 2017. "Duration and quality of the peer review process: the author’s perspective," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 113(1), pages 633-650, October.

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