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Chinese academics’ attitudes towards journal peer-review.

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Bibliographic Details
Title: Chinese academics’ attitudes towards journal peer-review.
Authors: Horta, Hugo1 (AUTHOR), Wang, Pengjuan1,2 (AUTHOR) pengjw@connect.hku.hk
Source: Studies in Higher Education. Nov2025, p1-16. 16p. 1 Illustration.
Subject Terms: *PROFESSIONAL peer review, *PERIODICAL articles, *CHINESE people, *PEER review committees, *ATTITUDE (Psychology), *RESPONSIBILITY, *ACADEMIC discourse
Geographic Terms: CHINA
Abstract: Peer-reviewing of scientific submissions to journals is an essential institution within the scientific community. However, this practice has faced increasing pressure due to the prevailing ‘publish or perish’ dynamics, which have provoked imbalances between submission rates and review capacity, thereby overburdening those engaged in the review process. Although some studies have attempted to address some of the challenges facing this system by examining academics’ attitudes towards engaging in peer-review, they have predominantly focused on European and North American contexts. Consequently, there is a lack of understanding of Chinese academics’ attitudes towards participating in peer-review, particularly given that China is one of the world’s largest producers of knowledge. In this study, 60 interviews were conducted to explore Chinese academics’ attitudes towards journal peer-review. The findings show that Chinese academics generally consider peer-review to be an academic responsibility. Their attitudes can be classified into six types: contributors, learners, reluctant reviewers, utilitarians, indifferent reviewers, and opponents. The discussion of these reviewer attitude types offers insights into the value of journal peer-review in academia and provides implications for policy and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Database: Academic Search Index
Description
Abstract:Peer-reviewing of scientific submissions to journals is an essential institution within the scientific community. However, this practice has faced increasing pressure due to the prevailing ‘publish or perish’ dynamics, which have provoked imbalances between submission rates and review capacity, thereby overburdening those engaged in the review process. Although some studies have attempted to address some of the challenges facing this system by examining academics’ attitudes towards engaging in peer-review, they have predominantly focused on European and North American contexts. Consequently, there is a lack of understanding of Chinese academics’ attitudes towards participating in peer-review, particularly given that China is one of the world’s largest producers of knowledge. In this study, 60 interviews were conducted to explore Chinese academics’ attitudes towards journal peer-review. The findings show that Chinese academics generally consider peer-review to be an academic responsibility. Their attitudes can be classified into six types: contributors, learners, reluctant reviewers, utilitarians, indifferent reviewers, and opponents. The discussion of these reviewer attitude types offers insights into the value of journal peer-review in academia and provides implications for policy and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
ISSN:03075079
DOI:10.1080/03075079.2025.2574552