Expert Service
Scientific Peer Review Services
Recognized as a Center of Excellence for peer review, we work with a diverse group of clients and in a wide range of scientific disciplines to support the independent and objective review of proposed, ongoing, or past research projects.
What is Peer Review?
Independent peer review is essential for validating the goals and impacts of research. It involves experts in the field thoroughly evaluating proposed, ongoing, or past research and providing feedback to funding organizations. A crucial aspect of this process is to properly check for perceived or real reviewer conflict of interest and avoid bias. The peer review process supports informed decisions.
Our Peer Review Experience
The Scientific Peer Advisory and Review Services (SPARS) department is entirely focused on peer review. We partner with research funders including government agencies, private foundations, academic organizations, and many others to provide a targeted review process based on their particular needs.
We have over 60 years of experience providing review services for:
- grant proposals and progress reports
- ongoing research programs / portfolios
- retrospective impact analyses
- advisory boards and committees
Through various kinds of review, we have worked with thousands of subject matter experts in a wide range of scientific topic areas and disciplines.
Our Expert Staff
All of our peer review staff have over 15 years of experience in managing expert, unbiased review processes, with skills including scientific writing, program management, information technology, and meetings management.
Our staff collaboratively support our clients. While we focus on facilitating independent peer review, we can also operate as an efficient extension to client staff.
View the SPARS staff directory.
Our Peer Review Tools
We have developed our own software platform (SCORES®) to aid the peer review process for our clients.
SCORES helps manage all steps of administering a research program from materials/application submission, to recruiting and vetting subject matter experts, to facilitating highly customizable reviews and discussion meetings (online or in-person).
AIBS cares about accessible computing and inclusivity. So, SCORES users needing more accessibility can reliably navigate the applications with a screen reader, or using only a keyboard. And, each application documents how it meets the World Wide Web Consortium's Web Content Accessibility Guidelines -- used by both the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act to define their requirements. This allows all our users to understand, in advance, how we support their needs.
Analyzing the Science of Peer Review
AIBS is a Center of Excellence for the science of peer review. This includes formally studying the process and determining ways to optimize each step to ensure the integrity and reliability of the feedback.
Over the last decade, AIBS has regularly published findings from our research on peer review. We have also curated a bibliography for peer review related literature.
One of our goals at AIBS SPARS is to foster a community-wide discussion that enhances the integrity of the peer review process. We have hosted a series of peer reviews webinars that have help with these conversations.
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