Abstract
I have experience with the peer review process as both an author and an editor. As an author, I have suffered the “(a) anxiety, pain, knots in the stomach, and insecurities each time a rejection letter arrives in the mail or (b) the exhilaration elation, excitement, and self worth that comes with letters of acceptance” (Roth 2002, p. 232). Is the peer review process utilized in academia a process of quality assurance or is it a process of thought control that victimizes its unwilling participants who have little choice but to partake? My experience with the process suggests that it is largely the latter. This process highlights the control that the peer review process has in shaping our thoughts and research. Professors are lauded for having academic freedom, but in reality what we have is academic constraint. The peer review process is not a bias free process, but it is one that ensures that those in positions of power control the methods, content, format and type of research done. If you do not conform and comply, getting a job, tenure, promotion, in short, your career is in jeopardy.
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Ricci, C., Pritscher, C.P. (2015). Professors as Victim: The Poor Review Process. In: Holistic Pedagogy. Critical Studies of Education, vol 1. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-14944-8_15
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-14944-8_15
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