Peer review in nursing: a guide for early career scholars

Peer review is a fundamental mechanism in academic nursing, serving as both a quality assurance process and a cornerstone of scholarly advancement (Ali and Watson 2016). For early career nursing scholars, the dual role of undertaking and receiving peer review comments presents significant opportunities for professional development alongside considerable challenges. This editorial aims to explain the peer review process, emphasising its significance, challenges and opportunities for professional development in nursing scholarship whilst providing practical guidance for early career researchers seeking to engage in this essential scholarly activity.

The peer review system functions as a critical quality control mechanism, ensuring that published research meets rigorous standards of methodological soundness and clinical relevance (Trotter 2021). Within clinical nursing, where research findings directly inform patient care protocols, educational curricula and healthcare policy development, the importance of robust peer review processes cannot be understated. Ali and Watson (2016) identify peer review as integral to the scientific enterprise, functioning simultaneously as a publication gateway and a component of academic recognition systems.