Peer Review, Unleashed

I have posted a new version of Chaper 5, now titled, Peer Review, Unleashed on SocArXiv. This version benefited from a chunk of it being included in the edited volume, Families As They Really Are, a teaching book published by Norton and edited by Virginia Rutter, Kristi Williams, and Barbara Risman (the part here was edited by Virginia, for which I’m grateful).

The chapter makes a case for taking an expansive view of peer review and its uses in the public square, and compares that to peer review in the formal, institutional setting of academia. When citizen scholars get involved in the public debates of the day – as scholars, not just as citizens – that’s being true to the spirit and purpose of peer review. We should not shrink from the controversy, or dismiss the discussion, simply because the venue or format does not match the review process we were trained to respect.

The chapter has some examples and advice, and sets up the discussion of social media practice more generally in the next chapter.

As always, all feedback and criticism is most welcome!