Friends
At various points in the history of Speech & Language Therapy in Practice, readers have suggested the magazine should have a form of peer review. I am now piloting this in a supportive 'Critical Friends' format. It can happen:
a) prospectively, before an article is published, where I feel I need assistance. This is most likely to occur where the article is either heavily research based or is in a highly specialised field. The aim is to ensure the quality of published articles.
b) retrospectively, when the article has already been published. The aim is for individuals or teams to reflect on the impact the article has had on them and their practice and to feed this back to authors and fellow readers. You can simply submit what you think, or I can facilitate an e-mail dialogue between you and the author.
Rather than implementing 'Critical Friends' in a uniform way, it will vary according to the needs of the situation and the preferences of the people doing the reviewing. Unlike more conventional forms of peer review, the process is open, so authors and readers know who is doing the reviewing.
You can read and print off more detailed information here.
Avril Nicoll, Editor
