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REVIEWER ORIENTATION REVIEWER ORIENTATION TO ENHANCED PEER REVIEWTO ENHANCED PEER REVIEW April 2009 April 2009

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Changes to ReviewChanges to ReviewBeginning with May/June 2009 Beginning with May/June 2009 MeetingsMeetings

Enhanced Review Criteria for certain mechanisms

Templates for Structured Critiques

Scoring of Individual Review Criteria– All applications will receive criterion scores

from assigned reviewers New 1 to 9 Scoring Scale

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Goals of the ChangesGoals of the Changes

Clearer understanding of the basis of application ratings

More emphasis on impact and less emphasis on technical details

Succinct, well-focused critiques that evaluate, rather than describe, applications

Routine use of the entire rating scale

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Before the Review MeetingBefore the Review Meeting

When reading applications the assigned reviewers should: Address all applicable criteria and

other review considerations Identify major strengths and

weaknesses Assign scores to each of the 5 “core”

criteria Assign an overall impact/priority score

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Preparation of CritiquesPreparation of Critiques

When writing your critiques:

Use bulleted points to make succinct, focused comments

Short narratives may occasionally be appropriate, but should be rare

Focus on major strengths and weaknesses (ones that impacted your overall rating of the application)

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Features of Critique TemplatesFeatures of Critique Templates

Boxes for evaluating:

– Each core review criterion– Other applicable review criteria and

considerations– Overall impact of the application

A box for “advice to applicants”

Hyperlinks to web pages providing descriptions of review criteria and additional review considerations

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Excerpt from a Critique Template: Excerpt from a Critique Template: CriterionCriterion

List major strengths and weaknesses that influenced the overall impact/priority score

Limit text to ¼ page per criterion, although more text may occasionally be needed

Do not enter scores on critiques

1. Significance Please limit text to ¼ page

Strengths

•

Weaknesses

•

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Excerpt from a Critique Template: Excerpt from a Critique Template: Protected Form Fields and Drop-downsProtected Form Fields and Drop-downs

Protected elements (Drop-down boxes and form fields) are shaded gray

Part of each template is a PROTECTED form

Reviewers should NOT unprotect the forms!

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Scoring Individual Review CriteriaScoring Individual Review Criteria

There are 5 “core” criteria for most types of grant applications

For example, the core criteria for R01s are:– Significance– Investigator(s) – Innovation– Approach– Environment

Use the 9-point scale (1 = exceptional, 9 = poor) for the five “core” review criteria.

Do not enter scores in the critique9

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Overall Impact/Priority ScoresOverall Impact/Priority Scores

Consider criterion strengths and weaknesses of each application in determining an overall impact/priority score

Recognize this is a NEW scoring system and focus on the guidelines for its use

This new scoring system is intended to reflect the “real-world” range of the quality of applications typically seen in actual study sections

It is ESSENTIAL that reviewers take advantage of this unique opportunity to use the entire 1 to 9 range 10

Scoring DescriptionsScoring Descriptions

Impact Score Descriptor Additional Guidance on Strengths/Weaknesses

High

1 Exceptional Exceptionally strong with essentially no weaknesses

2 Outstanding Extremely strong with negligible weaknesses

3 Excellent Very strong with only some minor weaknesses

Medium

4 Very Good Strong but with numerous minor weaknesses

5 Good Strong but with at least one moderate weakness

6 Satisfactory Some strengths but also some moderate weaknesses

Low

7 Fair Some strengths but with at least one major weakness

8 Marginal A few strengths and a few major weaknesses

9 Poor Very few strengths and numerous major weaknesses

Non-numeric score options: NR = Not Recommended for Further Consideration, DF = Deferred, AB = Abstention, CF = Conflict, NP = Not Present, ND = Not Discussed

Minor Weakness: An easily addressable weakness that does not substantially lessen impactModerate Weakness: A weakness that lessens impactMajor Weakness: A weakness that severely limits impact 11

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Before Attending the Review MeetingBefore Attending the Review Meeting

Post critiques to the Internet Assisted Review (IAR) Web module

Enter criterion scores and overall/priority score in IAR

Do not enter scores as part of the critique!

– Ensures better data integrity– Allows scores to be placed where needed

• i.e. Summary Statements, Commons Status

– Makes scores available for future analysis12

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IAR: New Drop Down for Five Core Criteria Reviewers will see new drop-down menus

in IAR for entering scores for each criterion

New drop-down

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IAR: Assigned reviewers must submit a critique to upload scores

Reviewers must close the critique file before submitting

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IAR: Entering Scores and Critiques

Assigned reviewers may not submit Criterion or Preliminary Scores without a critique

– If a reviewer tries to save the criterion and/or preliminary score without uploading the critique, an error message will occur

The maximum file size for a critique is 1 MB

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IAR: New Header Information in Critique Preliminary IAR Critique now includes

criterion scores

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IAR: Updating Criterion Scores

Criterion scores can be updated in IAR during the submit phase, edit phase and the final scoring phase

If criterion scores are edited, the PDF of the critique file is regenerated each time because the critique has header information with the criterion scores

– If the criterion scores change, the PDF critique changes

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IAR: New Popup Listing Criterion Scores New link on List of Applications screen will

display criterion scores for each application

View All Scores

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At the Review Meeting:At the Review Meeting:Procedure for Discussed ApplicationsProcedure for Discussed Applications

Assigned reviewers will discuss strengths and weaknesses of each application

– Recommend overall impact/priority score– Criterion scores will not be discussed by the

committee

All eligible members will record an overall impact/priority score (as is presently true)

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IAR: Edit Criterion Scores on Voter Sheet Criterion scores can easily be edited by

using the voter sheet

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After the Review Meeting: After the Review Meeting: Updating Scores or CritiquesUpdating Scores or Critiques

Assigned reviewers whose opinions changed as a result of discussion at the meeting should use IAR:

– To modify their criterion scores– To post revised critiques

If criterion scores are edited, the PDF of the critique file is regenerated

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Summary StatementsSummary Statements

Overall impact/priority scores of discussed applications will be the average of scores voted by all eligible reviewers, multiplied by 10

Final scores will range from 10-90, in whole numbers

Summary statements for ALL applications will include the criterion scores and critiques posted by assigned reviewers

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For additional information:For additional information:

Enhancing Peer Review at NIH Web SiteEnhancing Peer Review at NIH Web Site

http://enhancing-peer-review.nih.gov

Thank you for your review service Thank you for your review service

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