Accessible Feedback in Research

Abstract

Feedback has the potential to evaluate and promote research quality, helping academics to incrementally improve their research practices. However, structurally embedded inequalities in feedback systems are a key factor contributing to significant deficits in the recruitment and retention of diverse talent in higher education and research institutions (Kaplan et al., 2017). For example, the traditional feedback mechanism of peer review is the most prevalent type of feedback across disciplinary, geographical, and career boundaries (Chong & Masson, 2021). However, since peer review provides feedback to researchers after the work has been conducted, many researchers find their time and resources depleted before their efforts can be properly evaluated and improved. Furthermore, the peer review system is often led by individuals from privileged groups of senior academics and can be highly inconsistent (Hamilton et al., 2020). Additionally, biases in peer review have been shown to perpetuate the exclusion of minoritised groups (Smith et al., 2023), with similar trends across other feedback mechanisms like conference talks and questions, highlighting the urgent need for a more supportive research environment with accessible feedback processes for the researchers who could benefit most.

To drive this change, we are undertaking an international multi-disciplinary survey to comprehensively map out and evaluate diverse opportunities for researchers to gather feedback throughout the research cycle. Our survey aims to uncover cross-disciplinary feedback practices that can foster more timely and inclusive feedback. We hope that this will enable early-career and marginalised researchers to refine their work iteratively and efficiently, supporting their professional development.