I currently review radiology articles for Radiology journals based in the US, Europe and India respectively. I find the process of reviewing articles to be one of the most interesting and challenging tasks I perform.
For one thing, there is a wide range in quality of the proferred articles. Some articles are so creative in their thought process and approach, well-written and researched that one cannot find any significant flaw but can merely compliment their scientific and literary merit. Some writers really do a thorough investigation with searching questions and large series, while other studies can be sketchy and rudimentary and some can be so mediocre in their content that one is left wondering why the authors even bother.
What is intriguing to me is the choice of subjects for research and the methodologies. The articles sent to me are typically on the subject of quality or process in radiology, or evaluating a particular modality or imaging algorithm in a particular setting. The questions asked are often thought provoking, and the articles I like reviewing best are the ones that make me react “why didn’t I think of that?”
Occasionally an article emerges which in essence proves nothing beyond the fact that a particular institution is meeting certain goals, which really does not further the cause of scientific research, and typically ends up being rejected (by other reviewers, even if not by me).
What is frustrating is when one’s time goes in pointing out typographical and syntax errors, which could be easily corrected by an editor or proofer using some version of spellcheck. It is hard to understand how someone would actually submit an article for publication without running such a simple proofing check. Somewhat analogous to stepping out in one’s pyjamas!
On a personal level, I sometimes find the literature reviews to be helpful in supplementing my own understanding of the subject, and the statistical analyses to be helpful to me in approaching my own research interests.
Keeps my grey cells ticking, and adds another interesting dimension to my professional life.