Student Conference: Peer Reviewing, fall 2013

What are Peer Review Groups?

Peer review groups are provided to support you in writing your paper. During the group meetings you will present, discuss, and solve specific writing/presentation problems in collaboration with your fellow students (the "peers"). Separate groups will be established for different research areas.

Why Do we Have Peer Review Groups?

Your peers quite often have problems very similar to your own. It is therefore quite helpful to see what they have done, as well as to discuss problems and ideas with them. You can "test," if your writing is understandable and the message of your paper reaches the readers.

How Do Peer Review Groups Work?

A peer review group can only work, if all its members are willing to collaborate. Collaboration means that you have to
  • inform, i.e. make available your work-in-progress to your peers,
  • be informed, i.e. read the work-in-progress of your peers from time to time, and most importantly
  • attend your group's review meetings.
The meetings follow two simple rules to assure that all group members get a maximum out of the meeting.
  1. Positive Feedback First
  2. Constructive Feedback
Your supervisor acts as the moderator of the meeting and makes sure that the rules are obeyed. Please note that the peer review group supervisors' job is to guide you in the writing/research process and NOT to teach you the research area chosen.

During the meeting all group members will take their turn according to the following steps/phases:

  1. Presentation
    You present (parts of) your work-in-progress, a specific writing/presentation problem, and/or an idea.
  2. Questions
    Your peers can ask questions to support their understanding of your presentation.
  3. Presenter leaves room
    You leave the room for a short period of time.
  4. Comments/suggestions
    Your peers comment on your presentation and discuss suggestions for improvements.
  5. Presenter enters room again
    You join your peers.
  6. Moderator summarises the group's discussion
  7. Discussion
    You can now ask for clarifications and discuss specific details of the comments and suggestions that will help you to improve your paper.
Make sure to take notes. If you cannot explain to your peers what you mean (i.e. have written) it is very likely that others won't understand either. Our peer review group meetings are down-scaled versions of so-called Writer's Workshops.

Group Administration

The first meeting should take place before the deadline for deliverable two (extended abstract, annotated bibliography, and planning).

Each group member has the responsibility to make available to the group the latest version of his/her paper in good time before a meeting.

We recommend to keep old versions of your papers as well as the comments you received.

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