Peer Review Policies and Practices

On This Page:  What's New in Peer Review For Reviewers Law, Regulations and Policies
	Peer review meeting in progress (Photo courtesy of Center for Scientific Review)

What's New in Peer Review

Coronavirus Update: Additional Guidance for Peer Reviewers

Coronavirus Update: Guidance for Peer Reviewers

Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19): Information for NIH Applicants and Recipients of NIH Funding

Taking Action - Case Studies in Peer Review Integrity

For Reviewers

Information for reviewers:  Find pre-meeting, meeting and post-meeting activities on our ‘Information for Reviewers’ website.  The site includes key information such as reviewer guidelines, policy documents, step-by-step instructions for using the Internet Assisted Review (IAR) system. In addition, critique templates are located on the website; reviewers must check with their Scientific Review Officer on which template to use. 

Law, Regulations and Policies

Peer review regulations provide the underpinning of peer review policies. 

• Final Rules and Regulations for Scientific Peer Review of Research Grant Applications and Research and Development Contract Projects (42 CFR 52h) - (PDF - 61 KB)
• Federal Register Notice - January 15, 2004 -  (PDF - 67 KB) 
• Office of Federal Advisory Committee Policy
• Government in the Sunshine Act 

For Peer Review policies, see the section for:
 

Confidentiality

• Maintaining Confidentiality in NIH Peer Review (NOT-OD-14-073)
• NIH Confidentiality and Non Disclosure Rules
• FAQs
   

Conflict of Interest

• Managing Conflict of Interest in NIH Peer Review of Grants and Contracts
• FAQs
   

Rigor

• Rigor & Reproducibility
• FAQs
   

Human Subjects

• Guidelines for the Review of the Human Subjects Section
• FAQs
   

Inclusion

• Guidelines for the Review of Inclusion on the Basis of Sex/Gender, race, Ethnicity and Age in Clinical Research
• FAQs
   

Stem Cells

• Application Proposing Use of Human Embryonic Stem Cells
   

Vertebrate Animals

• Worksheet for the Vertebrate Animals Section (VAS)
• FAQs
   

Budget

• Budget and Period of Support Information
   

Scoring

• The NIH Announces New Scoring Procedures for Evaluation of Research Applications (NOT-OD-09-024)
   

Appeals

• Appeals of NIH Initial Peer Review (NOT-OD-11-064) 

Note: Other guidelines can be found on the Consolidated List of Reviewer Documents webpage