Peer review is an umbrella term that refers to a class of selection and oversight practices, including the familiar mechanisms of the review of proposals submitted for funding, of manuscripts for scholarly publications, and of personnel qualifications and portfolios for selection and promotion. Peer review has long been a cornerstone of modern…

Presents a historical view of the development of the system used at the National Science Foundation for judging proposals sent to the agency for financial support for fundamental research. Controversies that challenged established procedures are described; political influences and policy changes are examined; and the peer review process is…

This report presents the results of a survey conducted by the National Science Foundation (NSF) in late 1986 of more than 14,000 applicants whose proposals for research support had been awarded or declined during fiscal year 1985. The principal purpose was to seek the views of individual investigators at academic institutions about NSF's…