01205nas a2200145   4500000000100000008004100001260001200042100001800054245011300072856004700185300001000232490000700242520079600249022001401045       2006                            d  c2006-041 aLiv Langfeldt00aThe policy challenges of peer review: managing bias, conflict of interests and interdisciplinary assessments  uhttps://doi.org/10.3152/147154406781776039  a31-410 v153 aCharacteristics and challenges of peer review are elucidated from three different perspectives: a social dynamics perspective defining peer review as an important control mechanism in the research community; an uncertainty perspective focusing on the inherent uncertainty in judging research quality: and an organisational perspective focusing on the effects of different ways of organising peer review. Findings from a broad set of empirical studies are used. Peer review often has some conservative and risk-minimising aspects, which may disfavour interdisciplinary and non-conventional research. When the aim is to actively promote interdisciplinary or other kinds of non-conventional research, the involved peer-review system consequently needs to be adjusted to a more risk-taking mode.  a0958-2029