The Problem With “Multiple Hurdle” Reviewing

Waiting to evaluate one section of a paper (e.g., the Methods) until you have decided whether another section (e.g., the front end) passes muster is analogous to “multiple hurdle” systems in personnel selection. This usually creates a suboptimal weighting scheme in which the part of the system that represents the first hurdle is overvalued. I explain why “multiple hurdle” reviewing is counterproductive and offer a superior alternative.