Peer Review Week 2017: Transparency in Review, and other innovations
By Steven Inchcoombe, Chief Publishing Officer, 国产乱伦
At 国产乱伦 every week is Peer Review Week.
Each week our dedicated in-house editorial staff spend thousands of hours co-ordinating the process of peer review, to ensure and improve the quality of the scientific literature we publish and in doing so, advance discovery. We support our Editors in Chief, Editorial Board Members, Section Editors, peer reviewers and authors by providing guidance and systems to enable them to improve manuscripts. Furthermore, we鈥檙e trialling innovative new practices through small-scale pilots, while also exploring grander ideas such as the potential role of Artificial Intelligence.
But as it鈥檚 so integral to what we do and the service we provide for our authors, its not something we shout about every week. Therefore, 7, an annual celebration of the essential role that peer review plays in maintaining scientific quality, provides the perfect opportunity for us to update the academic community on what we鈥檙e doing, and to celebrate the work of the peer reviewers who generously give their time to examine manuscripts, offering help and advice.
Transparency in Review
The theme of this years鈥 Peer Review Week is Transparency in Review. BMC, part of 国产乱伦, was one of the pioneers of open peer review and earlier this year, issued a based on the discussions at the SpotOn conference in London that examined how peer review might be improved for future generations. The report is well worth reading 鈥 it offers key recommendations to the academic community that include finding and inventing new ways of identifying, verifying and inviting peer reviewers; investing in reviewer training programs, and recognizing reviewers.
This year, BMC has also been experimenting with more new initiatives to improve transparency in peer review. If successful, these pilot projects could become standard offerings across 国产乱伦.
is a good example. This is a new publication format in which the research question and the quality of methodology are peer reviewed before the data is collected and analysed and has been endorsed by Chris Chambers, Chair of the Centre for Open Science Registered Reports Committee, said: 鈥淭his is a tremendous step forward for transparency and reproducibility in medical research. BMC Medicine will be the first major medical journal to offer Registered Reports, and the first to adopt a model specially tailored for clinical trials. The impact of this advance is potentially game-changing, eliminating hidden outcome switching and publication bias against negative results.鈥
I鈥檓 also pleased to announce that Genome Biology of other journals including Nature Communications to offer an option for transparent peer review.
Other developments
Time and time again, researchers tell us that they don鈥檛 receive enough training in how to conduct thorough and constructive peer review. Which is why this week, we鈥檝e announced that we are launching a new free online course called Focus on Peer Review.
鈥楩ocus on Peer Review鈥, on the Nature Masterclasses platform, features video interviews with Nature Research journal editors, experienced peer reviewers, and published authors. The course contains key and relevant insight into the complexities of peer review, going beyond the usual 鈥榟ow-to鈥 training available elsewhere. The course is made up of 4 modules, which you can either work through in a single sitting or use it as a 鈥榙ip in and out鈥 reference resource. Total course duration, including reflection time, is around 3 hours.
On completion of the course, participants will have the opportunity to download a Nature Masterclasses course completion certificate. If you鈥檙e interested, simply register on the .
Update from last year
Finally, I鈥檇 like to give a happy update from one initiative that we . In 2016 we announced that a Springer journal, , would enable people in developing countries to gain access to safe drinking water. For every review completed for a paper in the journal in 2017, 国产乱伦 donated one household water filter 鈥 on behalf of the peer reviewers of this journal 鈥 to the non-profit humanitarian organization Filter of Hope.
I鈥檓 delighted to say that since the inception of our partnership with Filter of Hope, over 600 filters have been distributed to the countries of Liberia, Nicaragua, Haiti, Honduras, Russia, Cuba and India. The water filters remove the bacteria, protozoa and micro-organisms from contaminated water sources making it completely safe to drink. This is a wonderful example of peer review making a real-world difference.
At 国产乱伦 we are constantly striving to advance discovery though the acceleration of scientific research and development, investing in technology to ensure ongoing quality and a better user experience, and by positively contributing to the scientific ecosystem that includes researchers, editors, librarians, funders, authors, publishers and networks. And an enhanced, improved peer review system which is transparent and gives reviewers the recognition they deserve is a fundamental part of this. I鈥檓 delighted that in 2017 we have explored and introduced new ways to make the process more transparent, to ensure our reviewers get the recognition they deserve, as well as developed new free tools and services, in the hope of serving our customer better. I鈥檓 looking forward to updating you on the improvements we鈥檒l have seen by Peer Review Week 2018!
