When an author decides to submit a manuscript for publication, that manuscript begins its life cycle, going through many phases as it is checked, refined and adjusted. Here we follow an article through its life cycle, to understand the different…
When an author decides to submit a manuscript for publication, that manuscript begins its life cycle, going through many phases as it is checked, refined and adjusted. Here we follow an article through its life cycle, to understand the different…
History of traditional (closed) peer review Even though scientific publishing has been around since the 17th century, formal peer review of submitted articles by external academics is relatively new. The journals Science and JAMA, for example, introduced formal peer review in the 1940s,…
In more collegial, less competitive times researchers used pre-submission peer review to obtain frank, constructive feedback from trusted colleagues before sending their manuscript to a journal. But pre-submission review now appears to be rare in the current publish-or-perish environment. Journal-managed…
Reviewing scientific literature can be a bit like trying to negotiate a maze with the lights turned off. For years I was fumbling around in the dark, but didn’t realise I was missing out. Now the Open Access Button campaign wants us…
A new study shows that the rise of open access publishing of academic research is faster than anyone had previously realized. Before 2000 the vast majority of research papers were published in journals that could only be read by academics if…
A new tool that selects peer reviewers by algorithm could make the peer review process more reliable, by sources The more peer reviews on a paper from top scientists, the stronger the peer review signal. Technology has changed some aspects of science tremendously.…
1) Be professional. It’s called peer review for a reason. You, putative reviewer, are the peer. If you don’t do it for them why should they do it for you? This is a core part of your job as an…
Open access to research is still held back by misunderstandings repeated by people who should know better, says reader Open access to academic research has never been a hotter topic. But it’s still held back by myths and misunderstandings repeated by people who…
There are indeed concerns about the current science publishing model, but until major changes in grant funding are incorporated, researchers will continue to lust after publications in high-tier journals. Having had the honor of attending back-to-back lectures by Nobel awardees…