Category Archives: oa.open_peer_review

Community input on Open Peer Review, trust and diversity

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“With this short survey, we would like to solicit community input for our project at this year’s Scholarly Communication Institute (SCI2023). In our project, we will be studying the way in which Open Peer Review (OPR) models can contribute to diversity and trust in research. With OPR, we are particularly referring to modes of peer review in which actors’ identities are revealed (Open Identities), peer review reports are openly shared (Open Reports), or non-invited stakeholders are able to participate (Open Participation). While these models of peer review have the potential to contribute to diversity, equity and inclusion, their efficacy is still largely unknown. We are therefore curious to hear your thoughts on potential benefits or risks of OPR in your community, as well as open questions that you would like to see addressed.”

A Case for Open Peer Review Podcasting in Academic Librarianship

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Abstract:  Models of open peer review are being explored in multiple disciplines as academia seeks a more feminist, care-based approach to scholarship. One model of open peer review that aligns well with the work of information professionals, particularly those with information literacy instruction duties, is an open peer review podcast. This type of podcast, recorded before a manuscript is submitted for publication, brings an informal peer review process into the open as a host facilitates critical discussion of a research output between the researcher and a reviewer. This approach fosters a supportive community with shared values while utilizing the affordances of podcasting to make invisible labor visible and bring whole personhood into scholarship and scholarly communication. The author provides a case study of implementing this model with the creation of The LibParlor Podcast.

Open science: up for a challenge? | Research Information

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“Do you feel, nevertheless, like Open “Science” is not for you as a book publisher in the humanities and social sciences? Wrong! While the use of Crossref DOIs as persistent identifiers for journal articles has become the industry standard, it is still relatively new territory for books and chapters. The metadata registered with most book DOIs is also significantly less rich, usually lacking abstracts and citations, thus providing less text and fewer nodes of connectivity for search engines to work with. This can result in lower discoverability for the main output types – books and chapters – of the humanities and social sciences. ScienceOpen began indexing books and chapters in 2019 and now has over two million records with validated DOIs. 

A quick search for books, however, immediately highlights how slim most of the book metadata available through Crossref is. To help smaller publishers enrich their book metadata, ScienceOpen created the free platform BookMetaHub, funded by the German Ministry of Education and Research, that can translate metadata from the XML format used for book sellers and libraries, ONIX, into a Crossref-ready format. This richer metadata can help book publishers to benefit from the advantages in discoverability.

Another way to upgrade to Open Science is to explore open and transparent peer review. Just by committing to accept manuscripts that have been posted online as a preprint, publishers can support the research community. Add this information to your journal pages and instructions or write a blog to get the word out: researchers are still sometimes unsure what counts as “previously published.”

In a next step you could agree to consider open peer reviews of preprints as part of your peer review process or to allow your reviewers to sign or post their review reports. ASAPbio offers a wealth of resources for authors and journals around preprint review. And if you decide to choose a fully open or transparent peer review model for your next journal, make sure to give reviews a DOI in the Crossref peer review XML schema to make them citable and discoverable in their own right. There are an increasing number of journals and publishers embracing some form of open review including BioMedCentral, EMBO, Copernicus, eLife, JMIR, F1000 Research, and ScienceOpen. Ross-Hellauer and Görögh (2019) provide some thoughtful guidance for getting started.

Finally, one of the main goals of Open Science is to engage the general public and raise levels of trust in science and academia. Projects range from citizen science participation, plain-language lay summaries, multilingual publishing.

Academic publishers are already engaging with Open Science and driving it forward. But there is more work to be done before a seamless flow of information connects researchers “for the benefits of science and society” and speeds up the pace of innovation to address some of the big challenges that lay before us.”

Why preprint review is the way forward | Research Information

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“However their growth in popularity has also highlighted a lack of systems of review around preprints that mean readers cannot easily assess the quality of new findings. This is the great opportunity for the future of research communication – bringing expert peer review and curation to the preprint literature.

A number of organisations are now doing just that, by embracing models that combine the speed and openness of preprints with expert peer review, full publication and curation. Some of them – eLife and Biophysics Colab, for example – are working with a shared vision in mind: a publishing ecosystem in which the significance of research is recognised on its own merits and independently of journal title. Some other models – including those used by PREreview and ASAPbio–SciELO Preprints crowd review – also take advantage of the open nature of preprints to enable researchers from groups traditionally underrepresented in science to participate in public review.

A few examples of these organisations and their respective models are described below. Together they represent significant community efforts to bring review and curation to preprints, and show how alternative models could work in a more open future for research….”

The experiences of COVID-19 preprint authors: a survey of researchers about publishing and receiving feedback on their work during the pandemic [PeerJ]

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Abstract:  The COVID-19 pandemic caused a rise in preprinting, triggered by the need for open and rapid dissemination of research outputs. We surveyed authors of COVID-19 preprints to learn about their experiences with preprinting their work and also with publishing their work in a peer-reviewed journal. Our research had the following objectives: 1. to learn about authors’ experiences with preprinting, their motivations, and future intentions; 2. to consider preprints in terms of their effectiveness in enabling authors to receive feedback on their work; 3. to compare the impact of feedback on preprints with the impact of comments of editors and reviewers on papers submitted to journals. In our survey, 78% of the new adopters of preprinting reported the intention to also preprint their future work. The boost in preprinting may therefore have a structural effect that will last after the pandemic, although future developments will also depend on other factors, including the broader growth in the adoption of open science practices. A total of 53% of the respondents reported that they had received feedback on their preprints. However, more than half of the feedback was received through “closed” channels–privately to the authors. This means that preprinting was a useful way to receive feedback on research, but the value of feedback could be increased further by facilitating and promoting “open” channels for preprint feedback. Almost a quarter of the feedback received by respondents consisted of detailed comments, showing the potential of preprint feedback to provide valuable comments on research. Respondents also reported that, compared to preprint feedback, journal peer review was more likely to lead to major changes to their work, suggesting that journal peer review provides significant added value compared to feedback received on preprints.

 

Peer-reviewed preprints: Benefits and limitations for young Indian researchers – International Science Council

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“In-group discussions that followed brought to light several observations on challenges and opportunities in the current publishing system:

Open peer review can be advantageous, particularly when the contents of the reviewer reports are made public while respecting the privacy of reviewers’ identities due to potential conflict of interest. This approach helps distribute the reviewing workload and allows experts to review papers within their specific areas of expertise.

The practice of preprint publishing is subject-specific: in physics and mathematics, it is customary to publish the preprints beforehand to invite comments and suggestions, but in applied areas such as agriculture, biomedical, or other fundamental areas like chemistry and biology, sharing preprints is seen as risky due to potential scooping.

Preprints are not considered for promotions, funding, and appraisal. However, preprints usher productivity in some situations as this is a medium of quick dissemination of information among peers.

At the same time, the papers already available in the public domain may face challenges in getting accepted in a journal. The journals that run on subscription models may have severe reservations about publishing preprinted work.

Misconduct regarding reviewing should also be considered, as anybody can post harsh or biased comments, which might affect the spirit and zeal of many early-career researchers. 

Suggestions to popularize preprint services include uploading preprints only when the manuscript is ready for publication and promoting the concept of overlay journals. We must encourage young researchers to adopt innovative publication methods and foster collaborations with scholars worldwide to implement new publishing systems.

In the context of India, the new University Grant Commission (UGC) guidelines allow preprints to be considered for awarding doctoral degrees. Existing policies governing the publication system need to be revised, accounting for the value of Open Access, and peer-reviewed preprints, which allow wider dissemination of research findings while maintaining rigorous peer review.

A shift towards a more inclusive and transparent publishing model can promote accessibility and accelerate the progress of scientific knowledge, but we need to address the challenges of educating the public and researchers about the limitations of preprints….”

A Targeted Review of Open Practices in Special Education Publications – Bryan G. Cook, Wilhelmina van Dijk, Isabel Vargas, Susan M. Aigotti, Jesse I. Fleming, Sean D. McDonald, Cassidi L. Richmond, Lindsay M. Griendling, Alan S. McLucas, Rachelle M. Johnson, 2023

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Abstract:  Open practices, such as preregistration, registered reports, open materials, open data, open analytic code, replication, open peer review, open access, and conflict-of-interest and funding statements, support the transparency, accessibility, and reproducibility of research and other scholarship. The purpose of this review was to examine the prevalence of these open practices in the special education literature. We reviewed a randomly selected sample of 250 articles published in special education journals in 2020. Results indicated that conflict-of-interest and funding statements were present in most articles; a small but meaningful proportion of articles provided open materials and were open access; and preregistration, registered reports, open data, open analytic code, open peer review, and replication were rarely or never observed. Recommendations for researching and supporting the use of open practices in special education scholarship are provided.

 

Habits and perceptions regarding open science by researchers from Spanish institutions | PLOS ONE

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Abstract:  The article describes the results of the online survey on open science (OS) carried out on researchers affiliated with universities and Spanish research centres and focused on open access to scientific publications, the publication process, the management of research data and the review of open articles. The main objective was to identify the perception and habits of researchers with regard to practices closely linked to open science and the scientific value added is that offers an in-depth picture of researchers as one of the main actors to whom this transformation and implementation of open science will fall. It focuses on the different aspects of OS: open access, open data, publication process and open review in order to identify habits and perceptions. This is to make possible an implementation of the OS movement. The survey was carried out among researchers who had published in the years 2020–2021, according to data obtained from WoS. It was emailed to a total of 8,188 researchers and obtained a total of 666 responses, of which 554 were complete, the rest being forms with some questions unanswered. The main results showed that open access still requires the diffusion of practices and services provided by the institution, as well as training (library or equivalent service) and institutional support from the competent authorities (vice rectors or equivalent) in specific aspects such as data management. In the case of data, around 50% of respondents stated they had stored data in a repository, and of all the options, the most frequently given was that of an institutional repository, followed by a discipline repository. Among the main reasons for doing this, we found transparency, visibility of data and the ability to validate results. For those who stated they had never stored data, the most frequent reasons for not having done so were privacy and confidentiality, the lack of a mandated data policy or a lack of knowledge of how to do it. In terms of open peer review, participants mentioned a certain reticence to the opening of evaluations due to potential conflicts of interest that may arise or because lower-quality content might be accepted in order to avoid conflicts. In addition, the hierarchical structure of senior researcher versus junior researcher might affect reviews. The main conclusions indicate a need for persuasion of OA to take place; APCs are an economic barrier rather than the main criterion for journal selection; OPR practices may seem innovative and emerging; scientific and evaluation policies seem to have a clear effect on the behaviour of researchers; researchers state that they share research data more for reasons of persuasion than out of obligation. Researchers do question the pathways or difficulties that may arise on a day-to-day basis and seem aware that we are undergoing change, where academic evaluation or policies related to open science, its implementation and habits among researchers may change. In this sense, more and better support is needed on the part of institutions and faculty support services.

 

Embracing Open Science: A Pathway to an Inclusive and Collaborative Society – Open and Universal Science (OPUS) Project

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“Transitioning to an open science society is a collective effort that requires the involvement of researchers, policymakers, institutions, and the public. By embracing open access publishing, sharing research data and code, promoting open collaboration, adopting open educational resources, encouraging open review and pre-registration, and advocating for open science policies, we can create a more inclusive, transparent, and collaborative scientific landscape. Embracing open science has the potential to revolutionize research, accelerate scientific discoveries, and address global challenges more effectively. Let us work together to pave the way towards an open science society and unlock the true potential of scientific knowledge for the betterment of humanity.”

Webinar – Shaping the Future of Scholarly Communication: The Role of Preprint Peer Review – OASPA

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“This webinar will provide an overview of the preprint peer review landscape and different preprint peer review services.

The session will introduce preprints, how the preprint landscape has evolved to include peer review and why this is important to researchers, the advancement of science and to the adoption of preprints. Each preprint peer review service will describe their services and unique offerings before opening up to a 30 minute Q&A session moderated by ASAPbio.

The webinar will be chaired by Jonny Coates (ASAPbio). We welcome our panellists: Lesley Anson (Science Colab), Stefano M. Bertozzi (Rapid Reviews), Thomas Guillemaud (Peer Community In), Sara Monaco (Review Commons, EMBO) and Daniela Saderi (PREreview)….”

Benefits of Reading Open Peer Reviews · OpenISU

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“Open peer review is the practice of making peer review reports, signed or unsigned by the reviewer, publicly available online…

This short post will outline the benefits I have found in regularly reading open peer review reports. It is my hope that the practice will continue to become more widespread, both in terms of reviewers posting their reports, but also readers making use of this new source of information in the publications they choose to read.”

SciELO – Brasil – Some remarks on peer review and preprints Some remarks on peer review and preprints

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“Critical reading, suggestion of improvements and red flagging of manuscripts in open repositories are actions that every scientist should naturally do regardless of formal invitation from an editor for ‘peer reviewing’. Certainly this ‘self-regulation’ act from scientists will reduce the burden on formal peer review system (e.g., journal invited peer review). Of course, a major change should occur in current academic set of reward and incentives for scientists both to publish and to review the work of others researchers.

 

To help accelerating these changes, scientific editors can do some actions to ameliorate the article publishing and peer review system:

 

a) Prioritise submissions already available in preprint server;

 

b) Start practicing the “open and non-anonymous peer reviewing of every submitted article”….”

Thieme launches new open access journal on sustainability and circularity | STM Publishing News

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“Sustainability & Circularity NOW publishes latest research on benign molecules and materials, closed-loop, waste-free systems, and other actionable solutions to tackle global environmental crises. The new journal is the first open access publication with a multidisciplinary focus on sustainability and circularity in chemistry and beyond. Authors benefit from fast and professional crowd peer-review processes to publish and disseminate their research open access….”

Open peer review: pros and cons | SpringerLink

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“Theoretically, the most objective review process would be the double-blind approach. However, currently, it is heavily undermined by the preprint publication, especially in disciplines such as mathematics or physics. It has been widely adopted by those researchers and demonstrated to improve the Altmetric scores and citations’ number [5]. Currently, preprint publication is increasingly adopted also in biology and medicine, especially after the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic. Moreover, the double-blind process enforces the journal office to a scrupulous and time-consuming job to guarantee the blindness, not always reaching the goal. Lastly, smart reviewers can trace the authors, particularly in the context of highly specialized research fields. At present, many relevant journals in the biomedical area have adopted the single-blind approach….

As suggested by Teixeira da Silva [1], the OPR has several pros as the totally transparent process improves accountability and could results into a potential increase in the quality of reviews. However, we must consider the cons as well. One is the potential bias that may arise when the authors know who the reviewers are. Potential reviewers could refuse to review or, when they accept, being disclosed to the authors, may provide a less critical or more lenient review, especially if a young reviewer evaluates a manuscript coming from a prominent well-known research group. This can result into a loss of critical feedbacks potentially improving a manuscript, reducing the identification of errors and limitations. Second, the OPR obliges to a high technical quality of the reviews, in a context where reviewers, more and more overflowed by review requests, are volunteering their time and efforts. This could increase the bottleneck problem in the number of reviewers available, which is now the main concerns of Editors….”