Open Peer Review Policy

Last year I published 2 articles in journals of the Royal Society, and one of the unique features of their journals is that they have a policy of "open peer review".  This means that, should a paper be accepted and published, they publish the referee reports, editorial comments as well as the author's response to revisions etc.  For example, see the review report on my latest paper in Biology Letters here.

As an author the peer review process can certainly make one feel vulnerable, especially when reviewers emphasize shortcomings of one's original submission.  But this process can also be invaluable, especially to junior scholars who are not yet familiar with the "ins and outs" of publishing.  Firstly, you can see how the peer review process can actually substantively improve one's paper.  This was certainly the case for my paper mentioned above.  I received expert feedback from both reviewers that I was happy to incorporate as the suggestions from both referees greatly improved the argumentation I developed. 

The peer review process also reveals the common challenges authors face- the need to respond to many different points while trying to keep within prescribed word counts.  That was certainly a challenge for me with revising the paper.  As I added new details I had to delete something else.  And doing the latter then opens one up one's arguments to other potential concerns.  

Grappling with an R&R requires an author to make sage decisions about the tradeoffs they are willing to undertake to meet the concerns raised by referees, while remaining faithful to their own judgement of what they want to, and can feasible, achieve in a paper.  And all this has to be achieved within both time and word count constraints.  Not an easy task!  

Getting a glimpse into the peer review process can help junior scholars appreciate how much time, effort and persistence is required to take a paper from the "initial submission" stage to a potential "publication".  The publishing process is no doubt the most stressful part of being an academic.  But it is also one of the most rewarding parts of the career.  When one finally sees the finished product come out in print in the journal there is an incredible sense of achievement, something that would not be experienced if publishing did not have the rigours of the peer review process.  My experience of the open peer review policy has been very positive, I felt it was handled in a genuinely collaborative spirit and certainly helped strengthened my articles.  So I am appreciative of the time referees and editors devoted to the papers. 

Cheers, 

Colin