Pilot Projects: Elsevier Tests Peer Review Report Transparency

From an Elsevier Announcement:

Elsevier has launched a pilot project aimed at improving the quality of peer review. Review reports for articles in Agricultural and Forest Meteorology will be published alongside the article on SciVerse ScienceDirect. The pilot will last until the end of 2012. If successful, the initiative will also be applied to other Elsevier journals.
“Making the reviews visible to all readers of the article will ultimately lead to higher quality review reports,” said Martin Tanke, Managing Director of STM Journals, Elsevier. “In addition, by openly publishing the reviews we want to publicly acknowledge the intellectual contribution of the reviewer to the article.”
Dr. Xuhui Lee, Editor-in-Chief of Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, added, “The published review will provide context to the article by giving multiple perspectives on the quality of the study. It will also enable us to attract the best reviewers for the journal.”
Before the article appears on SciVerse ScienceDirect, authors and reviewers are notified of the publication of the review report – as well as the originally submitted manuscript – alongside the article. Reviewers have the choice whether they would like their name will be revealed with their review reports. Review reports will only be published if they meet certain quality standards.
This peer review initiative is part of Elsevier’s ongoing Content Innovation project aimed at improving the article value in all areas of its presentation, content, and context.

Filed under: Elsevier, Publishing, Reports