Category Archives: Peer Review Week 2016
A look back at peer-review week and particle physicists say hello to Hello Kitty
By Matin Durrani
Today marks the end of Peer Review Week – a “global event celebrating the essential role that peer review plays in maintaining scientific quality”. The event brought together “individuals, institutions and organizations committed to sharing the central message that good peer review, whatever shape or form it might take, is critical to scholarly communications”.
It’s probably fair to say that Peer Review Week – now in its second year – didn’t quite have the media profile of, say, London Fashion Week, but then you have to start somewhere. And celebrating peer review seems a worthy and worthwhile thing to do. I bet even Rio de Janeiro’s Restaurant Week started out small. (more…)
My first experience of peer review
![(Courtesy: Shutterstock/Lorelyn Medina)](https://blog.physicsworld.com/files/2016/09/red-pen-500px-500x344.jpg)
(Courtesy: Shutterstock/Lorelyn Medina)
By Margaret Harris
My first experience of being peer reviewed did not begin well. Here’s the opening of the referee’s report:
“The purpose of publication is to disseminate knowledge to other people who may be able to use it. Since the model dramatically fails the authors’ own experimental tests more than half of the time, I can’t imagine anyone wanting to use it. I therefore recommend against its acceptance, here or anywhere else.”
A monument to peer review
![The world's first momument to peer review](https://blog.physicsworld.com/files/2016/09/Title-final-web-500x281.jpg)
The world’s first monument to peer review could be completed by mid-October. (Courtesy: Igor Chirikov)
By Michael Banks
The Russian sociologist Igor Chirikov from the National Research University Higher School of Economics in Moscow has much to celebrate during this year’s Peer Review Week.
He is now putting in place plans to build what will be the world’s first monument to anonymous peer review and is expecting it to be complete in mid-October.
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The facts and figures of peer review
By Tushna Commissariat
I mentioned yesterday that it was the start of “Peer Review Week”, which this year takes “recognition for review” as its theme. Physics World is published by IOP Publishing, which makes us a “society publisher” as we’re wholly owned by the Institute of Physics – a charity. IOP Publishing is also a relatively small operation compared with other large commercial publishers, but we still pack a punch, publishing more than 70 journals.
If you’ve ever wondered just how big a deal peer review is to the publishing sector, the infographic above (click on it to see the whole graphic) reveals some key figures such as the number of reviews completed last year at IOP Publishing, the average time taken to complete a review, as well as the reviewers’ geographical spread.
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Recognizing peer review and all those who referee
![Recognised reviewers: Peer Review Week 2016](https://blog.physicsworld.com/files/2016/09/peer-review-week-500x214.jpg)
Recognized reviewers: Peer Review Week 2016
By Tushna Commissariat
This week, academic publishers all over the world are celebrating peer review and the vital role it plays in the scientific process. Indeed, this week is officially dubbed “Peer Review Week” and this yearly event aims to bring together “individuals, institutions and organizations committed to sharing the central message that good peer review, whatever shape or form it might take, is critical to scholarly communications”. This is the second time the event is being held, and this year’s theme is “recognition for review”.