The 9th Annual Peer Review Week takes place September 25-29, 2023. The theme for this year’s global event is “Peer Review and the Future of Publishing.” The week marks the important role of peer review in maintaining research quality.
To commemorate this event, ASPET is waiving submission fees for its self-published journals for the month of September. In speaking with our editors on peer review and where they think it is heading, this is what each had to say:
Dr. Beverley Greenwood-Van Meerveld, Editor of The Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics:
“The peer-review process, while not perfect, is an important and essential mechanism to ensure the scientific quality, experimental rigor, and level of trust in all submissions to ASPET journals. Key to successful reviewing is to find well-trained reviewers with not only expertise in their research field but also a well-rounded level of experience in the entire review process. At JPET, we recognize that we must play a role in preparing the next generation of reviewers, and we believe that there is a need for comprehensive reviewer training, especially for junior scientists. Therefore, in 2023, JPET developed a new Editorial Fellowship Program. This is a one-year program for individuals with a relevant background to build important skills as a peer reviewer and editor.”
Dr. Lynette Daws, Editor of Pharmacological Reviews:
“Peer review is the backbone ensuring integrity of published works. It ensures that data are of the highest quality, that all necessary controls are included, that experiments can be reproduced, and that research has been conducted ethically. Peer review is essential for evaluating the originality of scientific reports and reviews.”
Dr. Xinxin Ding, Editor of Drug Metabolism and Disposition:
“As a society journal, we enjoy the loyalty of our members. More than 50% of our reviews are conducted by editorial board members, who are carefully selected and well-regarded experts in the field. I think we will continue to have this advantage as we navigate any changes in the publishing landscape and be confident that our authors enjoy high-quality peer review.”
Dr. John Tesmer, Editor of Molecular Pharmacology:
“Peer review is a tool by which the authors of grants and papers can get expert feedback on their proposals and manuscripts, respectively. Overall, it leads to improved submissions and publications, and it would be a loss not to have it as an integral part of our scientific community. But it only works well when the reviewers are savvy in the art of review. Going forward we might see more emphasis on training junior investigators in this arena. And maybe they should be paid for their effort.”
Pharmacology Research & Perspectivesis a collaboration between ASPET, the British Pharmacological Society, and Wiley. An open access journal that publishes original research, reviews, and perspectives in all areas of preclinical and clinical pharmacology, therapeutics, education, and related research areas, PR&P began bimonthly publication in October 2013.
Dr. Mike Jarvis, Editor of Pharmacology Research & Perspectives:
“Peer review is foundationally important to ensuring the scientific quality of published research. While not a perfect system, editorial boards are highly dependent on the efforts and wisdom of peer reviewers to help authors improve their manuscripts. Specific, objective, actionable, and constructive feedback to authors not only helps authors identify and correct ambiguities in their papers, but also often leads to new insights.”