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Open Research Europe believes that transparency in the peer review process is crucial for quality and accountability, which makes it easier to know if research can be trusted.
Learn more about the innovative Open Research Europe publication model:
Think you know peer review? Think again! At Open Research Europe, we do things differently. Traditional peer review typically follows a single- or double-blinded process, allowing journal editors and reviewers to act as curators of knowledge, deciding what research is published where.
We are proud to offer a fully open and transparent post-publication peer review process. Our model is centered around transparency and innovation, allowing peer review to become a constructive and collaborative conversation within the research community.
Keep reading to find out everything you need to know as an Open Research Europe author, including how our model works, your role in the peer review process, and the benefits of open peer review for you.
How the open peer review process works
At Open Research Europe, our peer review process is formal, invited, and open – so reports are published alongside the article, with reviewer names and affiliations. Peer review takes place after the article has been published openly on the platform, so your research can be read and cited while being assessed by expert reviewers. Reviewers assess the quality and validity of the research, not the novelty or perceived interest. We also welcome null and negative studies, and they will not be reviewed any differently.
What does ‘pass peer review’ mean?
Awaiting peer review: All articles are labelled with this immediately upon publication. As soon as a report is published, this is updated to reflect its new approval status.
Approved: The reviewer has asked for a few small changes, or no changes at all.
Approved with reservations: The reviewer believes the article has academic merit, but requires a number of small changes, or significant revisions.
Not approved: The reviewer considers the article to have fundamental flaws and be of low quality. The article is still published on Open Research Europe, and authors are strongly encouraged to publish an updated version which addresses specific concerns raised by the reviewer.
An article passes peer review with two Approved ratings, or one Approved and two Approved with reservations, and will be indexed, along with its review reports.
What gets peer reviewed?
Open Research Europe publishes a variety of research outputs, which are all peer-reviewed. All article types(such as Research Articles, Software Tool Articles, and Data Notes) undergo the same open, post-publication peer review process explained here, however the questions asked of reviewers may differ between article types and disciplines.
Finding peer reviewers
Our peer review process is a collaboration between the author and the Open Research Europe Editorial team. Before publication, you must suggest at least five potential reviewers who meet our basic criteria (and must continue to suggest names until at least two peer review reports have been published). If you struggle to find reviewers for your research, our Editorial team are there to support you. With our top tips, finding peer reviewers is straightforward!
- Use your knowledge of the field to identify possible reviewers at prominent institutions
- Try the Reviewer Finder Tool we provide to generate a list of potential reviewers
- Look at your references – authors of cited papers could be well-placed to review for you
- Explore academic databases like PubMed and Web of Science for recent articles with relevant keywords
Diversity in peer review
Diversity amongst your suggested peer reviewers is important. We advise you to consider choosing reviewers from different institutions, geographies and to ensure that there is a good gender balance.
If the five names you provide aren’t diverse enough, we might ask you for more suggestions of potential reviewers.
Why choose open peer review?
At Open Research Europe, we believe that transparency in the peer review process is crucial for quality and accountability, which makes it easier to know if research can be trusted.
Here’s how our innovative model benefits researchers:
- Enable conversation within the research community with fully transparent peer review
- Reduce the possibility of bias, as everything is openly available to all
- Improve the quality of peer review
- Let everyone benefit and learn from reading reviewer feedback
- Empower authors to lead the process by suggesting reviewers themselves
- Accelerate the pace of discovery by publishing research before it undergoes peer review
Click here for more information about Open Research Europe