Publons allocates DOIs to peer reviews

The open-access, peer-review platform Publons has announced that high-­quality reviews on the platform will now be citable and discoverable by being allocated unique Digital Object Identifiers (DOI).

According to the company, although DOIs are standard for published articles and datasets, the application of DOIs to peer review is a world first. Andrew Preston, publons CEO and founder explained the reasons behind the move: 'Reviewers’ valuable comments and observations are now given the credit they deserve, and this provides an incentive for reviewers to provide high quality reviews, improving both the underlying science and commentary.'

The DOI feature is part of Publons’ mission to make peer review and peer reviewers first class citizens in science, according to the New Zealand-based start up. The assignment of DOIs helps to augment academics' publication records, which can be used to strengthen applications for funding and jobs, and to collaborate in the academic community on a deeper level.

'Strong post­-publication review is the holy grail of academic publishing. An ongoing dialog between authors and peers is the best way to develop, augment, and improve the sphere of human knowledge,' continued Preston.