Gearing up for Peer Review Week

The second annual Peer Review Week is to run next week, from 19 to 25 September.

This year’s theme is Recognition for Review, exploring aspects of how those participating in review activity – in publishing, grant review, conference submissions, promotion and tenure, and more – should be recognised for their contribution.

Planned activities include virtual and in-person events including webinars, videos, interviews and social media activities designed to improve understanding of the principle of peer review and how it is practiced within the scholarly community. A list of events is available at www.peerreviewweek.wordpress.com, and throughout the week many organisations will join in with additional activities.

The Peer Review Week website also features a list of online resources to advance our understanding of peer review and its role in 21st century scholarship.

The initial idea for the first Peer Review Week, held in 2015, grew out of informal conversations between ORCID, ScienceOpen, PRE (Peer Review Evaluation), Sense About Science, and Wiley. This year, more than 20 organisations are signed on to the Peer Review Week committee.

‘I am absolutely delighted that last year's first – very small and experimental – Peer Review Week generated such support and enthusiasm from the community that we will be celebrating it again in 2016,’ commented Peer Review Week chairperson Alice Meadows.

‘Our much expanded planning committee represents a broader and deeper cross-section of organisations involved in peer review, and our theme of peer review recognition should resonate equally with reviewers and the organisations they are reviewing for – associations, funders, publishers, research institutions, and others. I hope that Peer Review Week 2016 will bring all stakeholders together to celebrate the importance of good peer review to all forms of scholarly communications.’