What is Peer Review Week?

Peer Review Week is an annual global event celebrating the critical role of peer review in maintaining the quality and integrity of research communication. The theme for Peer Review Week 2017 is 'Transparency'.

What is Publons doing?

Publons is one of 28 organizations on the Peer Review Week Organizing Committee, bringing you a range of virtual and in-person events.

The biggest event of the week is Publons Peer Review Awards - honoring the top reviewers each year. You can read more about the awards below.

We also have a range blogs, videos, peer review research, resources and more that we will be bringing to you over the week. To stay up-to-date you can:

• Follow us on twitter @Publons and the hashtags #SentinelsofScience, #TransparencyInReview and #PeerRevWk17.
• Check out the Peer Review Week website.
• Check out our blog.

Why have Peer Review Week?

Peer review is central to our ability to trust and communicate research, but it is under fire. Generally speaking there is massive pressure to publish and minimal incentive to review, causing the following problems:

• Editors struggle to find reviewers, slowing down scholarly communication.
• Researchers get little or no formal recognition from funders and institutions for their critical work vetting and improving research through peer review.
• A lack of transparency in peer review processes and systems prohibits us from making informed decisions for improvements.
• The absence of formal training leads to variations in review quality and a lack of understanding about the benefits of being an active reviewer.
• Some bad apples commit review fraud to get their work published, leading to mass retractions and damaging the public's trust in research.

Peer Review Week is designed to raise awareness and improve understanding of peer review, how it is practiced, the problems researchers face and the solutions we can take on as a community to harness the power of peer review to bring trust and efficiency to research.