Nature journal puts blogging into peer reviews

Posted on 15 Sep 2006 at 15:25

The scientific journal Nature is to adopt an open peer-review system to judge papers submitted for publication.

Manuscripts will be uploaded to a pre-print server and made available online in what is essentially a blog, allowing members of the scientific community to comment on the content's merit.

Comments submitted are subject to review themselves before being published, and anyone commenting must put their name and institution to their words.

As well as public review via the Peer Review Trial, manuscripts will also continue to be sent to Nature's experts for a closed review.

Authors can choose not to have their work reviewed in this manner, and their are potentially some disadvantages to having an open peer-review.

Most obviously, such a public forum let's the cat out of the bag on new research before official publishing in the journal. Although access is intended primarily for the scientific community, there are no barriers to anyone, including the media, accessing the pre-published material. Moreover, rival researchers could also access these papers, although were they to subsequently to submit a similar manuscript to Nature, they would be expected to cite any such research with their submission.

As well as scientific disciplines, the methodology of peer review is most notably applied in the technology sector as a means of improving open-source software.

It is finding yet more friends further afield for example with the US PTO's project to set up a system whereby prior art and comments can be submitted for patent applications.

Interested parties can sign up to receive alerts for new submissions to Nature's Peer Review Trial.

Author: Matt Whipp