PEER REVIEW WEEK 2020 IS HERE: LET THE DISCUSSIONS OF TRUST IN PEER REVIEW BEGIN!
September 21, 2020: Today begins the sixth annual Peer Review Week (PRW). Ahead lie five days filled with peer review focused online events, video and blog releases, social media, and most importantly, dialogue.
This year’s PRW theme is Trust in Peer Review. The importance of reliable scholarly publications has rarely been as public or pressing as now, with the world in the throes of the COVID-19 pandemic. Maintaining trust in the peer review decision-making process is paramount if we are to solve the world’s most urgent problems. This global, week-long event shines a light on how the peer review process works and why it helps build trust in research.
Organizations from across the research landscape have prepared and shared useful contributions to the broader discussion this week. Events range from informal, facilitated “cafes” to moderated panels and also include videos, blog posts, data sets, infographics, and much more.
“Trust in published research has never been so important with pressing global challenges such as the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change,” commented PRW Steering Committee Co-Chair Phil Hurst, of The Royal Society. “It’s vital for the public, policymakers and other researchers to know that work they are relying on has been evaluated and tested.”
“Trust in peer review can mean so many things to different people. We are fostering an open platform to voice what #TrustInPeerReview means to you,” commented PRW Steering Committee Co-Chair Lou Peck, of The International Bunch. “We have taken a proactive approach this year to encourage more participation from multiple community stakeholders including libraries and funders. It will be fascinating to see the abundant variety of initiatives and commentary around what is set to be an exciting PRW.”
“Teaching students about peer review and the scholarly communication cycle is an important component of information literacy instruction in academic libraries,” commented Lisa Janicke Hinchliffe, Professor & Coordinator for Information Literacy , University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. “This year’s theme — trust — is particularly timely with the rising public profile of preprints and the importance of understanding how scientific knowledge is vetted.”
“This year, we are thrilled to observe increased global participation in Peer Review Week. The Chinese Academy of Sciences, EASE in Turkey, and organizations from India, Russia and beyond, are all getting involved for the first time,” commented Alice Meadows, Director of Community Engagement at NISO, and Peer Review Week founding committee member.
About Peer Review Week
Peer Review Week is a global event celebrating the essential role that peer review plays in maintaining scientific quality. It brings together individuals, institutions, and organizations committed to sharing the central message that good peer review, whatever shape or form it might take, is critical to scholarly communications. We organize events, webinars, interviews, and social media activities. More information about Peer Review Week, including a list of the organizations involved in planning this year’s celebrations, can be found on our website, our resources page, and our events list. Follow us on Twitter (@PeerRevWeek). View our Peer Review Week YouTube channel.
Check out the Peer Review Week fact sheet.
2020 THEME ANNOUNCED!
Read Alice Meadows’ Scholarly Kitchen post which announces the 2020 theme: https://scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org/2020/04/09/in-peer-review-week-we-trust/
PEER REVIEW WEEK 2020 LAUNCH PRESS RELEASE
Translated Press Releases
Peer Review Week 2020 press release -Bulgarian
Peer Review Week 2020 Press Release – Chinese
Peer Review Week 2020 press release -Croatian
Peer Review Week 2020 Press Release – French
Peer Review Week 2020 press release -Hindi
Peer Review Week 2020 press release -Italian
Peer Review Week 2020 press release -Japanese
Peer Review Week 2020 press release -Korean
Peer Review Week 2020 press release -Russian
Peer Review Week 2020 Press Release – Spanish
Peer Review Week 2020 press release -Turkish
Peer Review Week 2020 press release -Vietnamese
June 25, 2020 — This year’s Peer Review Week (PRW), a yearly event led by academic publishers and societies, as well as other scholarly organizations, is dedicated to “Trust in Peer Review.” During the week of September 21 – 25, participating organizations will highlight the critical role of peer review in research with a week of virtual events and activities.
The importance of reliable scholarly publications has rarely been as public or pressing as now, with the world in the throes of the COVID-19 pandemic. Maintaining trust in the peer review decision-making process is paramount if we are to solve the world’s most pressing problems. This global, week-long event will shine a light on how the peer review process works and why it helps build trust in research.
“Research contributions — on climate change, poverty, disease, or any of the other challenges we face — have an important impact on people’s lives. It’s vital for researchers, the public, and policymakers to know whether and, if so, how the research they’re relying on has been evaluated and tested,” says Phil Hurst of The Royal Society, co-chair of the Peer Review Week steering group.
“Every year, Peer Review Week puts a spotlight on the essential work that often goes on behind the scenes, yet plays a critical role in ensuring accuracy in the scientific and research process. By drawing attention to the issue of ‘trust’ we hope that this year’s PRW will stimulate discussions and further initiatives that will ultimately lead to strengthening the scientific record,” says Lou Peck of The International Bunch, Phil’s co-chair.
In this time of uncertainty, ensuring that peer review is trustworthy has never been more urgent. We invite all scholarly and scientific societies, researchers, editors, publishers, libraries, universities, funders, and anyone interested in the advancement of high-quality research to join us during Peer Review Week for this celebration and learning experience.
About Peer Review Week
Peer Review Week is a global event celebrating the essential role that peer review plays in maintaining scientific quality. It brings together individuals, institutions, and organizations committed to sharing the central message that good peer review, whatever shape or form it might take, is critical to scholarly communications. We organize events, webinars, interviews, and social media activities.
Further Information
Please refer to the Peer Review Week website for information about the participating organizations and updates about PRW 2020. If you would like to get involved, or are planning a PRW event or other celebration of your own, please contact Alice Meadows (ameadows@niso.org) or Sian Powell (SPowell@acs-i.org) , who are co-chairing this year’s marketing and communications committee.
Peer Review Week 