How To Cook Scholarly Peer Review
All academics invariably endure from an occasional bad together with unfair review. We pour our exertion (and sometimes tears) over a newspaper for many months to scout it summarily together with unfairly shot-down past times a reviewer. Opening a conclusion electronic mail to read such a review feels thus sickening that it hurts inwards the stomach. Even later 20 years, I am unable to desensitize myself to the hurting of beingness shot-down past times an unfair review. I suspect quite many people quit academia beingness frustrated over bad reviews.
Peer review is a complex together with sensitive topic, together with this post volition inevitably autumn curt of capturing unopen to of import aspects of it. But I believe this theme is thus of import that it deserves to a greater extent than attending together with conversation. Here I starting fourth dimension write a chip most how to handgrip bad reviews. Then I outline unopen to problems amongst our electrical flow peer review procedure together with propose unopen to fixes to start a conversation on this.
What do yous do now?
Again practise caution. Give it a day, run across amongst your coauthors. Try to give the do goodness of the incertitude to the reviewers. If yous however cannot justify inwards whatsoever trend that the reviewer is non malicious together with unfair, yous should contact the PC chairs or Editor to complain most the behavior. This oft gets ignored, thus don't await much.
Basically yous swallow this abuse of might together with displace on. You endeavor non to acquire also upset past times many months wasted waiting for this rejection, together with endeavor to innovation ahead for unopen to other publication venue. Maybe yous brand a mental banknote to avoid this conference together with journal. But isn't that penalizing yourself, together with non the guilty party?
If yous similar to grapple the unfairness, yous don't create got much leverage. You tin brand the reviews world to give away the unfairness to community. But that is most it, together with this in all probability won't brand much departure either. Yes, real frustrating. Very unfair. I know.
The blind reviewing industrial plant good when the reviewers are conscientious, together with the PC-chairs/editors bring meticulous attention inwards their chore to oversee the reviewers. But banknote that at that spot is an asymmetric might relation here. The work is that anonymous reviewers don't create got much peel inwards the game, together with the procedure is opened upwards to abuse.
Good intentions don't work, goodness systems work. And at that spot is apparently something broken amongst our reviewing scheme today. The character of reviews inside the same conference or mag is uneven together with varies wildly. Reviewers, who are overworked academics, are overwhelmed amongst lots of papers to review. Competent reviewers are particularly overwhelmed. As an associate editor at IEEE TCC, when I endeavor to uncovering reviewers for papers, my usual success charge per unit of measurement is three over 8-10. I demand to contact upwards to 10 reviewers to uncovering three that accepts to review the paper.
So amongst due caution together with awareness of the complexity of peer review, I render unopen to suggestions to better the scheme inwards goodness faith. This proposal has holes together with difficulties inwards implementation, but I promise it serves to start the conversation.
While I am non confident inwards the specifics of the implementation, I intend the high flat solution is clear. We demand to incentivize the reviewers together with and thus demand accountability from them. So hither are my suggestions to this end.
The reviewers do these reviews pro bono together with are overworked. You may non realize it from exterior but academics go actually hard betwixt teaching, research, departmental direction duties, together with other professional person duties.
Did I rear that reviewers together with Editors don't acquire paid a dime? We are talking most domain experts here, who could easily brand \$200 an hr consulting. I intend nosotros owe it to the reviewers to compensate them for their contribution inwards the publishing process.
Can the conferences together with professional person organizations afford to pay reviewers? I don't regard why not. I create got non been involved inwards whatsoever conference organization, thus I may live on incorrect here, but delight humour me. A conference amongst 1000 attendees amongst \$1000 per registration fee (not uncommon) makes a full of \$1 million. Where does this coin go? Definitely non to the dubious character conference swag. Hotels may live on expensive, but non that much. If hotels are taking most of that money, nosotros demand tougher negotiators on the conference scheme committees. The hotels already acquire a goodness bargain amongst attendees staying at that spot for the duration of the conference.
Remember Chesterton's fence. We should of course of teaching consider what type of side-effects compensating the reviewers may have. Could this atomic number 82 to a clique of friends who recruit each other for reviewing gigs? I don't know. If the compensation is non high, together with if nosotros proceed reviewers accountable amongst abide by to the character of the reviews, this may non live on a problem. If coin is also messy, render costless conference registration to the reviewers.
Even if nosotros don't compensate the reviewers, at to the lowest degree nosotros demand to laid upwards a scheme to forestall freeloading. If yous don't aid amongst reviewing, yous don't acquire to create got your papers reviewed. If yous are a conscientious reviewer, mayhap yous acquire to create got a quaternary reviewer?
In journals, at that spot is no rush. So fifty-fifty for rejected papers, the mag may render a response opportunity, together with the authors acquire to introduce their responses to the reviewers.
Maybe this is on the crazy side, but hither it is: It may fifty-fifty live on possible to publicize the call of a malicious or severely negligent reviewer. (There may live on a decentralized cryptographic signing solution nether which ii reviewers may brand the call of the 3rd reviewer visible if they conduct keep on neglect/abuse past times the 3rd reviewer. Crypto geeks, is it possible to implement a multisig solution for this on hotcrp soon?)
In addition, in-person PC meetings (when feasible) is goodness for enforcing accountability for the reviewers. Again the go for PC members should live on paid for past times the conference registration fees, if an in-person PC coming together is established.
Reviews tin live on rated past times other reviewers together with feedback inwards the degree of blind review tin live on provided to the reviewers. These feedback tin aid prepare reviewers to avoid mutual mistakes: beingness hypercritical on a nipper point, failing to regard the overall value provided, beingness prejudiced towards sure as shooting methods/approaches, making unsupported claims, etc. We may fifty-fifty consider pair-reviewing to complement peer-reviewing.
Finally, every bit a reviewer, yous should consider voluntarily signing your names on your review. The thought hither is to proceed yourself accountable past times voluntarily giving upwards your anonymity. The signing of the call conclusion should live on made earlier the review assignments together with i should non live on allowed to sign reviews alone for acceptances.
I create got seen unopen to people do this. And I volition give this a endeavor myself. In my experience, a turn down conclusion doesn't wound if the reviewer supports her seat good together with seat inwards the go to empathize together with fairly evaluate the go amongst abide by to the cohort of papers submitted. So I am OK signing my call on a turn down decision.
Peer review is a complex together with sensitive topic, together with this post volition inevitably autumn curt of capturing unopen to of import aspects of it. But I believe this theme is thus of import that it deserves to a greater extent than attending together with conversation. Here I starting fourth dimension write a chip most how to handgrip bad reviews. Then I outline unopen to problems amongst our electrical flow peer review procedure together with propose unopen to fixes to start a conversation on this.
The starting fourth dimension dominion of review club
The starting fourth dimension dominion of review social club is to ever give the do goodness of incertitude to the reviewers. We are all partial most our work: if nosotros didn't intend highly of it, nosotros wouldn't create got worked on it thus hard, together with submitted it to a goodness venue. I propose that yous avoid responding to the reviews the starting fourth dimension day. Chances are that yous volition live on also busy processing your emotions to create got bandwidth to procedure the reviews calmly. So slumber on it, read the reviews i time to a greater extent than the adjacent day. Give it your best shot to regard what gets criticized. Try to regard what got misunderstood. If unopen to reviewers had this problem, several of your readers volition create got similar problems every bit well. Can yous better your presentation to avoid that problem? How tin yous address/disarm the criticisms from the reviewers? What is the chance to better here? The thought is to larn whatever yous tin larn from the reviews, together with acquire thus goodness they can't ignore you.The instant dominion of review club
The instant dominion of the review social club is that occasionally yous acquire a review thus malicious, thus bad that yous are stumped. This is inevitable. Welcome to the club!What do yous do now?
Again practise caution. Give it a day, run across amongst your coauthors. Try to give the do goodness of the incertitude to the reviewers. If yous however cannot justify inwards whatsoever trend that the reviewer is non malicious together with unfair, yous should contact the PC chairs or Editor to complain most the behavior. This oft gets ignored, thus don't await much.
Basically yous swallow this abuse of might together with displace on. You endeavor non to acquire also upset past times many months wasted waiting for this rejection, together with endeavor to innovation ahead for unopen to other publication venue. Maybe yous brand a mental banknote to avoid this conference together with journal. But isn't that penalizing yourself, together with non the guilty party?
If yous similar to grapple the unfairness, yous don't create got much leverage. You tin brand the reviews world to give away the unfairness to community. But that is most it, together with this in all probability won't brand much departure either. Yes, real frustrating. Very unfair. I know.
The electrical flow peer review process
This is how the electrical flow scholarly peer review works. You submit your paper, together with it gets reviewed past times (often) three anonymous reviewers. After three months (or vi months for the journals), yous acquire the reviews together with the conclusion inwards the email. The rating is to a greater extent than oft than non average of the reviewers, together with a bad review damages your chances particularly severely for conferences.The blind reviewing industrial plant good when the reviewers are conscientious, together with the PC-chairs/editors bring meticulous attention inwards their chore to oversee the reviewers. But banknote that at that spot is an asymmetric might relation here. The work is that anonymous reviewers don't create got much peel inwards the game, together with the procedure is opened upwards to abuse.
Good intentions don't work, goodness systems work. And at that spot is apparently something broken amongst our reviewing scheme today. The character of reviews inside the same conference or mag is uneven together with varies wildly. Reviewers, who are overworked academics, are overwhelmed amongst lots of papers to review. Competent reviewers are particularly overwhelmed. As an associate editor at IEEE TCC, when I endeavor to uncovering reviewers for papers, my usual success charge per unit of measurement is three over 8-10. I demand to contact upwards to 10 reviewers to uncovering three that accepts to review the paper.
The basic recipe
Don't tear downward a ground earlier yous empathize what it does. As tempting it is, nosotros can't rush to do away amongst blind review. Disclosing the reviewer names may also crusade problems. The authors are partial most their work, together with unopen to may unfairly retaliate to the reviewer. Secondly, without the anonymity cloak, the reviewers may non live on critical plenty of unopen to submissions from sure as shooting high-profile faculty/schools.So amongst due caution together with awareness of the complexity of peer review, I render unopen to suggestions to better the scheme inwards goodness faith. This proposal has holes together with difficulties inwards implementation, but I promise it serves to start the conversation.
While I am non confident inwards the specifics of the implementation, I intend the high flat solution is clear. We demand to incentivize the reviewers together with and thus demand accountability from them. So hither are my suggestions to this end.
1. Compensate the reviewers
Reviewing is a thankless job. Conference reviewers acquire unopen to recognition, every bit their call appears inwards the programme commission page of the conference (but this gets onetime quickly). Journal reviewers don't fifty-fifty acquire that.The reviewers do these reviews pro bono together with are overworked. You may non realize it from exterior but academics go actually hard betwixt teaching, research, departmental direction duties, together with other professional person duties.
Did I rear that reviewers together with Editors don't acquire paid a dime? We are talking most domain experts here, who could easily brand \$200 an hr consulting. I intend nosotros owe it to the reviewers to compensate them for their contribution inwards the publishing process.
Can the conferences together with professional person organizations afford to pay reviewers? I don't regard why not. I create got non been involved inwards whatsoever conference organization, thus I may live on incorrect here, but delight humour me. A conference amongst 1000 attendees amongst \$1000 per registration fee (not uncommon) makes a full of \$1 million. Where does this coin go? Definitely non to the dubious character conference swag. Hotels may live on expensive, but non that much. If hotels are taking most of that money, nosotros demand tougher negotiators on the conference scheme committees. The hotels already acquire a goodness bargain amongst attendees staying at that spot for the duration of the conference.
Remember Chesterton's fence. We should of course of teaching consider what type of side-effects compensating the reviewers may have. Could this atomic number 82 to a clique of friends who recruit each other for reviewing gigs? I don't know. If the compensation is non high, together with if nosotros proceed reviewers accountable amongst abide by to the character of the reviews, this may non live on a problem. If coin is also messy, render costless conference registration to the reviewers.
Even if nosotros don't compensate the reviewers, at to the lowest degree nosotros demand to laid upwards a scheme to forestall freeloading. If yous don't aid amongst reviewing, yous don't acquire to create got your papers reviewed. If yous are a conscientious reviewer, mayhap yous acquire to create got a quaternary reviewer?
2. Provide an author-feedback phase
Conferences should render a rebuttal stage to give the authors a adventure to reply to the reviewers' criticisms. Although express inwards their effectiveness/consequence, this response stage however gives a vox to the authors. As an extra point, I actually liked what SIGMOD did amongst their writer feedback; they explicitly asked the authors to study on whatsoever bad/offending reviews.In journals, at that spot is no rush. So fifty-fifty for rejected papers, the mag may render a response opportunity, together with the authors acquire to introduce their responses to the reviewers.
3. Form a grievance committee
To give to a greater extent than voice/faculty to the authors, a grievance commission tin live on formed to inspect the reviews suspected of foul play. The commission shall inspect the situation, consult amongst the other reviewers on the paper, together with write a study on the decision.Maybe this is on the crazy side, but hither it is: It may fifty-fifty live on possible to publicize the call of a malicious or severely negligent reviewer. (There may live on a decentralized cryptographic signing solution nether which ii reviewers may brand the call of the 3rd reviewer visible if they conduct keep on neglect/abuse past times the 3rd reviewer. Crypto geeks, is it possible to implement a multisig solution for this on hotcrp soon?)
4. Take ownership/responsibility for the reviews
As PC chairs or mag editors, yous should bring responsibleness of the character of the reviews provided to the authors. You should non blindly sign on the reviews, every bit at the destination of the twenty-four hr catamenia the character of the reviews provided to the authors is your responsibility.In addition, in-person PC meetings (when feasible) is goodness for enforcing accountability for the reviewers. Again the go for PC members should live on paid for past times the conference registration fees, if an in-person PC coming together is established.
Reviews tin live on rated past times other reviewers together with feedback inwards the degree of blind review tin live on provided to the reviewers. These feedback tin aid prepare reviewers to avoid mutual mistakes: beingness hypercritical on a nipper point, failing to regard the overall value provided, beingness prejudiced towards sure as shooting methods/approaches, making unsupported claims, etc. We may fifty-fifty consider pair-reviewing to complement peer-reviewing.
Finally, every bit a reviewer, yous should consider voluntarily signing your names on your review. The thought hither is to proceed yourself accountable past times voluntarily giving upwards your anonymity. The signing of the call conclusion should live on made earlier the review assignments together with i should non live on allowed to sign reviews alone for acceptances.
I create got seen unopen to people do this. And I volition give this a endeavor myself. In my experience, a turn down conclusion doesn't wound if the reviewer supports her seat good together with seat inwards the go to empathize together with fairly evaluate the go amongst abide by to the cohort of papers submitted. So I am OK signing my call on a turn down decision.
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