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Academic Journal Reviews

Academic Journal Reviews

A place for academics to review the publishing process at peer-reviewed journals.

Infographic captures how researchers really feel about the peer-review process

Infographic captures how researchers really feel about the peer-review process

More than 2,000 researchers from a variety of disciplines contributed to a survey conducted by Elsevier and the Publishing Research Consortium.

Recognition for review: rewarding contribution - BioMed Central blog

Recognition for review: rewarding contribution - BioMed Central blog

Many reviewers feel that some form of public acknowledgment is more valuable than monetary payment when it comes to their services.

The current system of knowledge dissemination isn’t working and Sci-Hub is merely a symptom of the problem

The current system of knowledge dissemination isn’t working and Sci-Hub is merely a symptom of the problem

That Sci-Hub’s activities are illegal is not disputed. However, according to Iván Farías Pelcastre and Flor González Correa the issue at the core of the debate is the current publishing and knowled…

What Gives With So Many Hard Scientists Being Hard-Core Endurance Runners?

What Gives With So Many Hard Scientists Being Hard-Core Endurance Runners?

A surprising number of physicists and astronomers and STEM professionals compete in long, hard, miserable athletic endeavors like ultramarathons. Why?

A cross-disciplinary approach to science is helping Nautilus carve a unique niche in science publishing

A cross-disciplinary approach to science is helping Nautilus carve a unique niche in science publishing

With a focus on deep reporting, a print magazine, and an intense affinity for illustrations, nonprofit Nautilus has taken an expensive approach to launching a new science publication.

Raising the Status of Peer Review With Publons

Raising the Status of Peer Review With Publons

An interview with Tom Culley, Marketing Director of Publons, on how provide recognition for this vital part of the scientific process.

A History of Academic Peer Review

A History of Academic Peer Review

Although peer review is now a fundamental quality control measure implemented during the publishing process, the practice as we know it today is quite different from how it was envisioned...

6 Easy Things Scientists Can do to End Pseudoscience

6 Easy Things Scientists Can do to End Pseudoscience

Don't believe every science study you read, because sometimes not even their authors believe them. Here are the issues corrupting good, honest science – and how to fix them. 

Gender Bias and the Peer Review Process

Gender Bias and the Peer Review Process

Emma Sayer Lecturer, Lancaster University Despite increased efforts to improve gender equality in academia, gender bias still affects many areas of science.

The future of peer review is now!

The future of peer review is now!

It’s the most wondrous time of the year! Peer Review Week is the time when the scholarly communications community comes together to recognise the importance and value of peer review and peer review…

New Proposals to Solve the Ongoing Reproducibility Crisis

New Proposals to Solve the Ongoing Reproducibility Crisis

Recap of contest launched by the Winnower and the Laura and John Arnold Foundation to answer the question – How do we ensure that research is reproducible?

The office experiment: Can science build the perfect workspace?

The office experiment: Can science build the perfect workspace?

Windows, desks and employees are being wired up in a quest to create healthy, evidence-based environments.

Pride and Prejudice and journal citation distributions

Pride and Prejudice and journal citation distributions

Today sees the publication on bioRxiv of a revised version of our preprint outlining “A simple proposal for the publication of journal citation distributions".

Elsevier's Ridiculous Patent on Online Peer Review

Elsevier's Ridiculous Patent on Online Peer Review

I have just learned that Elsevier, after a lengthy review and negotiation process with the US Patent Office, have been awarded a US Patent on “Online Peer Review System and Method”. What is this about and why is it ridiculous to me.

Survey on challenges faced by young scientists

Survey on challenges faced by young scientists

We’re interested in hearing about the challenges faced by early-career scientists worldwide, especially if you've recently started your own lab, are struggling to maintain a lab, or have left research. We want to hear your stories. Your answers may feature in articles published by Nature's news team.

66 out of the 100 most cited papers are paywalled

66 out of the 100 most cited papers are paywalled

The web was built specifically to share research papers amongst scientists. Despite this being the first goal of the modern web, most research is still published behind a paywall. We have recently highlighted famous math papers that reside behind a pa