Updates and announcements from ASAPbio

[CLOSED] Job posting: advance the use of preprints and transparent review in the life sciences as Associate Director at ASAPbio

This posting is closed. Join us to help make scholarly communication in the life sciences more open and efficient by catalyzing cultural change around the use of preprints, transparent review, and other advances in scholarly communication! About ASAPbio We are a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that got its start in 2015 as a grassroots group of researchers…

ASAPbio newsletter vol 18 – Review Commons is coming soon!

Dear subscribers, This month, we share upcoming opportunities to learn, discuss, and influence the future of preprints and transparent peer review. Coming soon: Review Commons We’ve partnered with EMBO to launch a new journal-independent platform that peer-reviews research papers before submission to a journal. Review Commons will provide authors with a Refereed Preprint (using bioRxiv’s…

EMBO and ASAPbio to launch a pre-journal portable review platform

A multi-publisher partnership aims to streamline scientific publishing by producing refereed preprints  Heidelberg and San Francisco—September 30, 2019—EMBO Press and ASAPbio have partnered to create Review Commons, a platform that peer-reviews research manuscripts in the life sciences before submission to a journal.   Papers submitted to Review Commons, which will be launched in December 2019,…

ASAPbio newsletter vol 17 – Revealing quality in peer review & considering influencers of preprint success

Dear subscribers,  This month, we share upcoming opportunities to learn, discuss and influence the future of preprints and transparent peer review. Peer review week event: ReimagineReview community call on revealing quality in peer review through increased transparency The theme of this year’s Peer Review Week, “quality in peer review,” should resonate with anyone—author, referee, or…

ReimagineReview community call: Revealing quality in peer review through increased transparency

September 20, 9am PDT, 12pm EDT, 6pm CEST The theme of this year’s Peer Review Week, “quality in peer review,” should resonate with anyone—author, referee, or reader—invested in the process of formal publication. But how can those without a direct window into the peer review process be assured of its quality, both the entire body…

Job posting for a new journal-independent peer-reviewing platform

As part of preparations to launch a new journal-independent peer-reviewing platform in collaboration with ASAPbio, EMBO has recently posted a job ad for the position of Managing Editor. EMBO is seeking a highly motivated scientist with broad and international high-level research experience […] The platform will produce high-quality portable peer-reviews that can be directly used…

ASAPbio newsletter vol 16 – Bias in peer review & new research to understand preprint adoption

Dear subscribers,  This month, we present opportunities to discuss bias in peer review and share our latest research activities about preprints. We hope you’ll join us at upcoming events and discussions. Discuss bias in peer review with ReimagineReview Scientific peer review is ideally based solely on the merit of the research; in the real world,…

To preprint or not to preprint? Research for a more transparent publishing system

This blogpost is cross-posted from the ScholCommLab blog (Alice Feerackers, July 29 2019) and provides an update on a current research project by two visiting scholars supported by ASAPbio. “For researchers, there is immense pressure to publish in journals that are highly competitive,” says Naomi Penfold, associate director of the scientist-driven nonprofit ASAPbio. “[This, in turn,]…

Launching Transpose, a database of journal policies on preprinting & peer review

Today, we’re excited to announce the launch of Transpose (@TransposeSCI), a database of journal peer review, co-reviewing, and preprint policies relating to media coverage, licensing, versions, and citation. These policies can often be difficult to find, unclear, or undefined. Our hope is to bring them to light so that authors, readers, reviewers, and other stakeholders…

A hand holding a lit sparkler against a dark background

ReimagineReview: First month at a glance

This post originally appeared on ReimagineReview. ReimagineReview launched one month ago, and it’s been amazing to watch it continue to grow since its inception! This project started from the idea of transforming a spreadsheet of experiments and projects in peer review of scholarly outputs into a practical resource. Our launch was announced in an article in Nature News,…

Just published: examining the breadth of journal preprint policies in TRANSPOSE

Those who have been following ASAPbio for a while know that journal policies on preprinting are always in flux. As adoption of preprints—and editors’ comfort with them—increase, these changes are typically positive. However, one potential downside to a rapidly-evolving policy landscape is the potential difficulty authors may face in finding their footing, especially when preprint…

Launching ReimagineReview, a registry of peer review experiments

Today, we’re excited to announce the launch of ReimagineReview, a registry of platforms and experiments innovating around peer review. We now have the technology to experiment with peer review and research evaluation in ways that were not possible decades ago. Many such experiments are already underway—both within the traditional journal system and outside of it—that…

ASAPbio newsletter vol 14 – New team members, calling all preprint platforms & peer review experiments, preprint licensing

Dear subscribers, It’s been a while! Here’s what’s been keeping us busy: New team members We’re delighted to welcome five new people to the team! From left to right: Phil Bourne (Professor, University of Virginia), Jennifer Lin (Director of Product Management, Crossref), and Kristen Ratan (Co-founder and Executive Director, Collaborative Knowledge Foundation) have joined the…