Updates and announcements from ASAPbio

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…

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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…

Welcoming Naomi Penfold as ASAPbio’s Associate Director

We’re thrilled to share that Naomi Penfold, PhD has joined us as ASAPbio’s new Associate Director, starting today! In this capacity, Naomi will manage and grow the community of ASAPbio ambassadors, create resources to enable advocacy for (and education about) preprints, and drive discussions on best practices. The position is supported by ASAPbio’s newly-formed Member Advisory…

Open letter on the publication of peer review reports

On February 7-9, 2018, editors, publisher, funders, and researchers gathered at HHMI Headquarters in Chevy Chase, MD to discuss innovations in peer review. A clear majority of participants at the meeting agreed that publishing peer review reports (ie, the contents of peer review, whether anonymized or not), would benefit the research community by increasing transparency of…