STM publisher Elsevier, Netherlands, has announced the launch of PeerChoice, a new pilot peer review programme for Chemical Physics Letters where reviewers can now choose which articles they would like to review. It is expected that by choosing articles matching their expertise and interest, efficiency and effectiveness of the peer review process will be increased. The PeerChoice pilot will initially run for three months, starting in June.
PeerChoice reverses the traditional model in which the Editor selects articles for a reviewer to review. Using high-end software, the reviewer will be able to select the article that matches his academic competency and current interest, while committing to a timely review. Current checks and balances in the peer review process remain in place to ensure the usual high quality of the process.
The peer review programme is the result of a 2009 Peer Review Survey, which the publisher conducted in partnership with Sense About Science. The Survey revealed that a significant number of reviewers were sometimes hesitant to review an article because of a lack of expertise in that particular field. In addition, researchers made clear they want to improve peer review by improving article relevancy and speeding up turnaround time. PeerChoice is expected to contribute to solving these issues.
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