Swiss open-access publisher and research network, Frontiers, part of the Nature Publishing Group family, has announced the launch of a new version of its Interactive Review Forum with upgraded software and new features that enhance and ease the process of collaborative dialogue between authors and reviewers.
The redesigned Review Forum harnesses the power of the latest Information Technologies to guide authors, reviewers and editors in a virtual environment with tools for fair, efficient, constructive and rigorous peer review.
Introduced in 2007, Frontiers' interactive peer review enables a collaborative dialogue online in real time between authors and reviewers, with an associate editor as moderator, to deliver high-quality papers. The final decision is based on consensus between reviewers and editors about objective issues. They are named on the final publication to acknowledge their valuable contributions and ensure transparency.
Acting like a personal Web 2.0 assistant, the Review Forum guides authors, reviewers and editors smoothly through the process and alerts them when action is required. The system minimises delay and speeds up the process, shortening the average review time to only 84 days.
Editors can now easily browse a catalogue of reviewer profiles, and send invitations with the click of a button. A timeline has been added to reassure authors by keeping them informed on what is happening to their submission.
The Frontiers open-science platform has been designed and developed entirely in-house and continues to evolve according to feedback from the Frontiers community of thousands of authors and editors.
