IOP Publishing, the publishing company of the Institute of Physics, will start offering authors the choice of single or double-blind peer review on two of its materials and biophysics/engineering journals.
As part of a commitment to engage closely with research communities and meet researchers' future needs, IOP Publishing is experimenting with different peer review models. It will start offering the double-blind option on the journals Materials Research Express (MRX) and Biomedical Physics & Engineering Express (BPEX) from January 16, 2017.
Feedback from these scientific communities suggests there is a growing demand for double-blind review, in which the reviewer doesn't know the identity of the author. Through this pilot scheme, IOP Publishing aims to gain specific insight into the level of interest and uptake of double-blind review from authors in the broad areas of materials science and biomedical physics/engineering.
All IOP Publishing journals currently use the conventional 'single-blind' peer-review model, in which the reviewer is aware of the author's identity, but the author does not know who reviewed their paper. Under this new scheme, authors will be able to choose whether to submit their paper to the single-blind process or, if they prefer, to double-blind peer review where neither reviewer nor author knows the other's identity.
The pilot scheme will run on MRX and BPEX for one year (January – December 2017), during which time IOP Publishing will track: take up from authors of the double-blind option for direct submissions; authors’ satisfaction with the double-blind review process; and any effects on peer-review and publication times.
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