GigaScience Press, the pioneering advocate of Open Science, has taken a significant stride towards transforming the traditional publishing paradigm with its GigaByte Journal. In a timely announcement during Peer Review Week, GigaScience Press unveiled its integration of a novel 'Publish, Review, Curate' (PRC) peer-review model, in collaboration with eLife. Leveraging the Sciety platform, GigaByte Journal now offers readers an editor's assessment of each reviewed preprint, shedding light on the significance of the research and the peer review process itself.
GigaByte Journal, established in September 2020, has always aimed to align the pace of publishing with the pace of research. It was among the earliest journals to mandate the use of preprints, promoting transparency and expediting the dissemination of research findings. Building on this foundation, GigaByte Journal connected its articles to previously published preprint versions by crosslinking and highlighting these connections via an Article Information section. As the landscape evolved with the emergence of preprint peer review and evaluation policies, the next logical step was to incorporate bioRxiv and Sciety integrations, facilitating the sharing of open peer reviews on associated preprints within bioRxiv and medRxiv. These preprint peer reviews are also made available in Sciety 'Reviewing Groups,' enhancing discoverability and insights for readers.
In a groundbreaking development, GigaByte Journal has now expanded its "publish then review" model by introducing an endorsement step, aligning with eLife's innovative 'publish, review, curate' approach that places preprints at the forefront. This integration is achieved through the utilization of Sciety's new 'Curating Groups' feature, designed to distinguish groups providing assessments or endorsements of preprints. These endorsements from GigaByte are prominently displayed on the original bioRxiv preprint as well as the associated Sciety article page, giving readers quick insights into the significance of the preprint.
In January 2023, eLife made history by becoming the first journal to embrace a new scientific publishing model. Under this model, every preprint sent for peer review by eLife is published on their website as a "Reviewed Preprint," accompanied by an assessment, public reviews, and responses from authors. GigaByte Journal's adoption of the 'Publish, Review, Curate' (PRC) peer-review model, following in the footsteps of eLife, marks a pivotal moment in the evolution of scholarly communication.
The adoption of the 'PRC' model signifies a pivotal step towards a more transparent and equitable peer review process. Organizations like Biophysics CoLab and eLife have successfully utilized Sciety to experiment with variations of this model, and GigaByte's transition is expected to encourage wider adoption.
As strong advocates of Open Science, GigaByte Journal views this as an incremental move towards a preprint-based publishing system, with a commitment to supporting future advancements. The unveiling of this innovative model during Peer Review Week, themed "Peer Review and The Future of Publishing," serves as a compelling demonstration of what the future of scientific publishing can entail.
Click here to read the original press release.
