There are many different types of open peer review, and at Sage we have chosen to offer open reviewer reports on selected journals via the ScholarOne Transparent Peer Review Program.
Transparent peer review, where the exchanges between peer reviewers and authors accompany published articles, allows research to be published in a completely open format, giving readers access to the peer review process from submission to publication. Through the publication of reviewer reports, authors can demonstrate that their manuscript has been through rigorous peer review, and reviewers and editors can gain recognition for their work.
Thanks to the open nature of the review process, reviewers are encouraged to provide thorough feedback and to ensure that their comments are constructive in nature. Authors are therefore likely to receive useful feedback that will improve the quality of their paper, and they will be able to show that their work has been thoroughly reviewed and approved by the reviewers and editors. Important additional arguments for increased transparency include its potential to help unveil biases - conscious and unconscious, unfair reviewer reports, unwanted tone and language, conflicts of interests, and unfair advantages.
We offer transparent peer review on the following Sage journals:
Articles published online in these journals are accompanied by a link to the full peer review history, where the reviews at each stage, author responses, and editor’s decision letters are publicly available, with each element assigned its own Digital Object Identifier (DOI).
Transparent peer review is implemented according to the needs of each participating journal. Some allow authors and/or reviewers to opt out of the process, and reviewers will always be able to choose whether their reviews are signed or anonymous. If an author, reviewer, or editor, chooses to opt out, the review process for that paper will not be published.
Journal Editors interested in finding out more about the ScholarOne Transparent Peer Review Program should contact their Sage Publishing Editor.