Unlock ways to share data on peer review

Journals, funders and scholars must work together to create an infrastructure to study peer review. Of course, the infrastructure must take into account each stakeholder’s needs for responsible data management, confidentiality and account-ability. Once in place, access for research studies could be greatly expanded: academics would not need to negotiate individual agree-ments on data sharing or forge direct connec-tions with journal editors and publishers. Publishers, too, could rely on shared protocols to anonymize and manage data, reducing costs and reputational risk. Indeed, an agreement to share data on peer review could become a clear marker of legitimacy in a world increasingly plagued by preda-tory journals. It is not hard to imagine work that would support standards for data and journal management, or for training, certi-fying and crediting reviewers and editors. Although there is much to be done, support-ing research on peer review promises to create better processes for authors, reviewers and editors. More importantly, it will boost the reliability, rigour and relevance of the scien-tific literature. Everyone will benefit from this.