Session 6a)

Rethinking Peer Review: Enhancing Reliability in Scholarly Publishing

Thursday, 15 May 2025, 2.35pm-3.30pm

As a cornerstone of scholarly publishing, peer review is pivotal in ensuring the integrity and quality of research. However, significant flaws and weaknesses persist, largely due to a lack of transparency and access to underlying data. In this engaging panel session, we discussed the critical issues surrounding the reliability of peer review and explore the pressing need for transformation in this essential process.

This in-depth discussion covers:

• The Limitations of Current Practices: Analyzing how reliance on authors’ writing skills and assertions can influence the acceptance decision and the integrity of published research.
• The Role of Data Accessibility: Advocating for greater accessibility to research data for reviewers and discussing the possibility of incorporating software tools for data analysis.
• Innovating Scholarly Communication: Envisioning future formats and methods of scholarly communication that go beyond traditional journals and books, and how peer review can adapt to meet these new challenges.

We invited scholars, researchers, and editors to share their insights and experiences, contributing to a richer understanding of how we can collectively enhance the reliability of peer review. Together, we explored solutions that can ensure the credibility of scholarly work in a rapidly evolving academic landscape.