Background: Most scientific journals practise anonymous peer review. There is no evidence, however, that this is any better than an open system. Aims: To evaluate the feasibility of an open peer review system. Method: Reviewers for the British Journal of Psychiatry were asked whether they would agree to have their name revealed to the authors whose papers they review; 408 manuscripts assigned to reviewers who agreed were randomised to signed or unsigned groups. We measured review quality, tone, recommendation for publication and time taken to complete each review. Results: A total of 245 reviewers (76%) agreed to sign. Signed reviews were of higher quality, were more courteous and took longer to complete than unsigned reviews. Reviewers who signed were more likely to recommend publication. Conclusions: This study supports the feasibility of an open peer review system and identifies such a system's potential drawbacks.
CITATION STYLE
Walsh, E., Rooney, M., Appleby, L., & Wilkinson, G. (2000). Open peer review: A randomised controlled trial. British Journal of Psychiatry. https://doi.org/10.1192/bjp.176.1.47
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