Editorial Peer Reviewers as Shepherds, Rather Than Gatekeepers

Boerckel, Joel D.; Plotkin, Lilian I.; Sims, Natalie A.

doi:10.1002/jbmr.4319

Cited by 7 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…In 2019, JBMR® began providing the option of transparent peer review, a process that allows for the public dissemination of reviews, editor's decision letters, and author responses upon approval from both the authors and reviewers. ( 30 ) We did not evaluate whether this new aspect of peer review affected reviewer decisions because the transparent peer review option was implemented in late 2019, near the end of the time window analyzed in this study, but it would be of interest to determine whether and how author and reviewer gender and geography affect uptake of this optional process.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gender and Geographic Origin as Determinants of Manuscript Publication Outcomes: JBMR® Bibliometric Analysis from 2017 to 2019

Rivadeneira

Loder

McGuire

et al. 2020

Journal of Bone and Mineral Research

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The Journal of Bone and Mineral Research (JBMR®), the flagship journal of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research (ASBMR), enjoys a premiere position in its field and has a global reach. The journal uses a single‐blind peer‐review process whereby three editors are typically involved in assessing each submission for publication, in addition to external reviewers. Although emphasizing fairness, rigor, and transparency, this process is not immune to the influence of unconscious biases. The gender and geographic diversity of JBMR® authors, editors, and reviewers has increased over the last three decades, but whether such diversity has affected peer‐review outcomes is unknown. We analyzed manuscript acceptance rates based on the gender and geographic origin of authors, reviewers, and Associate Editors. The analysis included 1662 original research articles submitted to JBMR® from September 2017 through December 2019. Gender was assigned using probabilities from an online tool and manually validated through internet searches. Predictor variables of manuscript outcome were determined with multivariate logistic regression analysis. The acceptance rate was highest when the first and last authors were of different genders, and lowest when both authors were men. Reviewer gender did not influence the outcome regardless of the genders of the first and last authors. Associate Editors from all geographical regions tended to select reviewers from their same region. The acceptance rate was highest when the Associate Editor was from Europe. Manuscripts with authors from North America and Australia/New Zealand had greater overall odds of acceptance than those from Europe and Asia. Manuscripts reviewed only by Editorial Board (EB) members had a lower acceptance rate than those refereed by non‐EB reviewers or a mix of EB and non‐EB reviewers. Overall, the geographical origin of authors, reviewers, and editors, as well as reviewers' EB membership may influence manuscript decisions. Yet, the JBMR® peer‐review process remains largely free from gender bias. © 2022 American Society for Bone and Mineral Research (ASBMR).

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gender and Geographic Origin as Determinants of Manuscript Publication Outcomes: JBMR® Bibliometric Analysis from 2017 to 2019

Rivadeneira

Loder

McGuire

et al. 2020

Journal of Bone and Mineral Research

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“…what is published and, hence, what informs theory development, research, methods, and practice. 1,2 Therefore, EBs should be sufficiently diverse in terms of the background of their members to ensure publication of research that represents a wide range of scientific paradigms, methods, and cultural perspectives. 3 Indeed, Cummings et al 4 believe that greater diversity among members of EBs and among authors produces better knowledge because "cognitive diversity represents progress and improvements to our pool of knowledge.…”

Section: Members Of the Editorial Board (Eb) Of Academic Journals Sig...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Gender balance and geographical diversity in editorial boards of Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta and Chemical Geology

Pourret¹,

Anand²,

Bots³

et al. 2022

ESE

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Background: Members of editorial boards of academic journals are often considered gatekeepers of knowledge and role models for the academic community. Editorial boards should be sufficiently diverse in the background of their members to facilitate publishing manuscripts representing a wide range of research paradigms, methods, and cultural perspectives. Objectives: To critically evaluate changes in the representation of binary gender and geographic diversity over time on the editorial boards of Chemical Geology and Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, flagship geochemistry journals, respectively, from the European Association of Geochemistry and the Geochemical Society – Meteoritical Society partnership. Methods: The composition of editorial boards was ascertained as given in the first issue of each year, over 1965–2021 for Chemical Geology and 1950–2021 for Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, and members of the editorial boards were coded for their country of affiliation (the country of origin may have been different) and for their binary gender. Results: Gender parity, limited to men and women, and the number of countries of affiliation increased steadily between the late 1980s and 2021. However, the geographic distribution remained dominated by affiliations from North America and Western Europe. The editor-in-chief or board of editors had a significant impact on the diversity of the editorial boards, and both geographic and gender diversity may evolve with nearly every newly appointed editor. However, the persistently substantial under-representation on editorial boards of affiliations outside North America and Europe is of concern and needs to be the focus of active recruitment and ongoing monitoring. This approach will ensure that traditionally low geographic diversity is increased and maintained in the future. Conclusion: Improving diversity and inclusion of editorial boards of academic journals and strengthening journal and disciplinary reputations are mutually reinforcing. Instituting a rotating editorship with emphasis on embedding broader geographic networks and more equitable international recruitment could ensure sustained and wider geographic representation and gender balance of editorial boards and promote originality and quality of published research, representing our global communities.

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“…Editorial board (EB) members of academic journals have significant influence on what is published and, hence, what informs theory development, research, methods and practice (Boerckel et al, 2021;Liévano-Latorre et al, 2020). Therefore, EBs should have sufficiently diverse backgrounds to ensure the publication of research that covers a wide range of scientific paradigms, methods and cultural perspectives (Pourret et al, 2021b).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evolution of diversity in the editorial boards of Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta and Chemical Geology

Pourret¹,

Anand²,

Bots³

et al. 2023

Preprint

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Background: Editorial board members of academic journals are often considered gatekeepers of knowledge and role models for the community. Editorial boards should have sufficiently diverse backgrounds to facilitate the publication of manuscripts with a wide range of research paradigms, methods, and cultural perspectives.Objectives: This study critically evaluates changes in the representation of binary gender and geographic diversity over time for the editorial boards of Chemical Geology and Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta. These are the two flagship geochemistry journals from the European Association of Geochemistry and the Geochemical Society, respectively.Methods: Composition of editorial boards was taken from the first issue of the year in question and editorial board members were coded for country of affiliation and binary gender. Results: Gender parity, limited to men and women, and geographic representation of the editorial boards of Chemical Geology and Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, have steadily increased between the late 1980’s and 2021. However, geographic distribution remains largely dominated by affiliations from North America and Western Europe. The Editor-in-Chief or board of editors have a significant impact on the level of diversity of the editorial board. With nearly every newly appointed editor, both geographic and gender diversity may evolve. However, the persisting substantial underrepresentation of editorial board members from outside of North America and Europe is of concern and needs to be the focus of active recruitment and ongoing monitoring. This approach will ensure that traditionally low levels of geographic diversity are mitigated and representation of our global communities is improved and maintained in the future. Conclusions: Improving diversity and inclusion among editorial boards as well as strengthening journal and disciplinary reputations will reinforce one another. Instituting a rotating editorship with an emphasis on embedding broader geographic networks and more equitable international recruitment could ensure sustained and improved geographic, gender, and wider representation, which, as a consequence, may lift scientific originality and the quality of published research.

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Editorial Peer Reviewers as Shepherds, Rather Than Gatekeepers

Cited by 7 publications

References 16 publications

Gender and Geographic Origin as Determinants of Manuscript Publication Outcomes: JBMR® Bibliometric Analysis from 2017 to 2019

Gender and Geographic Origin as Determinants of Manuscript Publication Outcomes: JBMR® Bibliometric Analysis from 2017 to 2019

Gender balance and geographical diversity in editorial boards of Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta and Chemical Geology

Evolution of diversity in the editorial boards of Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta and Chemical Geology

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