[Open-access] Fast-forward peer review for a fee

[Rayna]

Hi everyone,

In this week's installment of that's-not-the-way-to-do-it series, we have
Nature Scientific Reports enabling authors to pay for a peer review to go
faster:
http://news.sciencemag.org/scientific-community/2015/03/editor-quits-journal-over-pay-expedited-peer-review-offer

Other than the public (and vocal) resignation of one of the journal's
editors, I have seen a few more equally vocal reactions of protest:
https://twitter.com/Alexis_Verger/status/581423795627528193
https://twitter.com/anxosan/status/582579642596519937
An open letter from Scientific Reports' editors has also been circulated:
http://allariz.uc3m.es/~anxosanchez/.transfer/letter_Sci_Rep_paid_fast-track_review.pdf

Apparently, this has happened before:
https://alexholcombe.wordpress.com/2011/06/05/protest-of-fast-tracking-fees-two-journals-respond-and-one-bows-out/

This begs a set of questions:
- how is this money used? Is the reviewer paid for his work?
- do the reviewers know that a paper they are reviewing is being paid for
to "fast-forward"? If no, what guarantees they will do within deadline? And
if they miss the promised deadline, what happens to the paper? If reviewers
know there has been payment to accelerate peer review, then how does the
journal avoid monetary influence?
- will there be a notification somewhere on the paper in print that it has
benefited faster review thanks to financials?
- ...

Interested to hear your thoughts: although this does not directly touch
upon open access, it does question the fundamentals of research ethics...

Thanks,
Rayna


-- 
"Change l'ordre du monde plutôt que tes désirs."

http://me.hatewasabi.info/
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