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- Title
Does the pressure to fill journal quotas bias evaluation?: Evidence from publication delays and rejection rates.
- Authors
Park, Brian; Sohn, Eunhee; Kim, Soohun
- Abstract
Although the peer review system of academic journals is seen as fundamental to scientific achievement, a major threat to the validity of the system is a potential evaluation bias resulting from constraints at the journal level. In this study, we examine how the time pressure to maintain a fixed periodical quota for journal publication can influence a journal editor's decision to accept or reject a paper at any given point in time. We find that an increase in publication backlog, proxied as the average delay between paper acceptance and print publication, is correlated with an increase in the subsequent rejection rates of new submissions. Our findings suggest that time pressures inherent in the peer review system may be a source of potential evaluator bias, calling for a need to reconsider the current quota system.
- Subjects
SCHOLARLY peer review; TIME pressure; PEER pressure; SCHOLARLY periodicals
- Publication
PLoS ONE, 2020, Vol 15, Issue 8, p1
- ISSN
1932-6203
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1371/journal.pone.0236927