Scholarly Reviews Through the Web

The NYTimes has A Look At how the web might be the killer-app for peer-reviewed scholarly journals.


They say there are about 25,000 science, technical and medical journals that are peer-reviewed and assessment process for peer-reviewed articles has traditionally involved lengthy mail delays, high postage costs and cumbersome administration.

Now over the last few years, about a dozen companies have developed Web-based peer-review programs that aim to reduce turnaround time, postage bills and workload by automating and tracking the process. Industry observers estimate that 30 percent of scholarly publishers — which include commercial houses, academic presses and nonprofit associations — have adopted the online systems.