(via Corie Lok’s Blog)

There is an interesting forum on Nature Network discussing peer-reviewing and the editorial process:

Hosted by the editors of Nature Network, this group/forum is for scientists who want to learn more about scientific publishing straight from the editors of Nature and the other Nature journals. Join the group and post your questions in the forum. We’ll do our best to get the right editor to answer them here. (Ask the Nature Editor)

It is an interesting timing, because EMBO is currently hosting a PhD course (The EMBO Young Investigator PhD course) that provides students with tutorials and practical exercises on peer-reviewing. On Sunday, the students had a lecture by Karim Labib on how to write a referee report; I gave yesterday a presentation (here on Google doc) on scientific publishing and the editorial process; today, the EMBO Journal editors sit together with the attendees to discuss referee reports written by the students on a series of “test cases”.

I have discussed previously some of the problems associated with peer-reviewing (The Good, the Bad and the Ugly) and I believe that this types of initiatives—PhD courses, direct contact with editors—raise awareness of the importance of having an efficient editorial/peer-reviewing process in science and represent concrete and constructive ways to improve the present situation.