The peer review process is central to scholarly research, a critical part of the publishing process and a method of quality control for the scientific community. While peer review can seem like a daunting, never-ending task at times, without it journals would not survive and continue to publish the important, accurate findings they do today.
At BMJ Open, we rely on our large bank of reviewers to help us ensure that the papers we publish are useful and of good quality. A good review can often require a great deal of work, and the continued success of the journal in the past year would not have been possible without the help of reviewers who provided us with their time, expertise and detailed comments. Our transparent, open peer review process is part of our aim to provide a home to sound medical research, making as much research available to the scientific community as possible while still upholding the BMJ’s core standards for research conduct.
It is important to recognise the contribution that reviewers make to the journal, and the essential nature of their work. BMJ Open would like to thank all those reviewers who have worked with us this year – we hope that you will continue to work with us in the year ahead! We are pleased to be able to continue with our reviewer discount of 25% for reviewers who submit manuscripts to us within 12 months of completing their review, and we would like to remind you that CME points are available for those who submit detailed comments within the given timeframe. Existing reviewers for the journal are encouraged to update their profiles on our submission system with their areas of expertise, so we can more easily allocate you appropriate papers – and, of course, we always encourage new reviewers to come forward and join our growing bank of referees.
We look forward to seeing what the next 12 months will hold for BMJ Open. With our fifth birthday on 23rd February 2016, we hope that the journal will continue to go from strength to strength, with the help of our reviewers and authors.