Recognizing and Rewarding Peer-reviewers

Peer review (PR) is a relatively recent development though it has become an established part of academic publishing. PR started becoming common in the 1960s and 70s. Peer review can be of different types. It can be blinded or open. The process can be done before publication or after a manuscript is published. Portable reviews, impact neutral PR, collaborative PR, and registered reports are also used. There are challenges with peer review which remains a largely subjective process. Due to increasing number of journals and submissions there is an urgent need for more reviewers, especially from the developing nations and from women. Academic publishing is a lucrative business dominated by a few big publishers. Reviewers should be rewarded financially either directly or through processing charge waivers or through journal and database subscription for their efforts.