Peer review by committee? New journal rethinks old model

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The Stacks Journal is upending conventional peer review by introducing collaboration into the process. Credit: FangXiaNuo/Getty

The peer-review system has been stressed and stretched to a near-breaking point. It’s becoming harder to find reviewers, many of whom see reviewing as a burden that is not adequately rewarded. The rise of predatory publishers, many of which falsely claim to provide a peer-review process; paper mills, which are known to fabricate peer reviews; and plagiarism of peer-review reports have harmed trust in the system.

The Stacks Journal is aiming to provide a faster, more transparent and trustworthy peer-review model by organizing committees of researchers to assess manuscripts.

Launched in July as an open-access, digital-only publication, the Stacks Journal is the brainchild of David Green, an ecologist based in Portland, Oregon. The inspiration, says Green, was his own experience with the inefficiencies of academic publishing. In 2020, Green, who had finished a study on the impact of wildfire on carnivores1, wanted to get the results out quickly so that they could inform land-management policy. But his paper languished in the publishing system for almost two years, with no clear explanation as to why. So, he resolved to change the process.

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