In an article for Times Higher Education, Laura Feetham-Walker (Institute of Physics Publishing) discusses a variety of challenges facing peer review processes, including reviewer fatigue and a lack of representation in reviewer pools from women, people from low-income countries, and junior reviewers. The author explains that the institute is combatting these issues through efforts such as providing free peer review training, offering structured feedback on reviews, and implementing a co-review scheme that pairs senior reviewers with junior colleagues. The author adds that publishers should also listen to the reviewer community and adjust accordingly. “That way, our peer reviewing capacity will be able to expand to better meet demand while maintaining timeliness, high standards and broad representation,” concludes Feetham-Walker.
