New Open Access Journal From U. of California Press Will Pay Peer Reviewers

From Science News:

Collabra, an online journal to be formally introduced tomorrow at a conference in the United Kingdom, plans to break with the research community’s long-standing tradition of reviewing journal submissions for free by paying small sums to the reviewers and editors who decide what gets published. In a further twist, the journal will give the payees a choice of what to do with their money. They can keep the cash, donate it to a fund that helps cash-strapped scientists pay the journal’s $875 publication fee, or contribute it to their own institution’s open-access activities.
“Collabra is not just about paying reviewers, but also about directing some of the value generated back into the research community,” says Neil Blair Christensen, director of digital business development at the University of California Press (UC Press), the journal’s publisher.
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The press will also watch closely to make sure the payment system isn’t unfair or abused. The payments will be “fairly low,” Christensen predicts. “It’s unlikely anyone will profit by reviewing papers … [or that] any editor would keep sending manuscripts to the same reviewer time and time again. Any reviewer generating subpar reviews, or exhibiting questionable motives for reviewing, is subject to the same editorial scrutiny as on any journal.”

Read the Complete Article
See Also: Collabra FAQ (via UC Press)

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