Understanding and supporting anonymity policies in peer review

• Published in: Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology 2017-04, Vol.68 (4), p.957-971
• Main Authors: Nobarany, Syavash, Booth, Kellogg S.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Communities; Design engineering; Editors; Guidelines; Information technology; Opacity; Peer review; Peers; Policies; Support systems; Tradeoffs
• ISSN: 2330-1635; 2330-1643
• DOI: 10.1002/asi.23711

Design of peer‐review support systems is shaped by the policies that define and govern the process of peer review. An important component of these are policies that deal with anonymity: The rules that govern the concealment and transparency of information related to identities of the various stakeholders (authors, reviewers, editors, and others) involved in the peer‐review process. Anonymity policies have been a subject of debate for several decades within scholarly communities. Because of widespread criticism of traditional peer‐review processes, a variety of new peer‐review processes have emerged that manage the trade‐offs between disclosure and concealment of identities in different ways. Based on an analysis of policies and guidelines for authors and reviewers provided by publication venues, we developed a framework for understanding how disclosure and concealment of identities is managed. We discuss the appropriate role of information technology and computer support for the peer‐review process within that framework.