Re: SAGE rolls out rewards program for all journal reviewers

["FrederickFriend" <ucylfjf@ucl.ac.uk>]

The message below provides a welcome acknowledgment of the 
contribution made to the quality of academic journals by the 
academic community world-wide. The cynic in me wonders whether 
the timing of the announcement has anything to do with the 
announcement of an enquiry into the peer review system by the 
Science and Technology Committee of the UK Parliament, but it 
would be ungracious not to thank Sage for this gesture.

The serious point is that the value of the contribution made by 
the academic community to journal quality needs to be brought 
into open debate. This is not to dismiss the value of a 
publisher's paid editorial staff in maintaining quality, but the 
financial value of time and expertise by unpaid peer reviewers 
has for too long been a hidden vital part of the journal business 
model. Recent work by JISC Collections has shown the financial 
value of the contribution made by UK academics, and if these 
costs were to be extrapolated world-wide and built into 
publishers' business models, the entire journal publishing 
industry would collapse. The cost of peer review would be too 
high to be recouped through journal prices. It would be good to 
know the value of the free access for peer reviewers Sage have 
built into their spreadsheets, but no doubt we shall be told that 
this is confidential information.

Many peer reviewers are happy to give their time to undertake 
peer review without any payment, and some use it as a way to keep 
in touch with the work of their peers. Nevertheless their 
employing institutions may have an interest in the time spent on 
peer review, and currently universities receive no acknowledgment 
or benefit from the contribution made by their researchers to the 
journal business model. The basic point is that more openness is 
needed about the cost and value of peer review. The system is 
generally recognised to provide an assurance of quality, although 
greater openness in the way the system operates could prevent the 
occasional academic scandal when the system fails.

Fred Friend

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Thu, 10 Feb 2011 08:30:26 -0800
From: Publicity <publicity@sagepub.com>
To: 'publicist@publicityconnections.com'
Subject: SAGE rolls out rewards program for all journal reviewers

SAGE rolls out rewards program for all journal reviewers

Los Angeles, CA (February 10, 2011) - SAGE today announced a 
global reviewer rewards program providing those who review papers 
for its journals with free electronic access to the entire list 
of SAGE journals.

The program, trialed in 2010 with a small number of titles, is 
now being offered for all 630+ journals currently published by 
SAGE. Reviewers will be offered free 30-day access to all titles 
on the SAGE Journals Online platform, as well as a 25% discount 
on all SAGE books.

"The peer review process is the lynchpin of the scholarly 
publishing process, relying heavily on the services of reviewers 
and expert evaluators of submitted material," said Tessa 
Picknett, Associate Director, STM Journals, SAGE. "We rely on 
their expertise and judgment in refereeing submitted papers, 
providing feedback and helpful suggestions that ensure our 
journals publish the highest quality content. We're very pleased 
that we can offer this program along with our sincere thanks for 
their contributions."

Reviewers will be able to register for free access after 
submitting their referee's report. They will be offered 30 days' 
free access to all SAGE journals via a hyperlink from the journal 
online peer review system. Reviewers will also be sent a 
promotional code that will enable them to order SAGE book titles 
at a 25% discount.