October 12, 2012
[2b2k] When peer review is publishing
As many have noted, we are entering a period in which we have not only traditional peer review, we also have review review after publishing. Generally people seem to mean by this the gathering of stats about usage that can then inform readers and the authors’ institutions about the received value of the works.
But there’s also a sense in which peer review — taken yet more broadly — is not being done before publication, nor after publication, but is the publishing. When I recommend an article to you by sending you the link in an email or by posting it on my blog or in a tweet, I am peer reviewing and publishing at the same time.