February Debut: DORA Is Represented at Peer Review Meeting – DORA

"Publishing is a significant part of a researcher’s career and essential for scientific success. However, biases built into peer review and research assessment create an uneven playing field. Too often important sections of the research community, including women, underrepresented minorities, and non-English speakers, are subject to biases in peer review. Not only is their work discounted, but they also have fewer opportunities to participate in peer review. ASAPbio, along with HHMI and Wellcome, hosted a meeting on peer review at HHMI headquarters in Chevy Chase, MD, February 7-9. The meeting covered a range of topics related to the peer review process, including researcher assessment.

Peer review plays a key role in hiring, promotion, and funding decisions. It is no secret that scientists face pressure to publish in top-tier journals, and such papers are widely viewed as a requirement for career advancement. Early-career researchers trying to launch their academic careers acutely feel the pressure associated with publishing in a certain subset of journals.

DORA Steering Committee Chair Professor Stephen Curry announced DORA’s vision for the future during the meeting Thursday night and unveiled its new website. The transformation of the declaration from a statement of intent to a facilitator of policy change has begun. Many universities, funding agencies, and professional societies have established policies to reduce bias in research assessment and improve evaluation. By curating and sharing these good practices with the scientific community, organizations will have models to improve their hiring, promotion, and funding policies...."