At Language Science Press, we are experimenting with Open Review. While investigating how we could implement an Open Review system, we discovered that there are actually very different things which could be called Open Review, and even in a small team, opinions differ as to what is the real thing.
Axes
We have established the following dimensions:
| open | not open | |
|---|---|---|
| Selection process | anyone can comment | a restricted class of people can comment |
| Transparency | the names of the reviewers are revealed | the names of the reviewers remain anonymous |
| Online | the reviews are created on the Internet | the reviews are created offline (e.g. pdf comments in a file) |
The following criteria do not apply to openness, but are nevertheless relevant:
| Time | final publication will incorporate comments | publication is finished before commenting is open |
| Relevance | comments have an influence on the acceptance | comments exist next to a different process of quality assurance |
| Scope | comments are local, paragraph level at the maximum | global comments, appreciation of the whole work |
