systematic variation in reviewer practice according to country and gender in the field of ecology and evolution系统变化审查员实践根据国家和性别领域的生态和进化.pdf

Systematic Variation in Reviewer Practice According to Country and Gender in the Field of Ecology and Evolution 1 2 3 4 5 Olyana N. Grod *, Amber E. Budden , Tom Tregenza , Julia Koricheva , Roosa Leimu , Lonnie W. Aarssen6, Christopher J. Lortie1 1 Department of Biology, York University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, 2 National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS), Santa Barbara, California, United States of America, 3 Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Tremough, Penryn, United Kingdom, 4 School of Biological Sciences, Royal Holloway University of London, Egham, Surrey, United Kingdom, 5 Section of Ecology, University of Turku, Turku, Finland, 6 Department of Biology, Queens University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada Abstract The characteristics of referees and the potential subsequent effects on the peer-review process are an important consideration for science since the integrity of the system depends on the appropriate evaluation of merit. In 2006, we conducted an online survey of 1334 ecologists and evolutionary biologists pertaining to the review process. Respondents were from Europe, North America and other regions of the world, with the majority from English first language countries. Women comprised a third of all respondents, consistent with their representation in the scientific academic community. Among respondents we found no correlation between the time typically taken over a review and the reported average rejection rate. On average, Europeans took longer over reviewing a manuscript than North Americans, and females took longer than males, but reviewed fewer manuscripts. Males recommended rejection of manuscripts more frequently than females, regardless of region. Hence