Ninth international congress on peer review and scientific publication—call for abstracts

In 2019, before the covid-19 pandemic, we highlighted the unprecedented promise and peril surrounding the quantity, quality, and integrity of scientific research.1 The pandemic has been a crash test for scientific publishing, emphasising the great successes and failures, and the promise and perils of current systems. In 2020 because of the pandemic, we announced a postponement of the ninth international congress on peer review and scientific publication. We now confirm plans to hold the meeting on 8-10 September 2022 and announce the official call for abstracts.

The aim of the congress is to encourage research into the quality and credibility of peer review and scientific publication and to further the evidence base on which scientists can improve the conduct, reporting, and dissemination of scientific research. As with the previous eight congresses,2 the ninth will feature three days of presentations of original research about processes, policies, problems, and innovations related to peer review, scientific publication, and research dissemination. Participants will include editors and publishers of scientific peer reviewed journals, researchers, funders, bibliometric and informatics experts, information innovators, librarians, journalists, policy makers, ethicists, scientific information producers and disseminators, and anyone interested in the progress of the scientific information enterprise and the quality of scientific evidence. The congress embraces a wide range of disciplines, including (but not limited to) biomedicine, health and life sciences, applied sciences, basic sciences, physical and chemical sciences, mathematics, computer sciences, engineering, economics, and social sciences. New and emerging disciplines are also welcome.

The congress programme will be determined by the abstracts submitted by researchers, representing the interests and work of their scientific communities, with priority given to novel, data driven studies. As noted in the call for research two years ago,1 we are interested in studies that evaluate and test the processes and policies used by researchers, authors, editors, peer reviewers, publishers, funders, universities, and any other stakeholders to improve the conduct, reporting, quality, integrity, and dissemination of scientific research. We encourage new ideas and rigorous evaluations of both old and new processes. We have a continued special interest in studies of bias and how biases can be identified and managed. As the world is emerging from a lethal pandemic that created a stimulating, contentious, and challenging interface between science, society, and policy, this is an opportune time to test, challenge, and improve the standards of peer review and scientific publication. Meaningful improvements are more likely to happen in the current volatile environment, which is hopefully more receptive to change.

Abstracts summarising original, high quality research on any aspect of peer review and publication and the conduct, reporting, assessment, and dissemination of scientific research are welcome. Box 1 gives illustrative examples and suggested topics of interest, but we will consider any novel research relevant to the conduct, peer review, reporting, and dissemination of research. A broad range of study designs will be considered, with preference given to well developed studies with more generalisable results (eg, prospective, multiyear trials and controlled studies from collaborative researchers, journals, publishers, funders, and information disseminators). Retrospective studies, systematic reviews, meta-analyses, bibliometric and other data analyses, surveys, modelling studies, and other types of studies will also be considered. Abstracts that report new research and findings will be given priority, and we also encourage studies that build on previous related research. We particularly encourage research that crosses disciplines and work that aims to provide valuable insights across disciplines. Abstracts of research previously published are not permitted unless they include new unpublished analyses. Abstracts describing narrative reviews, recommendations, and opinion will not be considered.

The abstract submission site will open on 1 December 2021, and the deadline for abstract submission is 31 January 2022. Instructions for preparing and submitting abstracts3 and programmes and abstracts of research presented at the previous eight congresses4 are available on the peer review congress website. Additional information and future announcements will be available on the website and through email alerts that can be signed up for on the site.

The peer review congress is organised by us with support from JAMA and the JAMA Network, The BMJ, and the Meta-Research Innovation Center at Stanford (METRICS) and is supported by associate directors and an advisory board of leaders in research and publication who represent a wide variety of scientific disciplines.5 We look forward with excitement to receiving abstracts for consideration for the ninth international congress on peer review and scientific publication.