A feedback loop of rising submissions and overburdened peer reviewers threatens the peer review system of the scientific literature (IMAGE)

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A feedback loop of rising submissions and overburdened peer reviewers threatens the peer review system of the scientific literature

Caption

The Vatican Museums' Bramante Staircase provides a striking visual metaphor for a feedback cycle in scholarly publishing: rising paper submissions across an expanding landscape of journals strains the limited supply of volunteer peer review labor, which in turn makes editorial decisions less predictable and encourages authors to submit their work more ambitiously, increasing the burden on peer reviewers further still.

Credit

Carl T. Bergstrom (CC-BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

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CC BY

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