Review Commons is a new service designed to simplify the peer-review of life science data and facilitate its publication. The platform’s goal is to increase transparency, speed, and efficiency of the review process.
Authors who participate will receive a “refereed preprint,” which includes the manuscript, reports from a single round of anonymous peer review, and the authors’ response. Authors can then opt to have Review Commons submit the preprint to 17 affiliate journals.
During its initial, experimental phase, the service will be free to authors, as it is funded by a grant from The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust. However, the site notes that a financial model will be developed for its long-term sustainability.
The platform will consider research manuscripts in the life sciences and biomedical sciences, but there is a more detailed description of the fields covered in the instructions to authors. Review Commons will not consider reviews, commentaries, or opinion pieces. Similarly, only well-developed, scholarly research papers that represent a significant advance in the field and provides value will be accepted for peer-review.