September 11, 2014, Needham, MA and New York, NY -- Retraction Watch, launched in 2010 in an effort to increase the transparency of the retraction process among scholarly publication, and PRE (Peer Review Evaluation) which was formed to support publishers in promoting trust and transparency related to peer review, have announced that they will work together to share information related to article retractions.
Services by both Retraction Watch and PRE are efforts to assist the scholarly community by promoting best practices in journal publishing. With over 28,000 journals published in 2013, it is increasingly difficult for users to make determinations around quality. The guidelines and services offered by both organizations will support those journals and editors who work hard to provide the best material to their audience.
"PRE's critical efforts to improve transparency in scientific publishing are not limited to what happens before a paper is published," said Ivan Oransky, Co-Founder of Retraction Watch. "They're also involved in the post-publication life of a paper, and that can sometimes include retractions. We're pleased that they will be offering their clients our guidelines for what should be included in a retraction notice, and how those notices should be publicized."
"Ivan and Adam have made Retraction Watch the de facto source for news and information related to this important area of academic publishing," said Adam Etkin, Founder and Managing Director of PRE. "The guidelines they produce will be an invaluable resource for those journals that are committed to improving transparency around their approach to scholarly publishing. This partnership is part of a wider effort to work with like-minded organizations to enhance and improve scholarly communication for the benefit of science and society."
Retraction Watch will be releasing their guidelines related to journal retraction policies in the coming months. PRE-val, PRE's flagship product will include links from their service to the new Retraction Watch guidelines.
When a user clicks the PRE-val badge, a report is opened which contains information related to the journal practices and the peer review process conducted on the article. Retraction policies are included along with journal plagiarism screening, use of ORCID, membership in COPE, and other best practices engaged in by quality journals.
PRE and Retraction Watch have also agreed to work together on additional initiatives that will serve to educate and assist the scholarly publishing community at large.
About PRE-val:
PRE-val is a tool provided by PRE ("Peer Review Evaluation") which was formed to assist members of the scholarly publishing community who are committed to preserving an ethical, rigorous peer review process. PRE-val is a service which is freely available to readers as soon as an article is published and supports publishers in promoting trust and transparency by having their peer review process validated by an objective third party.
About Retraction Watch:
Retraction Watch was founded in August 2010 to examine retractions as a window into the scientific process of self-correction. It has been called "one of the best innovations in science in recent years" by a former editor of the BMJ, and is read by more than 100,000 unique visitors each month. Its founders are now creating a freely available and comprehensive database of retractions in an effort to improve research efficiency and reproducibility.
About STRIATUS:
STRIATUS produces a family of print and online publications and learning products. The flagship publication, The Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery, traces its origins back to the 1889 Transactions of the American Orthopedic Association, and is the gold standard in peer-reviewed scientific information in their field. STRIATUS also produces online Continuing Medical Education activities and has created an STM/Data Division which develops products and services, such as PRE (Peer Review Evaluation) and SocialCite, which assist the entire scholarly community.