Author: Drew Rendall
Position: Associate Professor
Institution: University of Lethbridge
E-mail: d.rendall@uleth.ca
Submitted Date: May 03, 2007
Published Date: May 4, 2007
This comment was originally posted as a “Reader Response” on the publication date indicated above. All Reader Responses are now available as comments.

Hauser and Fehr propose an overhaul to byzantine manuscript review process. Their intentions here are spot-on, but their eye-for-eye punishment "incentive" is too draconian. I suggest a simple, two-step alternative:

1. Pay-to-play: authors pay modest fee when they submit their paper. This fee is then used to repay reviewers for their service (it does not contribute further to publisher coffers). This fee would almost surely provide incentive to authors to improve their papers before submitting them -- another ill of current academic publishing not mentioned so far in this discussion being the time sadly squandered reviewing manuscripts of poor quality to begin with, many of which could be vastly improved with a little (or a lot) more work (and often times a little more data that would be worth collecting before submitting).

2. Sign away: reviewers must sign their reviews. Anonymity is key for the vulnerable, but it encourages too many abuses, including not only tardy reviews but ones that are also gratuitously unproductive (a double whammy). Early or late, what defines a good review is how thoroughly the issues are considered and how constructive the commentary is. If referees had to attach their names to their reviews, their comments would almost certainly be better substantiated, reputation being another key element of human social dynamics (to reference a different page from the game theory manual on cooperation that Hauser and Fehr encourage us to consult). An incidental effect of signing your reviews, and thereby putting your reputation on the line here too, is that you're also likely to return your reviews more promptly, part of your (now public) reputation as reviewer hinging on how punctual you are with your reviews.

To recap, pay-to-play and put your best foot forward as author. And sign your review and thereby do the same as a reviewer.