How to Manipulate Peer Review and Get Your Paper Published

Another scandal of peer review abuse should urge academic journals to reconsider their publication requirements.


This one comes from the Journal of Vibration and Control (JVC), an highly technical outlet in the field of acoustics, which just retracted 60 papers at once.

The mass retraction followed the revelation of a “peer review ring” in which one or more researchers fabricated identities to review their own papers and get them published.

It is not the first time such scandal happens, but the number of papers involved and the apparent facility under which the shady researchers operated should ring the alarm bell.

JVC is part of SAGE Publications, a leading international publisher of scholarly and educational products, many of which in the social sciences.

Considering the significant impact that social science studies can have on the design of social and economic policies, which affect all of us, isn’t it time the academic community realign its professional incentives with scholarly values?