A retrospective study investigating requests for self-citation during open peer review in a general medicine journal.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

Peer review is a volunteer process for improving the quality of publications by providing objective feedback to authors, but also presents an opportunity for reviewers to seek personal reward by requesting self-citations. Open peer review may reduce the prevalence of self-citation requests and encourage author rebuttal over accession. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of self-citation requests and their inclusion in manuscripts in a journal with open peer review.

Methods

Requests for additional references to be included during peer review for articles published between 1 January 2017 and 31 December 2018 in BMC Medicine were evaluated. Data extracted included total number of self-citations requested, self-citations that were included in the final pu

SUBMITTER: Peebles E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7444519 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature