Consent Form
This survey examines various systems of peer review currently in use in humanities and humanistically oriented social sciences (H/HSS) journal publishing. The goal of the survey is to uncover current challenges and possible improvements to peer review processes by those most involved in the scholarly H/HSS publishing process. We are specifically seeking respondents with the following expertise:
  • Authors who have had at least one submission to a scholarly H/HSS journal undergo peer review within the last six years.
  • Editors involved with the peer-review process at their H/HSS journal within the last six years.
  • Reviewers who have reviewed for a scholarly H/HSS journal within the last two years.
  • Publishers who work with H/HSS journal editors within the last six years.
If you aren’t sure whether you qualify to participate in this survey, please continue, as once you begin the survey, we have screening questions to guide you.

This is a research study that involves a survey that is distributed by the Council of Editors of Learned Journals (CELJ; celj.org), the board members of which serve as the project team for this study. Funding for the survey comes from The Mellon Foundation as a part of a larger study CELJ is conducting on peer review.

Survey data will be anonymous. The data will be used towards multiple parts of the “Re-Imagining Peer Review” project. First, the project team will write a report on the state of peer review in H/HSS journal publishing, which will be distributed in Spring 2026 via open-access repository with the anonymized and aggregate data set of survey responses. Any use of quotations from the data will not allow identification. Second, the team will use the data and report to design free workshops for H/HSS publishing stakeholders (authors, editors, reviewers, publishers) that promote better labor practices, diversity and inclusion, and mentoring within peer review processes.

The survey ranges in estimated time to complete depending on the publishing role participants choose:
  • Author: 20–25 minutes
  • Editor: 35–45 minutes
  • Reviewer: 25–30 minutes
  • Publisher: 20–25 minutes
A deeply engaged response could take longer. Your participation in this survey is voluntary, and you can choose to end your participation at any time while taking the survey simply by closing your browser window. If you opt to leave the survey partway through, all data until that point will still be part of the research.
Compensation
To compensate you for your time and labor in answering this survey, we offer a $50 USD gift card to Bookshop.org for participants residing in the US who complete the survey. Non-US residents will be given comparable compensation options upon finishing the survey. Survey respondents who are screened out before the completion of the survey (within the first 3 questions) or who complete answers in bad faith (i.e., purposefully gaming the system for gift cards) are ineligible for compensation. To receive a gift card, we request your name and email address on the final screen of the survey. Your contact information and survey responses will be kept separate and anonymous from the project team, and taking the gift certificate is optional.

Benefits
There are no direct benefits to you for participating. Participants who complete the survey may benefit from the chance to reflect on and articulate their values, practices, and assumptions about humanistic peer-review models. They may also learn new things about the strategies, expectations, and processes of peer review based on their engagement with the survey questions and the invitation to consider their own place in the peer-review ecosystem.

Risks
This survey focuses on typical scholarly processes engaged by academics and scholarly publishers. Nevertheless, participants may experience discomfort as they reflect on these processes. Please note that all responses are anonymous and nothing in the survey system (Survey Monkey) or questions will lead anyone to being able to identify your responses as coming from you, unless you choose to reveal identifiable information in a textbox response.

Survey Contacts
This survey has been constructed by the CELJ project team, its Advisory Board, and consultants specializing in scholarly publishing and survey design.

To reach the CELJ project team, email Project Director Cheryl E. Ball, celj.editors@gmail.com or call 313-444-9919.

Question Title

* 1. Electronic Consent
Please select your choice below. Clicking on the "agree" button indicates that you have read the above information, and you voluntarily agree to participate. If you do not wish to participate in the survey questionnaire, please decline participation by clicking on the "decline" button.

 
 2% of survey complete.

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