Skip to content

[ Publishing Workflows ] August 10, 2022

AI in peer review: 5 ways it can improve your workflow efficiency

Due to the increase in the number of volume submissions, the traditional method of peer review is under strain. But AI solutions can help improve workflow efficiency.

AI technology empowers reviewers to handle submissions overload

Carefully reviewed publications remain the cornerstone of science. But the academic and publishing field has faced research integrity challenges due to ineffective peer review workflows. With the number of submissions growing yearly, integrating innovative workflow solutions has never been more crucial.

Furthermore, validating research results seamlessly and ensuring rigorous review is vital for accelerating early-stage research. Therefore, introducing AI into peer review could be an effective way to tackle the ever-increasing submissions.

As many associations and publishers start embracing automated technology in checking for quality of work and adherence to requirements, researchers can see shorter screening and review times. Compared to the human-based review process, studies show that AI technology has proven to reduce the duration of peer review by 30% without increasing the number of reviewers needed.

 

Role of AI in peer review

While much has been said about how AI can help automate workflows, publishers and conference organizers have done too little to integrate AI tools that make work easier for reviewers.

AI benefits the science community in many ways, particularly because the quality of research cannot be compromised. AI peer review tools can potentially detect low-quality and controversial studies, automate reviewer document matching and solve the ethical concerns of bias in peer review.

 

How can AI technology assist with the mechanics of reviewing papers for publication?

The main purpose of using AI is to replicate the human approach faster and more efficiently.

From grammar checks to text and speech recognition, here are 5 ways AI can improve your review workflow efficiency.

 

1. Identification and selection of reviewers

Using end-to-end AI solutions for peer review, you can identify and assemble experts who will participate in the review process. Your AI tool can efficiently search through online sources to automatically find the right editors and reviewers to assign papers.

 

2. Checking plagiarism

AI can optimize your editorial workflow by checking for any form of plagiarism in submissions. Instead of using traditional tools that only identify verbatim texts, AI can detect reworded paragraphs and sentences in a paper.

 

3. Ensure accurate reporting

The accuracy of reported data is important in research and scholarly publishing. AI can help ensure research methods are well described, conclusions are validated, and submission requirements are met.

AI can also assist with calibrating and coordinating reviewer scores to reduce bias in the process.

 

4. Identify bad statistics

AI can assist in identifying inaccuracy in statistics used in acquiring results. Reliability of research results and quality of any submission is highly dependent on numbers and statistics used in the research process, hence the need to use efficient AI peer review technological solutions.

 

5. Detect data fabrication

If research data have been modified, falsely synthesized, or generated without proof in order to achieve desired outcomes, AI tools can help detect the fabrications.

 

Conclusion

Undoubtedly, AI can potentially solve the many research integrity challenges facing the scholarly publishing field. It can also help reduce the tension between authors, reviewers, and editors regarding human bias in paper selection. While AI can never replace human-based peer review, it can provide quantitative support and make the process more efficient by lessening the administrative burden.

The peer review features on the Morressier platform have the proven capabilities to support and improve workflows, save reviewers time and ensure the quality of publications. Learn more about our peer review solution and how it can help your organization become more efficient.

future peer review whitepaper