Consensus Journals: Invitational Journals Based upon Peer Review

Computer networks open new possibilities for scientific communication in terms of quality, efficiency, and rapidity. Consensus journals have the economy of invitational journals and the objectivity of journals based upon peer review. That is, all articles are published and the reader benefits from article selection based upon impartial refereeing. An additional benefit of consensus journals is that the negotiation process, which typically occurs prior to publication, is automated, thus saving efforts of participants. Readers submit reviews that evaluate articles on agreed dimensions. A statistical procedure is used to identify the most knowledgeable representative of each consensus position, and these persons are invited to submit articles that justify the review judgments they have submitted. A major advantage of this approach is the ability to develop reputation without article publication. The approach includes a protection mechanism based upon pseudonyms, which substitutes for the protection of anonym...