Data from: Is it becoming harder to secure reviewers for peer review? A test with data from five ecology journals

Background: There is concern in the academic publishing community that it is becoming more difficult to secure reviews for peer-reviewed manuscripts, but much of this concern stems from anecdotal and rhetorical evidence. Methods: We examined the proportion of review requests that led to a completed review over a 6-year period (2009–2015) in a mid-tier biology journal (Molecular Ecology). We also re-analyzed previously published data from four other mid-tier ecology journals (Functional Ecology, Journal of Ecology, Journal of Animal Ecology, and Journal of Applied Ecology), looking at the same proportion over the period 2003 to 2010. Results: The data from Molecular Ecology showed no significant decrease through time in the proportion of requests that led to a review (proportion in 2009 = 0.47 (95 % CI = 0.43 to 0.52), proportion in 2015 = 0.44 (95 % CI = 0.40 to 0.48)). This proportion did decrease for three of the other ecology journals (changes in proportions from 2003 to 2010 = −0.10, −0.18, and −0.09), while the proportion for the fourth (Functional Ecology) stayed roughly constant (change in proportion = −0.04). Conclusions: Overall, our data suggest that reviewer agreement rates have probably declined slightly but not to the extent suggested by the anecdotal and rhetorical evidence.研究背景：学术出版界普遍担忧，同行评议稿件获取审稿意见的难度正与日俱增，但此类担忧大多基于轶事传闻与修辞性证据。 研究方法：本研究针对中档生物学期刊《分子生态学（Molecular Ecology）》，分析了2009—2015年共6年间，审稿请求最终完成审稿的比例。此外，我们还对另外4份中档生态学期刊的已发表数据进行了重新分析，涵盖《功能生态学（Functional Ecology）》《生态学（Journal of Ecology）》《动物生态学（Journal of Animal Ecology）》及《应用生态学（Journal of Applied Ecology）》，并统计了其2003—2010年间的对应比例。 研究结果：《分子生态学》的数据显示，随时间推移，审稿请求完成率无显著下降趋势：2009年该比例为0.47（95%置信区间：0.43~0.52），2015年为0.44（95%置信区间：0.40~0.48）。其余3份生态学期刊的该比例均出现下降，2003—2010年间的比例变化量分别为-0.10、-0.18及-0.09；而第4份期刊《功能生态学（Functional Ecology）》的比例基本保持稳定，变化量仅为-0.04。 研究结论：综合而言，本研究数据表明，审稿人接受审稿请求的比例或许略有下降，但并未达到轶事传闻与修辞性证据所暗示的严重程度。