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Does editorial review by the journal editor count as a peer review? [055]

By Office of Science Quality and Integrity

Maybe. In cases where the journal editor evaluates or critiques the science, the review may be counted as a peer review. In cases where the journal editor's review is editorial in nature only and no peer review is provided by the journal, an additional USGS-initiated peer review must be provided to meet the requirement for a minimum of two peer reviews. [Read more]

Maybe. In cases where the journal editor evaluates or critiques the science, that is, the editor peer reviews the manuscript (as described in SM 502.3, section 4.B), the review may be counted as a peer review and as such must be reconciled by the author. In cases where the journal editor's review is editorial in nature only (refer to SM 1100.2) and no peer review is provided by the journal, an additional USGS-initiated peer review must be provided to meet the requirement for a minimum of two peer reviews.