@article{10.22454/PRiMER.2025.831615,
author = {Morley, Christopher P. and Prunuske, Jacob and Phillips, Julie P. and Wendling, Andrea L. and Heidelbaugh, Joel J. and Grammer, Sam},
title = {Reviewer Engagement Trends at a Journal: Cause for Concern},
journal = {PRiMER},
volume = {9},
year = {2025},
month = {10},
doi = {10.22454/PRiMER.2025.831615},
abstract = {Introduction: Securing peer reviewers for scholarly manuscripts is essential to journal operations but has become increasingly challenging. Previous PRiMER data suggested that reviewer responsiveness has been declining, and we examined whether this decline persisted over time.
Methods: We conducted a retrospective secondary analysis of reviewer invitation outcomes for all research manuscripts submitted to PRiMER from 2017 to July 31, 2025. Only invitations for research briefs (n=2,951) across 459 manuscripts were analyzed. Data were extracted from the ScholarOne editorial database. χ2 tests compared acceptance rates over time. Fixed-effect binary logistic regression controlled for individual reviewer behavior to assess linear trends in invitation acceptance and review completion rates.
Results: Invitation acceptance peaked at 56.14% in 2020, then declined to 35.71% in 2024 and 38.58% in 2025—the lowest since journal inception. Logistic regression revealed a significant negative annual trend (OR=0.656, P<.001). Review completion rates declined from 89.31% in 2021 to 76.19% in 2025 (OR=0.707, P<.001). Late review rates ranged from 11.97% (2021) to 18.09% (2018) with no significant time trend.
Conclusion: Reviewer responsiveness to PRiMER invitations has continued to decline, both in accepting invitations and completing reviews. If similar patterns exist across journals, innovative strategies to recruit, engage, and incentivize reviewers will be necessary to sustain peer review in its current form.},
URL = {https://journals.stfm.org//primer/2025/morley-2025-0090/},
eprint = {https://journals.stfm.org//media/gdujj555/primer-9-59.pdf},
}