Peer review rigging

The recent incidents in which authors manipulated the peer review system in order to get published have brought into the limelight an issue that is plaguing scientific publishing lately: peer review rigging. What has led to this problem – is it the ‘publish or perish’ culture of science or the journal practice of asking authors to suggest reviewers for their paper? This series takes a close look at the issue of peer review rigging and how it can be tackled.