Today marks the start of Peer Review Week 2020 (21–25 September), a global event celebrating the crucial role of peer review in maintaining quality in scientific publishing.

The theme for this year is trust in peer review, focusing on how peer review works and why it helps to build trust in research.

Undoubtedly, these are important issues given the concerns raised about the increasing use of non-peer reviewed preprints during the COVID-19 pandemic. The role of transparency in building trust in peer review and the importance of training for peer reviewers, particularly those in disciplines facing an avalanche of COVID-19-related review requests, are also topics that will be highlighted during the week.

You can get involved with Peer Review Week by joining a range of webinars on topics including:

• how publishers are working to build trust in peer review systems
• what COVID-19 has taught us about peer review, and why trust in peer review matters
• the importance of standards, such as CRediT and JATS4R, in building trust in peer review
• how technology can help fast-track peer review processes.

You can also read The Scholarly Kitchen’s thoughts on what would improve trust in peer review.

Keep up to date with events via @PeerRevWeek. Why not join the conversation at #TrustInPeerReview and #PeerRevWeek20?

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Summary by Beatrice Tyrrell DPhil from Aspire Scientific

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With thanks to our sponsor, Aspire Scientific Ltd