Will journal reviewers reveal their identities?

Typically, journal reviewers remain anonymous during the standard peer review process to ensure impartial and critical assessments of manuscripts without fear of reprisal or author influence. Reviewer anonymity is a cornerstone of most traditional peer review systems. Anonymity primarily serves to protect reviewers, allowing them to provide honest critiques. Reviewers are typically strongly discouraged from directly revealing their identity to authors. Exceptions occur within open peer review models, where reviewer reports and sometimes identities are published alongside the manuscript, or if a reviewer explicitly chooses to self-identify in their report. Journals operate specific confidentiality policies governing this process and reviewer communications. Maintaining anonymity facilitates objective evaluation, especially for controversial or challenging findings. It allows reviewers to make critical judgments based solely on scientific merit. This confidentiality supports the integrity of the peer review system and protects junior reviewers evaluating senior researchers' work. While open review models exist, traditional anonymous reviewing remains dominant to uphold unbiased scrutiny.