Whether the review procedure is double-blind (anonymous for both authors and reviewers) depends on the setup of each submission type / conference track. Usually the reviewer details are also not shown to the authors to protect their identity, but even this can be changed.
Double Blind ReviewBy default, neither authors' names nor reviewers' names are disclosed to each other, i.e. the review process is double-blind. Each submission type / conference track can have its own unique review mode settings.
You can find this option on the page:
Overview => Settings => Manage Submission Types / Conference TracksHighlight the corresponding track, press the button "Edit Submission Type / Track", and then scroll down to the section "Review Options".
For the option "
Double Blind Reviews" choose “
Yes, double blind reviews” if you want to hide author details from reviewers (see image 1).
Single Blind ReviewYou can
display the authors' names and organizations to the reviewers by enabling
single blind reviewing. This option can be set for each submission type / conference track separately.
Please go to:
Overview => Settings => Manage Submission Types / Conference TracksSelect the corresponding track, press the button “Edit Submission Type / Track”, and then scroll down to the section “Review Options”.
For the option “Double Blind Reviews” choose the setting “
No, single blind reviews” in order to display the authors' names and organizations to the reviewers while reviewers remain anonymous for authors (see image 2).
If you want to show even
more information of the submitting author to the reviewers, please enable the
expert settings by selecting “Expert Settings Disabled” or the cogwheel icon on the bottom of the page.
For the option “Double Blind Reviews” you can select the additional setting “
No, single blind reviews and show user details of the submitting author to the reviewers” (see image 3).
Now reviewers can see the authors' names and organizations as well as
details of the submitting author's user account (name, address, e-mail, extra fields). Authors cannot see any reviewers' details.
This setting is usually not recommended for paper evaluations, but rather for other reviewing purposes like reviews of application etc.
Please note that you can change these settings at any time.
Open Peer ReviewYou can even enable an
open peer reviewing process and
show the authors who the reviewers are and vice versa. The open peer review is still a peer review, but it is no longer a blind review. It may increase transparency.
This option can be set for each submission type / conference track separately.
Please go to:
Overview => Settings => Manage Submission Types / Conference TracksPlease enable the
expert settings by selecting “Expert Settings Disabled” or the cogwheel icon on the bottom of the page.
Now edit the submission type / track you want to change and go to the section “Review Options”. For the setting “Double Blind Reviews” choose one of the two options “
No, open reviews. Show reviewer details to authors and author details to the reviewers” or “
No, open reviews. Show reviewer details to authors and full submitting author details to the reviewers” (see image 4).
Now authors can see the reviewers’ names and organizations of their submissions. Reviewers can see the authors’ names and organizations, or even all details of the submitting author’s user account (name, address, e-mail, extra fields).
This setting is usually not recommended for paper evaluations, but rather for other reviewing purposes like reviews of application etc.
Please note that ConfTool Pro also offers an additional "
Open Review Process" where any user can review any paper non-anonymously.
Hints:- Please note that file names are always renamed according to a generic scheme (e.g. "Contribution_100.pdf") for the reviewers, but the contents of the files are of course not altered / anonymized!
- Document properties of PDF files providing information about title, author, subject and keywords (see tab description) will be removed automatically during the upload process (see image 5). Please take a look at this entry in the forum for more information:
How to remove author information from Word documents or PDF files? - If you need anonymized submissions (for the review process) and "normal" submissions (for publication), you can also ask for two file uploads for each submission and disable the access of reviewers to the non-anonymized files. This can also be done here:
Overview => Settings => Manage Submission Types / Conference Tracks
Please go to the section "Download Settings" and change the settings for the options "Accessibility of file No. X" accordingly. - Please be informed that members of the program committee have the same rights as reviewers plus added functions.
See: User Roles and Statuses in ConfTool - Please also refer to:
Are names of authors visible to PC members?