Reviewer selection: author or editor knows best?

Differential behaviour of author and editor suggested reviewers T horax is now the second highest ranked respiratory journal and submissions are increasing year on year.1 To attract high quality manuscripts, authors must have confidence in our editorial process and we are committed to continuing and improving the transparency, efficiency, and fairness of peer review. When the current Editors took over the journal in 2003, Thorax changed to online manuscript submission2 and, for the first time, authors were formally invited to suggest up to four suitable peer reviewers for their work. Indeed, we encourage authors to suggest reviewers, as set out in our advice to contributors.3 Peer review is a vital step in the editorial process, guiding the selection of appropriate papers for publication and providing constructive comments for authors to improve their work. So, …