Living review
In academic publishing, a "living" review is a review article, published electronically, that is updated at intervals to reflect the current state of research. Unlike in a print journal, a reader reading an old version of a review will automatically be aware that a newer version exists. While different versions of the review have to be cited separately, a living review acts as version control for the existing state of research.
For instance, the first article published in Living Reviews in Relativity was
- Rovelli, C. (26 January 1998). "Loop Quantum Gravity". Living Reviews in Relativity. 1: 1. arXiv:gr-qc/9710008. Bibcode:1998LRR.....1....1R. doi:10.12942/lrr-1998-1. PMC 5567241. PMID 28937180.
In 2008, an updated version was produced:
- Rovelli, C. (15 July 2008). "Loop Quantum Gravity". Living Reviews in Relativity. 11: 5. Bibcode:2008LRR....11....5R. doi:10.12942/lrr-2008-5. PMC 5256093. PMID 28179822.
The authors and titles of living reviews will typically remain the same from version to version, although this is not an absolute rule. Authors could change due to additional researchers joining a collaboration, retirement, or death. The title of the review will also typically remain the same, although development in the field may require adjusting the title to reflect the current state of research, or an adjustment in the scope of the review.
Some academic journals that publish living reviews are the Living Reviews astrophysics journal series, and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews in medicine.
References
- Elliott, J. H.; Turner, T.; Clavisi, O.; Thomas, J.; Higgins, J. P. T.; Mavergames, C.; Gruen, R. L. (18 February 2014). "Living Systematic Reviews: An Emerging Opportunity to Narrow the Evidence-Practice Gap". PLoS Medicine. 11 (2): e1001603. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1001603. PMC 3928029. PMID 24558353.
- Pauli, M. (September 2012). "Living Reviews". Open Access Success Stories.