Viewpoint Effectiveness of Anonymization in Double-Blind Review

Double-blind review relies on the authorsu0027 ability and willingness to effectively anonymize their submissions. We explore anonymization effectiveness at ASE 2016, OOPSLA 2016, and PLDI 2016 by asking reviewers if they can guess author identities. We find that 74%-90% of reviews contain no correct guess and that reviewers who self-identify as experts on a paperu0027s topic are more likely to attempt to guess, but no more likely to guess correctly. We present our findings, summarize the PC chairsu0027 comments about administering double-blind review, discuss the advantages and disadvantages of revealing author identities part of the way through the process, and conclude by advocating for the continued use of double-blind review.