10 Things to remember when you become a peer reviewer

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Once you have accepted a journal’s peer review invitation, here are 10 things you need to keep in mind before diving into the review.

1. After accepting the invitation to review, make sure you set aside some time to review — pick a day that works best for you and take a look at what the journal wants you to do.
2. Read through the journal’s aims and scope as well as author guidelines to get a better idea of what the journal expects from authors.
3. Quickly read the manuscript once to get a sense of what it is about. Dive deeper during your second read.
4. Protect the confidentiality of the manuscript at all costs — resist the temptation to look up the authors, or discuss the paper with your colleagues.
5. Watch yourself and ensure that you are being objective in your approach when evaluating the manuscript.
6. Keep making notes as you review. This will help you collate an overall
   report at the end.
7. While framing comments for authors, watch your language — be critical but not harsh. Back up your statements with logic and/or examples. Make sure you use simple language.
8. If you found have something great, appreciate it. If you have feedback that will help authors their understanding, share it.
9. If you come across any issues, point them out to the journal editor in your report.
10. Remember that it is the role of reviewers to recommend decisions. The final decision to accept/reject a paper rests with journal editors Even though they will take your recommendations into consideration, they may choose to disagree.

Remember to catch us at Peer Review Week 2020 (September 21–25) and sign up for CACTUS Communications’ Peer Review Week webinars here: https://bit.ly/3jGOrLl

A version of this article is published at https://www.editage.com on September 10, 2018.