How to become a peer reviewer: 6 Tips for early career researchers
Reviewing scientific literature can help you develop your writing and communication skills. Moreover, you will be able to keep up with and contribute to the developments in your area of research. If you’re a researcher looking to advance your career by taking on the responsibilities of peer reviewing, these tips will help you go about it with confidence! If, however, you are unsure of how to become a peer reviewer, here are some great tips:
Publish high-quality papers
· One of the definitive ways to get noticed by journal editors is to
write high-quality papers.
· Journals that you publish high-impact papers in are likely to
consider you as a referee for any submissions in the same area of work as yours. Moreover, your peers would be inclined to recommend you as a preferred reviewer to evaluate their work.
Express your interest to your mentor
· Approach your mentor or adviser and express your interest in becoming a peer reviewer.
· This can expose you to several opportunities: they may recommend you to journal editors who approach them for referrals or can suggest relevant people whom you can get in touch with.
Showcase your skills
· To make your reviewing skills known, you can consider publishing reviews of scholarly books or even write commentary or
perspective articles.
· Some other avenues worth trying are post-publication commenting and discussing publications on your personal blog.
· Through these you will be able to display your ability to evaluate scientific work and express your views. This could increase your chances of being approached for peer reviewing.
Don’t hesitate to take the first step
· Instead of awaiting a journal editor’s invitation to review a research paper, you can write to the editors of the journals you are interested in reviewing for.
· Proactively making yourself visible to the editors can increase your chances of being selected as a peer reviewer.
Expand your network
· Making connections with journal editors and researchers who work in the same field as you can hugely boost your chances of being selected as a peer reviewer.
· To take steps in this direction you can consider attending conferences, increasing your social media presence, and building relationships via social media platforms.
Keep trying!
· It is possible that your efforts towards becoming a peer reviewer may not result in you being selected as a peer reviewer immediately.
· You need to keep building your reputation and expanding your network. You will eventually be noticed and approached for peer reviewing scientific literature.
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.
