How can i become a reviewer

It ensures that published research is accurate, trustworthy, and meets the highest standards. Every journal depends on the hard work of reviewers who test and refine each article before publication. Peer reviewing is a form of collaboration between experts. Their critical feedback often improves research and helps propel it forward. As a reviewer, you get an early view of the exciting new research happening in your field.

Not only that, peer review gives you a role in helping to evaluate and improve this new work. Reviewing articles written by other researchers can give you insight into how to improve your own. The process of reviewing encourages you to think critically about what makes an article good or not so good.

This could relate to writing style, presentation, or the clarity of explanations. You can then use this knowledge in your own writing and improve your chances of publication. While a lot of reviewing is anonymous, there are schemes to recognize the important contribution of reviewers.

These include reviewer lists in journals, reviewer certificates, and Publons. You can also include your reviewing work on your resume. Your work as a reviewer will interest appointment or promotion committees looking for evidence of service to the profession. Many journals are the center of a network of researchers who discuss key themes and developments in the field.

Becoming a reviewer is a great way to get involved with that group. This gives you the opportunity to build new connections for future collaborations.

Tell them about your areas of expertise, your publication record, and your interest in reviewing. If you attend any academic conferences, these are good opportunities to meet editors who might be looking for new reviewers. Is there someone who knows your work and is already involved with a journal, or regularly reviews? Ask whether they would be willing to pass on your details to the editor.

They may also have some useful experience from when they first became a reviewer. Some journals make specific invitations for reviewers to get in touch. This might be the case if the journal is new or expanding its scope into a different area. Some publishers invite aspiring reviewers to add their details to a reviewer database. For example, Dove Press has a reviewer registration page. Ask a senior colleague, with experience of reviewing, whether you could work with them on a review.

Some journals also run mentoring schemes, designed to help support first-time reviewers. Academic networking sites, such as ResearchGate or Academia. Make sure that your profile includes lots of detail about your current areas of research. You should also add links to any published journal articles or books. Many journals add authors who have published with them to their database of reviewers.

It also means the editor is more likely to invite you to review when they receive a submission on a related topic to your own. Read tips from Nazira Albargothy for her advice on how early-career researchers can get their foot in the door. Peer review involves the following steps:. In this case, get in touch with the editor or editors and let them know you are willing to help. If you are a young researcher, let senior scientists know you are willing to participate in peer reviews, so they can suggest your name; as a young trainee, ask your adviser to involve you in peer review under their supervision.

Open review is designed to increase transparency in peer review and give power back to the community by opening up an otherwise closed process. Peer review is often considered an unpaid academic duty. However, it is also a great way to keep up-to-date with the developments in your field and allows you to be an actor in your community. In any case, peer reviewing requires expertise and time and, even if you are paid in the typical sense, there are ways to get visibility and acknowledgement for your work.

Explore ways in which you can earn credits for your activity as peer reviewer and join all services available today. When you are invited to review a manuscript, editors count on your knowledge of a specific topic. The first point to consider, therefore, is that you can provide valuable feedback with competence to your fellow authors.

If you are not familiar with the topic discussed, you should make a point immediately to alert the editor and decline the invitation. Agree to review only if you have the required expertise to evaluate the work and can be objective and unbiased in your comments.

Once you have accepted the commitment, dedicate time to it and do your best to point out flaws in the manuscript, but also highlight good points. Peer reviewing takes valuable time, so reserve sufficient time to create and shape comments which will help authors to improve their work. Peer reviewers are primarily expected to judge the validity of the study, its technical soundness and that claims presented are supported by valid data.

Additionally reviewers are asked to evaluate the results and interpretations reported in the paper. Each journal will define what is expected from its reviewers, therefore you should always read the guidelines provided and any reviewing instructions received. By continuing to use this site, you agree to our use of cookies. We've also updated our Privacy Notice.

Click here to see what's new. Reviewers are a critical part of the publication process. Optica Publishing Group's journal editors rely on reviewers to help maintain their journals' high standards.

Providing a good review that is thorough and fair can be time-consuming and the editors appreciate the energy that reviewers devote to the task. Reviewing for Optica Publishing Group's journals can also be rewarding however, and it provides insight to some of the most up-to-date research in the field. How to become a reviewer Useful tips for authors wanting to take the next step By Elsevier Posted on 1 March We are aware that there are many qualified, capable and enthusiastic people willing to review papers, so why is it so difficult to 'break into' the reviewer community and become an active reviewer?

It is more than likely that they themselves review papers and they will be able to guide you through the process or involve you in part of the reviewing process. They can also recommend you to the editors they review for. Find journals that are related to your area of expertise and identify articles that you feel confident you would be qualified to review. Most journals will give a name and contact email address for the handling editor. You could email that editor directly giving the reasons why you would be a good reviewer e.

At the next conference you are attending, you could identify any editors present again in your area of research and approach them directly Being a reviewer can be a rewarding responsibility and helps you to stay on top of the most up-to-date research and without reviewers, it would be impossible to maintain the high standards of peer-review journals.