How to Accept an Invitation to Review a Manuscript

When y'all get an invitation to review a manuscript for a journal, what'due south the get-go affair you should do? How do you determine whether to accept or decline? If you say yes, then what?

This guide walks you through the process of responding to an invitation and provides quick tips for getting ready to do the review once y'all've accepted the invitation.

Some Reminders

Offset of all, information technology'due south okay to decline the invitation. Yous practise not take to say yes to everything! If you have doubts nearly your ability to practise the review, it is much better to say no up front than to step down afterwards on.

When to Say Yes

If you are interested in reviewing the manuscript, brand sure information technology's a good fit for you by asking yourself iii questions. If you tin can reply yes to all three, go ahead and have the invitation.

one. Am I the correct person to review this manuscript?

You should only review a manuscript if it matches your area of expertise. Even if the topic sounds fascinating, don't hold to review if you practise not take the expertise.

If you're not sure you lot have the right expertise, or if you think you could provide an skillful evaluation of one aspect of the manuscript but not all of it, get in touch with the periodical to meet what they need.

No matter what, it's of import that yous feel comfortable offering your stance.

ii. Exercise I have time to do the review past the journal'due south borderline?

Don't overcommit: make sure yous have enough time to provide a thorough review. If you want to review but recall yous might need extra time to get it done, allow the editor know as soon equally possible and then that they can alert the author or contact another reviewer if necessary.

3. Tin can I provide an objective review?

Before you respond to the invitation, bank check the author list in case you take by or present collaborations with whatever authors, or any other potentially competing interests. Y'all should decline the invitation if an outside observer might reasonably experience that your review was negatively or positively biased by a competing interest.

If you're not sure if you have a competing interest, or think you take one only it won't compromise your objectivity, get in touch with the journal. The journal might desire you lot to review anyway, depending on the situation.

Related Guide
Competing interests for reviewers

Whether y'all accept or decline the consignment, try to respond to the invitation equally quickly as you tin. Information technology's non off-white to the authors to keep them waiting.

Tip: Declining an invitation

Y'all can still be helpful to the journal even if you turn down an invitation to review. Tell the journal if you know of other researchers who might be qualified to review the manuscript. This will assist keep the review process moving quickly.

It's likewise a expert idea to let the journal know why y'all're declining the invitation. For instance, if you said no because yous don't have the right expertise, the journal will know to contact a different reviewer for like papers in the future. Just if you lot decline because yous don't have enough time, the journal tin can go on you in heed for a similar assignment later on.

Getting Started

Once y'all've accustomed the invitation, get yourself prepared to do the review. Here are three quick things you lot can do that are helpful to cheque sooner rather than later:

• Organisation access. Make sure you can sign in to the peer review organization and access the manuscript and other submission files.
• Journal guidelines. See if the journal has specific guidelines for reviewers. Are in that location special instructions or other things to accept into account? What are the criteria for publication? Keep these expectations and standards in listen from the very beginning.
• Review construction and format. Make sure you know how your review will need to exist formatted. Does the periodical want you to respond to specific questions in a structured reviewer form? Volition you demand to recommend a specific decision activeness, east.1000., major revision? Y'all might too want to find out whether the journal has an open review option. Determine whether or not you will sign your proper name to your review.

Tip: Managing your workload

It's upwards to you to decide if you have enough time to take on a reviewing assignment. If you find yourself getting a lot of invitations, it can help to set a goal or limit for how many assignments to accept each week or each month.

If you're having trouble fitting your reviewing work into your schedule, think most setting aside a specific time each day (or each week) to work on your reviews. Mark this on your calendar to make information technology more than official.

Do y'all accept another tip for managing your workload as a reviewer? Share information technology with us!

At present you're set up to start your review! Motility on to our next guide nigh how to read a manuscript when y'all're reviewing it.

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Source: https://plos.org/resource/youve-been-invited-to-review-now-what/

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