1. What is peer review?

What is peer review?

Reviewers play a central role in scholarly publishing. Peer review helps validate research,
establish a method by which it can be evaluated, and increase networking possibilities
within research communities. Despite criticisms, peer review is still the only widely
accepted method for research validation

Background

Elsevier relies on the peer review process to uphold the quality and validity of individual articles and the
journals that publish them.

Peer review has been a formal part of scientific communication since the first scientific journals
appeared more than 300 years ago. The Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society is thought to be
the first journal to formalize the peer review process.

In September 2009, Elsevier partnered with Sense About Science, an independent NGO working to
promote the public's understanding of 'sound science', to launch the 2009 Peer Review Study – the
largest survey ever international survey of authors and reviewers.

Visit the free e-learning platform Elsevier Researcher Academy to learn more about peer review.

Types of peer review

Single blind review

The names of the reviewers are hidden from the author. This is the traditional method of
reviewing and is the most common type by far.

 Reviewer anonymity allows for impartial decisions – the reviewers will not be
influenced by the authors.
 Authors may be concerned that reviewers in their field could delay publication,
giving the reviewers a chance to publish first.
 Reviewers may use their anonymity as justification for being unnecessarily critical or
harsh when commenting on the authors’ work.

Double-blind review

Both the reviewer and the author are anonymous.

 Author anonymity prevents any reviewer bias, for example based on an author's
country of origin or previous controversial work.
 Articles written by prestigious or renowned authors are considered on the basis of
the content of their papers, rather than their reputation.
  Reviewers can often identify the author through their writing style, subject matter or
self-citation.
 More information for authors can be found in our Double-Blind Peer Review
Guidelines

Open review

Reviewer and author are known to each other.

 Some believe this is the best way to prevent malicious comments, stop plagiarism,
prevent reviewers from following their own agenda, and encourage open, honest
reviewing.
 Others see open review as a less honest process, in which politeness or fear of
retribution may cause a reviewer to withhold or tone down criticism.

More transparent peer review

Reviewers play a vital role in academic publishing, yet their contributions are often hidden.
Three Elsevier journals now publish supplementary review files alongside the articles on
ScienceDirect.

 Acknowledges the important role of reviewers

 Enriches published articles and improves the reading experience

Article transfer service

Elsevier authors can transfer their article submission from one journal to another for free if
they are rejected, without the need to reformat, and often without needing further peer
review.
 Reviewers are not asked to review the same manuscript several times for different
journals.
 Authors do not need to spend additional time reformatting their manuscript.

Interesting reads
 Chapter 2 of Academic and Professional Publishing, 2012, by Irene Hames in
2012, available on ScienceDirect.
 "Is Peer Review in Crisis?" Perspectives in Publishing No 2, August 2004, by Adrian
Mulligan, available on Elsevier.com.
 “The history of the peer-review process” Trends in Biotechnology, 2002, by Ray
Spier, available on ScienceDirect.
The peer review process
Becoming a Reviewer: how and why
Reviewing requires the investment of time and a certain skillset. Before you decide if you
want to become a reviewer, we recommend that you read more about the peer review
process and conducting a review. You can also check out some of the free e-learning
modules, tools and resources on Elsevier Researcher Academy.
 Want to be a Reviewer?
 What do Reviewers do?
 Why review?
 Recognizing reviewers
 Feedback programme
Do you want to be a Reviewer?

Typically reviewers are invited to conduct a review by a journal or books editor. Editors
usually select researchers that are experts in the same subject area as the paper. However, if
you think you would be a good reviewer for a specific journal you can always contact one of
the journal's editors.

1. Identify which journal you would like to review for using the journal finder tool on
Elsevier.com
2. Visit the journal homepage and ‘view full editorial board’
3. Contact the relevant editor(s) through the site and offer your reviewing services

What do Reviewers do, and why?

Reviewers evaluate article submissions to journals, based on the requirements of that

journal, predefined criteria, and quality, completeness and accuracy of the research
presented. They provide feedback on the article and the research, suggest improvements
and make a recommendation to the editor about whether to accept, reject or request
changes to the article.

Reviewing is a time-intensive process – writing a review report can be almost as much work
as writing a manuscript! – but it is very worthwhile for the reviewer as well as for the
community. Reviewers:

 ensure the rigorous standards of the scientific process by taking part in the peer-
review system.
 uphold the integrity of the journal by identifying invalid research, and helping to
maintain the quality of the journal.
 fulfill a sense of obligation to the community and their own area of research.
  establish relationships with reputable colleagues and their affiliated journals, and
increase their opportunities to join an Editorial Board.
 reciprocate professional courtesy, as authors and reviewers are often interchangeable
roles – as reviewer, researchers ‘repay’ the same courtesy they receive as authors.

Why review?

There are great benefits to becoming a reviewer. You can:

 establish your expertise in the field and expand your knowledge.

 improve your reputation and increase your exposure to key figures in the field.
 stay up to date with the latest literature, and have advanced access to research
results.
 develop critical thinking skills essential to research.
 advance in your career – peer review is an essential role for researchers.

Recognizing Reviewers

Reviewers are important to us; Elsevier’s Reviewer Recognition Program aims to engage
reviewers and reward them for the work they do. The Program features several projects and
experiments.

Free access

All Reviewers are entitled to:

 Free 30-day access to Scopus

 Free 30-day access to ScienceDirect
 Free mentoring booklet: Charting a course for a successful research career,
written by 30-year research veteran Prof. Alan Johnson

Cross-Reviewing

Cross-Reviewing (CR) is a new innovation that allows reviewers to see each other’s reports
once all reports have been submitted. It provides reviewers with a short window of time in
which to discuss the reports. During this time, they are given the opportunity to provide
additional information or make further recommendations to the editor based on this
discussion, before they make a final decision.
Reviewer recognition platform

Reviewers find reviewing an important and rewarding activity, but the work is almost
invisible to the outside world, and hardly ever rewarded. The reviewer recognition platform
is designed to change that.

The Platform offers reviewers a personalized profile page, documenting their reviewing
history. If a reviewer has completed at least one review in two years, they become a
‘Recognized Reviewer’. ‘Outstanding Reviewer’ status is awarded to those who belong to the
top 10th percentile in terms of the number of completed reviews for a specific journal in two
years. Editors can also hand pick reviewers and award them with a ‘Certificate of Excellence’
and other perks.

Reviewers can download review certificates, end of year review reports and electronic
badges via the Platform. Reviewers can also volunteer to review for their favorite Elsevier
journals.

The Platform offers discounts for several Elsevier services, including Elsevier’s WebShop,
which offers professional English language editing, Translation and Illustration services for
researchers preparing their articles, and the Elsevier Book Store.
To access your Elsevier reviews profile, click here.
Peer review reports as articles

The publishing peer review reports pilot publicly recognizes reviewers’ intellectual
contribution to accepted articles through the official publication of their reports. Review
reports are attributed a separate DOI and are published next to the accepted paper on
Science Direct. Participating journals include:

 Agriculture and Forest Meteorology

 Annals of Medicine and Surgery
 Engineering Fracture Mechanics
 Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies
 International Journal of Surgery

Reviewer Feedback Programme

We regularly survey reviewers to get a better understanding of their needs and how we’re
doing when it comes to meeting them. Findings from the Reviewer Feedback Programme
help us to improve the reviewing experience. For example 90% of reviewers said they would
like to be able to see the final decision and other reviewers’ comments on a paper, so we
added this functionality to EES.
The Reviewer Feedback Programme monitors Elsevier’s performance from the perspective
of reviewers on Elsevier journals. We’ll ask you about various aspects of EES and other
aspects of reviewing via an online survey. Areas of interaction and support are measured
and reported regularly. Elsevier’s performance is benchmarked against that of other
publishers.

If you have been asked to complete our Reviewer Feedback Programme online survey, we
strongly recommend you complete it to make sure your voice is heard.

How to conduct a review

Before you accept or decline an invitation to review, consider the following questions:

 Does the article match your area of expertise? Only accept if you feel you can
provide a high quality review.
 Do you have a potential conflict of interest? Disclose this to the editor when you
respond.
 Do you have time? Reviewing can be a lot of work – before you commit, make sure
you can meet the deadline.
 Finally: Educate yourself on the peer review process through the
free Elsevier Researcher Academy

Respond to the invitation as soon as you can – delay in your decision slows down the review
process, whether you agree to review or not. If you decline the invitation, provide
suggestions for alternative reviewers.

Before you start

If you accept, you must treat the materials you receive as confidential documents. This
means you can’t share them with anyone without prior authorization from the editor. Since
peer review is confidential, you also must not share information about the review with
anyone without permission from the editors and authors.

First read the article and then take a break from it, giving you time to think. Consider the
article from your own perspective. When you sit down to write the review, make sure you
know what the journal is looking for, and have a copy of any specific reviewing criteria you
need to consider.

Authors may add research data, including data visualizations, to their submission to enable
readers to interact and engage more closely with their research after publication. Please be
aware that links to data might be present in the submission files. Manuscripts may also
contain database identifiers or accession numbers (e.g. genes) in relation to our database
linking program. These items should also receive your attention during the peer review
process.
Your review report

Your review will help the editor decide whether or not to publish the article. Giving your
overall opinion and general observations of the article is essential. Your comments should
be courteous and constructive, and should not include any personal remarks or personal
details including your name.

Providing insight into any deficiencies is important. You should explain and support your
judgement so that both editors and authors are able to fully understand the reasoning
behind your comments. You should indicate whether your comments are your own opinion
or are reflected by the data.

Checklist
 Summarize the article in a short paragraph. This shows the editor you have read and
understood the research.
 Give your main impressions of the article, including whether it is novel and
interesting, whether it has a sufficient impact and adds to the knowledge base.
 Point out any journal-specific points – does it adhere to the journal’s standards?
 Give specific comments and suggestions, including about layout and format, title,
abstract, introduction, graphical abstracts and/or highlights, method, statistical
errors, results, conclusion/discussion, language and references.
 If you suspect plagiarism, fraud or have other ethical concerns, raise your suspicions
with the editor, providing as much detail as possible. Visit Elsevier’s ethics site or
the COPE guidelines for more information.
 Unconscious bias can lead us to make questionable decisions which impact
negatively on the academic publishing process. Read further to find out more about
this important subject and to view resources on how to identify and tackle bias.
 According to COPE guidelines, reviewers must treat any manuscripts they are asked
to review as confidential documents. Since peer review is confidential, they must not
share the review or information about the review with anyone without the agreement
of the editors and authors involved. This applies both during and after the
publication process.
 Any suggestion that the author includes citations to reviewers’ (or their associates’)
work must be for genuine scientific reasons and not with the intention of increasing
reviewers’ citation counts or enhancing the visibility of reviewers’ work (or that of
their associates).
Your recommendation

When you make a recommendation, it is worth considering the categories the editor most
likely uses for classifying the article:

 Reject (explain reason in report)

 Accept without revision
 Revise – either major or minor (explain the revision that is required, and indicate to
the editor whether or not you would be happy to review the revised article)

The final decision

The editor ultimately decides whether to accept or reject the article. Elsevier plays no part in
this decision. The editor will weigh all views and may call for a third opinion or ask the
author for a revised paper before making a decision. The online editorial system provides
reviewers with a notification of the final decision, if the journal has opted in to this function.
If this is not applicable for your journal, you can contact the editor to find out whether the
article was accepted or rejected.

Tools and resources for Reviewers

Below you will find a set of tools and other resources that will help you in the reviewing
process.

 Latest updates
 Training
 Getting started
 Tools
 Help
Latest updates
Reviewers’ Update brings you the latest news and views, and useful information about
relevant Elsevier and industry developments. The comment function at the bottom of each
article provides a valuable forum for you to share your views, stories or examples of best
practice with your peers.
Subscribe to our free Reviewers’ Update alerts

Training and workshops

 Peer review e-learning modules on Elsevier Researcher Academy.
 Reviewer Workshops: to organize a workshop about peer review at your institute or
conference, contact researcheracademy@elsevier.com
 Elsevier Editorial System (EES) Interactive Tutorials/EVISE®: learn more about
how to work with the system.
Getting started
To locate the homepage of the journal you have been invited to review for, you can use
the Journal Findertool.

You are notified by email when you are invited to review a submission for a journal. If you
agree to review, you will receive further emails with information including the journal title
and a link to its online editorial site.

If you do not remember for which journal you have been invited to review, please contact
Customer Supportwith your name and email address.

Tools
Online tools
Policies: You can access all of Elsevier’s policiesonline.
Open access: All open access information is available on our open science pages.
Reviewer research tools: all Elsevier reviewers can benefit from a seamless integration
between Scopus, ScienceDirect and EES/EVISE® to assist them in the peer review process,
with 30 days of free access to Scopus and ScienceDirect.
 Elsevier Editorial System (EES) was our online system to help authors, editors and
reviewers throughout the submission, peer review and editorial process.All journals
are currently in the process of migrating to EVISE®.
 EVISE® is our new online submission and editorial system.

 Scopus is the largest abstract and citation database of peer-reviewed literature:

scientific journals, books and conference proceedings.
 ScienceDirect is a leading full-text scientific database offering journal articles and
book chapters from nearly 2,500 journals and 26,000 books.

Publications
 Charting a course for a successful research career – Written by 30-year research
veteran Prof. Alan Johnson, this publication provides a detailed map of the
important milestones a researcher should reach along the path to a successful
research career.
 Peer Review: The Nuts and Bolts – a booklet about peer review by Sense About
Science.
 Guidelines on roles and responsibilities in peer review – a publication by the Council
of Science Editors (CSE).
Need help?
Retrieving a username and password
To retrieve your username and password for reviewing on the online editorial system, you
can click the ‘Submit Your Paper’ link on the journal’s homepage and then follow
the forgotten password link on the log-in screen.
To locate the homepage of the journal you have been invited to review for, you can use
the Journal Finder tool.
Contact us
Content: Contact the journal editor or editorial office with questions about the content of
an article.
Technical issues: Contact the reviewers’ helpdesk for technical issues relating to the
online system:
* Email Researcher Support
* The Americas: +1 888 834 7287 (toll free for US & Canadian customers)
* Asia + Pacific: + 81 3 5561 5032
* Europe & all other areas: +44 1865 84 3577
Access for reviewers: For any questions related to the EES/Scopus integration, please
visit our support and self help site, or contact:
* For the Americas: +1 888 834 7287 (toll-free for US & Canadian callers)
* For Asia & Pacific: +81 3 5561 5032
* For Europe & Rest of the World: +353 61 709190
* Fax: +353 61 709 228