What Journals Want

What we will cover:

1. Understand the Editors’ perspective
2. Clear and timely communication
o Providing useful reviews
o How peer review can enhance your career
1. The Editors’ Perspective
 • Involvement in a discipline
1. Shared goals
2. Reviewing goals • Help the academic field
3. Editorial goals
• Push your intellect in a particular direction
4. Value of review
• Develop an under-represented area
• Achieve a leadership position
 • Sharpen submissions to the highest quality
1. Shared goals
2. Reviewing goals • Uphold academic standards
3. Editorial goals
• Uphold editorial standards
4. Value of review
• Foster author relationships
 • Ability to meet deadlines
1. Shared goals
2. Reviewing goals • Provide constructive feedback
3. Editorial goals
• Communicate clearly
4. Value of review
• Reliability
 • Peer review is the heart of sound science
1. Shared goals
2. Reviewing goals • Initiation into journal perspectives
3. Editorial goals
4. Value of review
2. Communicating With
the Journal
 • Check the subject area and deadline
1. Response to request
2. During review • Respond to request immediately
3. Being professional
4. Beyond peer review
• Suggest replacement reviewers
• Declare conflicts of interest
 • No response can slow reviewing for weeks
1. Response to request
2. During review • Responding to requests speeds up science!
3. Being professional
4. Beyond peer review
• Inform the Editor if your circumstances change
 • Refer to journal guidelines
1. Response to request
2. During review • Use structured forms
3. Being professional • Make a decision recommendation
4. Beyond peer review
• Highlight any ethical concerns
• Provide constructive feedback
 • Refer to journal guidelines
1. Response to request
2. During review • Use structured forms
3. Being professional • Make a decision recommendation
4. Beyond peer review
• Highlight any ethical concerns
• Provide constructive feedback
 • Use professional tone
1. Response to request
2. During review • Be courteous and considerate
3. Being professional
4. Beyond peer review
• Ask for clarification
• Proof–read your emails and review
1. Response to request • Improve your own academic writing
2. During review
• Observe styles of other reviews
3. Being professional
4. Beyond peer review • Consider different expressions of ideas
 • Journals develop the community
1. Response to request
2. During review • Be involved in your field
3. Being professional
4. Beyond peer review
• Society membership
• Conference attendance
3. Summary
Summary
• Editors are grateful for their reviewers
• Journals need subject experts
• Journals need reliable reviewers
• Authors need fast peer review
• Clear communication is essential