CONSIDERATIONS WHILE WRITING

ACHIEVING EXCELLENCE IN
YOUR
PEERDOCTORAL
REVIEW THESIS
Title of the Article: _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Authors: _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Name of Journal: ____________________________________________________________________________________ Deadline: _______________________________

Before You Begin

Confirm that you have the required subject area expertise to review the manuscript justly after reading the abstract.

Review the journal guidelines for peer review and publication criteria carefully before acceptance.

Prepare the structure of your review report based on the journal guidelines.

Accept the review only after checking your availability, external commitments, and any possible conflicts of interest.

Maintain high levels of confidentiality to ensure the privacy of the manuscript’s content.

First Reading
Go through the entire manuscript to get an overall understanding of the research study.

Take notes while reading to develop a summary report of the manuscript.

Do you think the research in the manuscript is novel?

Identify the research question and check whether the author(s) answered this question.

Check the methods, introduction, results, discussion, and conclusion to get a clear picture of the manuscript direction.

Are there any major concerns regarding the language used in the manuscript?

Do you think the manuscript is publishable in the specified journal in its current form? If no, reject & inform the editor.

Second Reading
Read the manuscript from start to finish and note down detailed comments, both positive and negative for each section.

Assess whether the author(s) have addressed each section appropriately

Check the introduction. Is the necessary background and relevance clearly articulated?

Are the results (including figures) easy to understand and interpret?

Do you think the methods used were appropriate to address the research question? Is it reproducible?

Look at references. Were key papers in the field referenced? Did you find any other considerations that were omitted?

Title, Abstract and Introduction

Is the title clear and informative? Does it reflect the aim, approach, and importance of the research in the manuscript?

Is the abstract short and complete? Does it give a clear summary of the aims, methods, key findings, and conclusions?

Does the introduction indicate the field of the work, why it is important, and what has been covered already? Does it also

investigate any limitations in the current body of knowledge in the field?

CONSIDERATIONS WHILE WRITING
ACHIEVING EXCELLENCE IN
YOUR
PEERDOCTORAL
REVIEW THESIS

Methods and Results

Is the study design appropriate for the research question? Has the methods been justified by the author(s)?

Are there any ethical concerns? Did you find any potential bias in samples or choice of participants?

Was the duration of the study sufficient to see the author(s) desired outcomes?

Are the results presented clearly and logically using tables and graphs as necessary? Are they justified by the given data?

Is the data in the manuscript consistent with that in the figures and tables?

Do the results presented match the methods? Does it highlight its approach in answering the research question?

Discussion and Conclusion

Do the author(s) clearly explain the findings? Do they discuss other possible alternate explanations for the results?

Have the author(s) compared the results to findings in published literature in the field?

Do the author(s) discuss any possible implications of the finding for future research?

Does the conclusion justifiably respond to the research question? Is it supported by the data presented?

Have the author(s) discussed any contradictory data or limitations of the study?

Figures and Tables

Are the figures & tables clear and accurate? Does it document the data and its context and represent the study distinctly?

Do the figures & tables include measures of uncertainty, such as standard error or confidence intervals, where required?

Did you find any concerns regarding the manipulation of data in the figures & tables within the manuscript?

References
Do the references in the paper provide sufficient context for critical analysis by others? Are any key references missing?

Are the citations up to date, referencing the latest work on this topic? Is the accuracy of the references verified?

Do the author(s) include references that provide examples of alternate ideas, data, or conclusions to compare with?

Third Reading: Finalizing Your Review Report

Assess the flow of arguments, grammar, headings, and the general organization of the manuscript.

Clearly state which of your concerns mentioned in the manuscript are major or minor in your review report.

Be respectful and maintain professionalism when providing feedback and constructive criticism to author(s).

Thoroughly check and revise your review report before submitting it to the editor. Mention if you are available to review

the revised version.