Peer Review of Manuscripts: An Online Training Module

Abstract

Abstract This resource is an online training module designed to develop and improve the skills of manuscript reviewers. The module includes discussions on the importance, history, and process of peer review; an overview of the uniform requirements for manuscripts submitted to biomedical journals; a discussion of authorship ethics and reviewer etiquette related to manuscript publication; and a detailed guide for reviewing all the different sections of a manuscript. The effectiveness of the module is increased by linking the module with other activities such as practicing reviewing actual or simulated articles. Having a faculty facilitator as a guide or sounding board could make the process of learning to review more efficient and effective. At the time of this submission, this module has been used with two cohorts of the Academic Pediatric Association's Educational Scholars Program. Scholars' evaluation has been very positive. Participants have especially valued the navigability of the module and the bite-size components of the content. Although designed for review of written manuscripts, the content might be adaptable to help learn the necessary skills for reviewing other forms of scholarship submitted for peer review.

Keywords

• Peer Review
• Publishing