How to Peer Review for Scientific Journals?

Abstract

Peer review is the evaluation of scientific, academic, or professional work by experts in the field. This process starts when the editor of a peer-reviewed journal sends an article or a manuscript to two or more reviewers for review. They convey their suggestions to the editor. If the reviews are positive, the editor requests the authors to revise and resubmit the manuscript. The corresponding author provides a point-wise explanation of the various queries raised by the reviewers and resubmits the paper. The editor may send the paper for re-review, following which the editor makes the final decision. If accepted, the author is informed, and the paper is published. The peer review process has many variations such as blinded review (single or double blind), open review, and collaborative review. Each variant has its pros and cons. Peer review, when done before publication in a journal, has the advantage of producing papers that have undergone thorough scrutiny of their research question, methodology, and outcomes. Although this process may take more time compared to other methods, it has stood the test of time as a key quality control mechanism in scientific publishing. The reviewer should be unbiased and professional in his/her conduct and provide constructive feedback to improve the research paper. Several journals provide a checklist for peer reviewers, which facilitates a detailed review. Peer reviewing is a skill that improves the quality of publication at the level of an individual manuscript and benefits the scientific community at large.

Keywords

• open review
• peer-review
• publication
• research