What Instructions Do Peer Reviewers Receive?

Greetings again. I hope that all is going well.

Recently an AuthorAID blog post addressed the question “How are peer reviewers chosen?” The current post addresses a related question, also from the Tanzania workshop: “What instructions do peer reviewers receive?”

The answer differs among journals. Some journals just tell reviewers to evaluate the paper. Other journals provide detailed instructions.

Commonly, journals ask peer reviewers to

• complete a rating form (for example, on which they rate various aspects of the paper on a scale of 1 to 5);
• give the editor confidential comments, which will not be shared with the author; and
• provide a set of comments that both the author and the editor will read.

The set of comments for both author and editor commonly begins by noting general strengths and weaknesses of the paper. Typically, page-by-page comments follow.

Often, journals ask peer reviewers to evaluate items such as the following:

• the importance of the topic
• the originality of the research
• the quality of the research design
• the soundness of the conclusions
• the suitability for the intended audience
• the quality of tables and figures (if any)
• the general quality of the writing

(Peer reviewers aren’t expected, though, to correct the writing.)

Knowing what journal editors ask peer reviewers to do can help authors write papers that journals will accept. As you design your research and write and revise your paper, perhaps consider the list of items above. The result might be a more publishable paper.

Wishing you a good week— Barbara