Finding and supporting reviewers
Reviewers play a central role in scholarly publishing. The peer review process upholds the quality and validity of individual articles and the journals that publish them. Elsevier is always working to improve and streamline the peer review process including running peer review studies and exploring innovations with the system for selected journals. We know how difficult it can be to find and retain reviewers, and to encourage them to meet submit their reports promptly. Reviewer Hub can help you work with reviewers, giving them the guidance, information and support they need to carry out the best review possible. With detailed reviewer guidelines, and information on ethics and policies, this is home to all the information reviewers need. We link directly to this site from many of the letters that are sent out during the peer review process.
Working with reviewers
Reviewers are often in short supply. To best support your reviewers, and help them to deliver the best reviews possible, there are some simple things you can do. While many of these suggestions are best implemented by the editor in chief, others can be applied by individual editors on a case-by-case basis.
Send good quality and relevant manuscripts for review
Reviewers are under considerable time pressure. It is best not to take up their time with manuscripts to review that are clearly not suitable for the journal and could be rejected without review, or articles on topics which are outside the reviewer's area of expertise
Keep reviewers informed
Reviewers generally like to know the final editorial decision of the paper, and to see other reviewers’ comments. You can enable this functionality in the submission system — to adjust it for your journal, speak to your journal manager
Reviewers often value feedback on their review. There are different ways to approach this, so discuss the options with your publisher
If your editorial decision disagrees with a reviewer's advice, take the time to explain your reasoning. Reviewers may feel frustrated if they believe their advice has been disregarded, but will appreciate the nuances of a decision made based on differing opinions
Give reviewers recognition
Reviewers are grateful for efforts, however small, to show appreciation of their work. Take the time to thank reviewers, and to seek them out at conferences or as potential authors
You can recognize reviewers with certificates and annual listings in the journal
An easy way of getting a helping hand with reviewer recognition is to ensure your journal is live on Elsevier’s Reviewer Hub 打開新的分頁／視窗
Encourage reviewers to make use of Reviewer Hub 打開新的分頁／視窗, which provides reviewers with a full history of their review activities and certificates of recognition
You might also find this article useful in terms of navigating the options around reviewer recognition at Elsevier.
Top tips for working with reviewers
Select reviewers who are doing research in a related area — they are more likely to find the paper relevant and interesting, and therefore respond promptly. They will also be able to spot missing references and other shortcomings. Ask yourself: who would likely want to read this paper?
Make use of editorial board members for reviewing, and consider rotating off board members who do not review regularly
Think twice before using reviewers who have not been active in research in the last five years, as their expertise may be outdated or they may be retired
Avoid clear conflicts of interest, such as reviewers who have recently published with one of the authors, who share an institutional affiliation, or who have been excluded as reviewers by the authors
Check the journal’s recent authors — the best reviewers are often early career researchers who have recently published in the journal. It is best to avoid, where possible, authors who currently have a manuscript under consideration at the journal, or who have very recently had work rejected
Approach mid-career researchers for referrals to suitable reviewers
Only invite the reviewers you need — inviting more reviewers than are needed can cause reviewers to feel unappreciated, and conflicting reviews can come in after you have made your decision (you can track invitations in Editorial Manager)
Provide clear guidance
Reviewers benefit from having information and guidance from the start of the review process, including timely and useful reminders
Develop a set of clear reviewer guidelines
Ensure that your journal includes deadlines in its reviewer invitation letter(s)
Check that your journal has set up automatic reminders for reviewers and customize reviewer letters to include relevant information (your journal manager can assist with this)
Provide personalised guidance in unusual situations, such as when asking a reviewer to comment on a manuscript that is not obviously in their area of expertise, or when a manuscript has previously been reviewed at the journal
Finding (and retaining) reviewers
Finding new reviewers and keeping good ones can be challenging; here are some suggestions from Elsevier for how you can make this process easier:
Make use of Elsevier-provided tools for homing in on potential reviewers such as the Find Reviewers via Scopus tool 打開新的分頁／視窗 and the journal reviewer list 打開新的分頁／視窗
The Find Reviewers via Scopus Tool can identify potential reviewers in various ways: through keyword searches on Scopus, by highlighting potential reviewers who have indicated interest in reviewing for your journal, and more
Identify and examine potential reviewers by searching in Scopus 打開新的分頁／視窗 — you can see their published work, citation histories and who their co-authors were, and set up citation alerts for their research
Consider participating in the “VolunPeers” initiative — your publisher can give you more information and help you to get signed up
Create a reviewer classifications list for your journal, so you can match manuscripts to the right reviewer according to their area of expertise
Build a database of relevant reviewers in the submission system by assigning classifications and adding notes — this lets you search for reviewers matching the manuscript's keywords, and set up automated actions, such as uninviting and alternate reviewer invitations
Curate and maintain your list — ensure it’s kept up to date, that you action any change of contact details for reviewers and that you “spring clean” your list once in a while to ensure that non-responding or consistently declining reviewers are removed
Resources
Here is a selection of relevant articles from Reviewers' and Editors' Update on the topic of finding, managing and rewarding reviewers:
We have also created a number of training videos which guide you on how to make the most of the Editorial Manager system's capabilities for interacting with referees. Below is a selection, but you can find more in our editor training playlist 打開新的分頁／視窗: