this video guides peer reviewers through the manuscript review process your learn
tips for when you're invited to review a manuscript when you read the manuscript
and when you write the reviewer report first what should you do when you're
invited to review a manuscript ask yourself three simple questions to
decide whether to accept or decline do you have the right expertise to comment
on the manuscript do you have enough time to do the review by the deadline
and can you provide an objective review and are you free of any competing
interests you should only consider accepting the invitation if you can
answer yes to all of these questions but what if you think you're qualified to
review but can't quite answer yes to those questions say you an expert in one
aspect of the manuscript but not all well you could do the review if you had
a few more days or you have a potentially competing interest but think
you can still be objective if you're in one of these tricky situations talk to
the journal team to find out what they want to do now it's time to start
reading it's a good idea to read the whole manuscript first and then take a
closer look at the different parts take lots of notes as you go and mark down
sections and page numbers so you can refer back to them later the first thing
to do is figure out what the manuscript is about have the author's identified
the main question and key claims these should be clearly stated in the
introduction the author's should also discuss related research and explain how
this study fits into that context then look at the figures and tables along
with the results do the results line up with what's being shown next look at the
methods and study design other methods appropriate does the study follow
relevant reporting guidelines and meet ethical standards finally read the
conclusions are they supported by the data and results now that you've read
the manuscript it's time to start writing your review first find out how
the review needs to be formatted and submitted some journals might have a
structured form with specific question to respond to also check if you will
need to recommend a decision like minor or major revision this information might
be in your invitation in the reviewer guidelines or in the online system use
an outline to keep your comments organized and easy to read
think about your report like an upside down triangle with the key message at
the top followed by evidence and examples then additional details at the
bottom start by summarizing the research in your own words and stating your
overall impressions in the middle section tell the authors what they need
to do to improve the manuscript divide this section into major issues and minor
issues what's the difference between major and minor major issues are the
essential things that need to be addressed before the manuscript is
considered further minor issues are still important but a smaller in scope
and don't affect their overall conclusions these might be things like
additional references or giving more context focus only on what is
fundamental for the current study it's not helpful to recommend additional work
that would be considered the next step in the research finally add any
confidential comments to share privately with the journal editors this is where
you might state if you have any competing interests or raise concerns of
our ethics or misconduct though in these cases it's a good idea to get in touch
with the journal staff directly as well remember your goal is to help the
authors improve the manuscript so be specific about what they need to do
here's a checklist of helpful things to comment on in your report if the figures
and tables are appropriately presented and labeled and whether they actually
show what they claim if the methods are detailed enough so another researcher
can understand and follow them if the study design is appropriate for the
question being asked and if any experiments are missing if you can
verify that the statistics are sound or think an additional statistical analysis
is necessary if the results support the conclusions and if the data are
accessible if any references are missing and whether the title is appropriate and
informative now your review is almost done here are some final reminders
number your comments are they're easier to read include line or page numbers so
the all the knows what you're referring to
don't spend your time pointing up typos or grammar issues the journal needs you
for your scientific expertise not to be a copy editor finally make sure you also
say what you liked about the manuscript remember the author will be reading your
comments as written so keep your tone respectful and professional put yourself
in the authors shoes and think about what kind of review you would like to
receive ok now your review is done and ready to send to the journal remember to
get it in on time or tell the journal if you might be late thanks for watching we
hope this video is helpful for your next review