Peer-Review Process
Peer Review is an influential process of academic journal publication. All Manuscripts are Peer Reviewed by the subject experts.
Before a scholarly work is published or approved, it is reviewed by a group of experts in the same field to ensure that it meets the appropriate criteria.
Stages of Peer-Review
Did you know the Process of Peer-Review?
Initial Check
It is done by the Editor who reads & approves the manuscript for Peer Review Process. The manuscript may be rejected at this level.
Editor-in-chief Review
Experts evaluate the manuscript and see if the scope of the journal is well defined and interesting.
Assigned to Editor With Subject Expertise
Experts who have subject knowledge related to the manuscript evaluate the manuscript.
Peers / Referees
The experts who check the manuscripts are known as Peers or Referees. They check the following things:
- Quality & Significance of the Manuscript
- About the Research topic – if it is Interesting and Important
- Sound Methodology
- Arriving at Logical Conclusions
- Checking the Findings are original
Review Return
The Peers give a high-quality review after evaluation of the manuscript.
Editor’s Final Decision
Editors decide if the manuscript is worthy of publishing or not. If approved, they may recommend revisions to the Authors.
Responsibilities of Journal Editors
Have you ever wondered what Journal Editors do in Peer-Review?
Roles towards Authors
- Providing constructive feedback promptly on the scholarly merits and the scientific value of the work.
- Providing specific suggestions for improvement and stating the details of the journal in a Cover Letter.
- Maintaining the confidentiality of the review process.
Roles towards Editors
- Informing the editor immediately if unable to review.
- Following the editor’s comments and creating an abstract if required.
- Determining scientific merit, originality, importance & clarity of the hypothesis and scope of the work and indicating ways to improve it.
- Providing Critical Assessment – Strength & Weakness of Introduction, Methodology, Data Analysis, Results, Discussion & Conclusion.
- Checking the formatting of the Manuscript and instructing if it is not in proper order.
- Looking into Internal Consistency of the Manuscript, Writing Style & Figure/ Table Presentation.
- Checking the Appropriateness of References, Title, Abstracts, and Conclusions.
- Ensuring that the manuscript adheres to the journal’s guidelines.
Roles towards Readers
- Assuring that the methodology and results of the review are easily accessible to the readers.
- Citing sources to assist readers in gathering knowledge about the journal.
Conclusion
The Editor’s decision is crucial in the publication of a journal. The Author, Editor, and Readers are all subjected to peer review. Academic journals rely heavily on peer review for publication.
To conclude, the purpose of Peer Reviewers is to
- Select the manuscript for the journal
- Determine the Originality of the manuscript
- Improve the quality of the published paper
- Ensures previous work is acknowledged
- Determine the importance of findings
The best Peer Reviewers tend to view themselves as Mentors rather than Critics.
