Date: 23.04.2021

Publication in academic journals plays an important role in the development and progress of any field of study. For the world of science to constantly improve, appropriate scrutiny of manuscripts submitted to academic journals, to determine their worth, quality, methodological rigor, and publishability before appearing publicly, is definitely needed. Such quality assurance processes are essential to ensure the publication of only reliable and high-quality research documents. For these goals to be achieved, the journal editors rely on the peer review assessors to critique the submitted manuscript with both positive and negative detailed feedbacks that the editor can use in the decision process for article merit and eventual publication. This article aims to provide the reader with useful information about the fundamental role of the peer-review process in the world of science along with explaining the amazing advantages for early career researchers who aspire to become review assessors.

What is a peer-review process and what is its impact on the scientific world?

Scientific findings, methods, and discoveries have far-reaching implications for the society, and of course, for the world of science itself. Exactly because of their high importance, they need to undergo a quality control process before they can actually be published. And this is where the peer-review process comes into play. The peer-review process involves subjecting the author's scholarly work and research to the scrutiny of other high-valued experts in the same field to check its validity and evaluate its suitability for publication. Peer review is an established process that has been a formal part of scientific communication for over 300 years. It is basically an evaluation method used by the publisher in order to decide whether or not a research work should be accepted and published. Peer review is intended to serve two primary purposes. Firstly, it acts as a filter to ensure that only high-quality researches will be published, especially in reputable journals, by estimating the real significance and originality of the study. Secondly, the peer-review process is designed to improve the quality of manuscripts that are deemed suitable for publication. Peer reviewers’ responsibility is to give suggestions to authors on how they can improve the quality of their manuscripts, and also identify any errors that need corrections prior to publication.

Who can be a peer review assessor?

In the pursuit of success in academia, early-career researchers are always on the lookout for opportunities to showcase their knowledge and skills. One way to climb the ladder of success is to become a peer review assessor. Nowadays review is a main part of the publishing process. When scientists come to the point when they can give practical pieces of advice for an academic society, it can be the moment of making an effort to be a reviewer. Normally, peer review assessors in journals provide their assessment in the form of a questionnaire that they return to the editor. This forms the basis for deciding whether the scientific document work should be accepted and published, considered acceptable with revisions, or rather rejected. And here comes the question: How can you become a peer reviewer?

In most cases, in order to become a peer review assessor, you will be expected to hold a doctoral degree. However, peer reviewers can range from young and up-and-coming researchers to old masters in the field. Basically, peer review assessors can be anyone with competence and expertise who can prove to know the field of study well enough to be able to assess the quality, impact, as well as the level of importance of other researcher’s work. In fact, more and more young researchers become responsive peer reviewers who deliver high-quality reviews. Journals often have many reviewers of different ages with different levels of experience and diverse backgrounds to allow for many different perspectives.

What are the benefits of becoming a peer review assessor?

Today, peer review is one of the most essential processes in academic publishing and continues to have a very significant effect on the number and type of studies that get published. Being a part of the evaluation process and determining the accuracy of the work submitted is as important as having publications in the peer-reviewed journals. There are, in fact, many great advantages that come with being a peer reviewer.

Keeping up with the latest research

Becoming a peer review assessor can get you an early view of the exciting new research happening in the chosen scientific field. Peer reviewing often necessitates that you need to check out other publications to evaluate someone’s scientific work before it gets published. These might be references included in the article you are reviewing, sources you look up in order to verify statements or background information to help you synthesize the reading material better. You will have the chance to stay on top of research methodologies, the newest topics, and guidelines that are relevant to your field of study.

Gaining useful skills and knowledge

If you decide to become a peer review assessor, you will have the chance to familiarize yourself with new cutting-edge research within your field of expertise. You will have the opportunity to see the breadth and depth of what other experts are working on and become familiar with their research agendas. Overall, serving as a peer reviewer at an early stage of your academic career will help gain useful skills, including critical thinking, attention to detail, giving both positive and negative feedback, and respecting the ideas of others while at the same time being able to assert your own opinion. Not only could you improve the quality of your feedback to the authors, but it can also broaden your own knowledge.

Save others, help yourself: Improve your own writing and get your work published faster!

Through the peer process, reviewers contribute to the academic environment while getting a firsthand look at the inner workings of a journal – by reviewing scientific documents written by other researchers in the field you learn how you can improve your own. In reality, the process of reviewing different scientific documents encourages you to think critically about what makes a scientific paper better and what can make it a bad one. During the process of reviewing more papers, there is no doubt that you will be able to spot more and more different mistakes authors make. This could be related to literature sources used, writing style, presentation, or even the clarity of explanations. You can actually learn from others’ mistakes and invest that knowledge in your own writing. An insight into peer review from a journal’s perspective definitely increases your chances of getting your own work published sooner.

Make important connections: Join a journal’s community

The scientific journals are the center of a network of researchers who discuss key developments in the field. Becoming a peer reviewer is a unique opportunity you can use to actually get involved with that group. This position will allow you to build new and useful connections for future career collaborations. Being a reviewer on a regular basis may also be the first step towards becoming a member of the journal’s editorial board.

Become a peer reviewer and boost your career!

Becoming a peer review assessor is considered a great honor. It proves that editors consider you an authority in your field of study. And apart from everything else mentioned above, you can use the peer review experience in your resume to actually advance your future career path. In fact, an experience as a peer review assessor will definitely interest appointment or promotion committees looking for evidence of service to the position.