Assigning and inviting reviewers

Modified on Mon, 23 Oct 2017 at 08:05 AM

Before you begin

  • Before assigning reviewers, ensure that the manuscript is ready for peer review.
  • If you are not already on the Review screen, navigate to the Journal Home screen, select 'Manage All Submissions' then select 'In Review.' (Don't see this option? Learn more about permissions.) Finally, select the title of the manuscript you'd like to work with.

Steps in this guide

  1. Launch the Select Reviewer tool
  2. Add reviewer(s) to your journal, if necessary
  3. Determine which reviewer(s) should be invited to review the manuscript
  4. Send review request email(s) to the reviewer(s)

1. Launch the Select Reviewer tool

  • Ensure that you are on the '2. Review' page for the manuscript you are working on, by selecting the 2. Review link near the top of the page.
  • Scroll to the Peer Review section of the page and choose 'Select Reviewer.'

2. Add reviewers to your journal, if necessary

Note: The actions in this step build a list of potential reviewers for the manuscript. Reviewers will not be notified of the review request until you also complete step 4 of this guide.

  • The Select Reviewer tool will display all users enrolled in your journal with the Reviewer role.
  • If you need to add an entry for a reviewer not listed on this page, select 'Enroll New Reviewer'
  • Enter the email address of the new reviewer and then click outside of the email field
    • If the reviewer already has an eScholarship account, you will not need to complete the additional information fields and will instead be taken to a page asking you to confirm whether you would like to enroll this user as a reviewer.
    • If the reviewer does not already have an eScholarship account, you will need to complete the required fields on to Enroll New Reviewer page, and then select Save.
      • Note: After selecting Save, you will be returned to the '2. Review' page. If you would like to add additional reviewers, repeat the steps 2 or 3 of this guide as necessary. Otherwise, if you are done adding reviewers, continue to step 4.

3. Determine which reviewer(s) should be invited to review the manuscript

Note: The actions in this step build a list of potential reviewers for the manuscript. Reviewers will not be notified of the review request until you also complete step 4 of this guide.

  • If all necessary reviewers have already been enrolled, examine the Select Reviewer page to determine which reviewer(s) are most appropriate for this manuscript.
  • The Select Reviewer page contains information such as reviewing interests, number of reviews completed, number of active / outstanding reviews, and more. These factors may help you to determine which reviewers to assign.
  • To assign a reviewer to this manuscript, select the 'Assign' link associated with their name in the right-most column of the Select Reviewer table.
    • Note: After selecting Assign, you will be returned to the '2. Review' page. If you would like to add additional reviewers, repeat the steps 2 or 3 of this guide as necessary. Otherwise, if you are done adding reviewers, continue to step 4.

4. Send review request email(s) to the reviewer(s)

  • On the '2. Review' page, check to ensure that you have assigned the correct reviewers in the Peer Review section of the page.
    • Caution: If a red warning banner appears under the reviewer's name, that reviewer has other roles in your journal that will enable them to see all manuscript details, thus compromising blind peer review. Consider assigning another reviewer, or adjusting that user's permissions before sending the review request.
  • If you need to remove a reviewer, you may select 'Clear Reviewer.'
  • Select the envelope icon under the label 'Request' for each reviewer you would like to invite to review the manuscript
  • On the page that follows, you will have the opportunity to modify the standard review request email that will be sent to the reviewer. Make any necessary changes and select Send.
    • Caution: Be careful not to modify the text that comes after "Submission URL:" The ACCESS_KEY portion of this URL will be automatically replaced by the system as the message is sent, and will enable the reviewer to respond to the review request without having to log in with a password. Modifying this URL will prevent the reviewer from accessing the submission.
  • Repeat this process to send email invitations to the remaining reviewers, as you are ready to do so.

Next step(s)