Before you start
If you accept,you must treat the materials you receive as confidential documents. This means you can’t share them with anyone without prior authorization from the editor.Since peer review is confidential, you also must not share information about the review with anyone without permission from the editors and authors.
First read the article and then take a break from it giving you time to think.Consider the article from your own perspective. When you sit down to write the review make sure you know what the journal is looking for and have a copy of any specific reviewing criteria you need to consider.
What do reviewers do and why?
Reviewers evaluate article submissions to journals based on the requirements of that journal predefined criteria,quality completeness and accuracy of the research presented.They provide feedback on the article and the research suggest improvements and make a recommendation to the editor about whether to accept,reject or request changes to the article.
Reviewing is a time consuming process but it is worthwhile:
Ensure the rigorous standards of the scientific process by taking part in the peer-review system.
Uphold the integrity of the journal by identifying invalid research and helping to maintain the quality of the journal.
Fulfill a sense of obligation to the community and their own area of research.
Establish relationships with reputable colleagues and their affiliated journals and increase their opportunities to join an Editorial Board
Reciprocate professional courtesy as authors and reviewers are often interchangeable roles as reviewer researchers “repay” the same courtesy they receive as authors.
Benefits of a reviewer:
Establish your expertise in the field and expand your knowledge.
Improve your reputation and increase your exposure to key figures in the field.
Stay up to date with the latest literature,and have advanced access to research results.
Develop critical thinking skills essential to research.
Advance in your career;peer review is an essential role for researchers.
Reviewer Recognition Platform
Reviewers find reviewing an important and rewarding activity but the work is almost invisible to the outside world and hardly ever rewarded.The Reviewer Recognition Platform is designed to change that.
The Platform offers reviewers a personalized profile page documenting their reviewing history. If a reviewer has completed at least one review in two years they become a ‘Recognized Reviewer’. Outstanding Reviewer status is awarded to those who belong to the top 10th percentile in terms of the number of completed reviews for a specific journal in two years.Editors can also hand pick reviewers and award them with a ‘Certificate of Excellence’ and other perks.
Cross-Reviewing
It is a new innovation that allows reviewers to see each other’s reports once all reports have been submitted.It provides reviewers with a window of time in which to discuss the reports.During this time they are given the opportunity to provide additional information or make further recommendations to the editor based on this discussion,before they make a final decision.
Reviewer Feedback Programme
The Reviewer Feedback Programme monitors AJHIS’s performance from the perspective of reviewers on AJHIS journals.We’ll ask you about various aspects of AJHIS and other aspects of reviewing via an online survey.Areas of interaction and support are measured and reported regularly.AJHIS performance is benchmarked against that of other publishers.
If you have been asked to complete our Reviewer Feedback Programme online survey, we strongly recommend you complete it to make sure your voice is heard.
