Take professional peer review courses
Strengthen your peer review and research skills with our unique expert training courses coming soon. These include quizzes and interactive components which feed into your performance metrics and trusted peer review certification.
By the end of this 100-minute, five-lesson course, you will be ready to perform peer review effectively and positively. Reviewer Credits will match you with suitable journals and editors so that you can start peer reviewing right away!
Lesson 1: Why Peer Review?
- Welcome to Lesson 1: Why peer review?
- The importance of peer review for science (YOU are needed!) The many benefits of being a peer reviewer
- How to become a peer reviewer
- Should I agree to do peer review? (time, expertise, field) Lesson 1 Checkpoint Quiz
Lesson 2: What to Expect From Peer Review
- Welcome to Lesson 2: What to expect from peer review
- The peer review process: an interactive primer
- Remaining anonymous (or not): Pluses and minuses
- Templates for peer review: Being effective & constructive
- Need more information? Ask the editor
- Ethics of peer review: International standards. Dos & Don’ts
- Lesson 2 Checkpoint Quiz
Lesson 3: Developing the Right Mindset For Reviewing
- Welcome to Lesson 3: Developing the right mindset
- Do you have the time and expertise? No shame in turning down
- How not to be: Most reviewers are negative (how can I make sure that this paper is canned)
- Develop your positive critical thinking and analysis skills
- Learning to read a paper in 3 different ways (as a mentor, as competitor, as a friend)
- Getting into the right mindset for peer review: When to review?
- Lesson 3 Checkpoint Quiz
Lesson 4: Time-Saving Skills For Critical Reading And Reviewing
- Welcome to Lesson 4: Time-saving skills for critical reading and reviewing
- What is critical reading? How not to waste time
- Commonly found error #1: Editing the English (and formatting)
- Commonly found error #2: Missing the point of the paper
- Commonly found error #3: Misunderstandings in the methods
- Commonly found error #4: Errors in analysis (test, stats, results)
- Lesson 4 Checkpoint Quiz
Lesson 5: Constructive Communication For Peer Reviewers
- Welcome to Lesson 5: Constructive communication
- How to read a paper in three different approaches
- Approach 1. As a colleague: Aiming to enhance
- Approach 2. As a competitor: Where are the issues? Ideas that are new
- Approach 3. As a friend: Really, how could this paper be improved: your suggestions
- Which comments are just for the editor and which are for the authors too
- Lesson 5 Checkpoint Quiz
- Next steps