- How to peer review journal articles
- How to peer review Registered Reports
Cambridge University Press has created a guide to give a practical introduction to conducting effective peer reviews, especially for those who are new to the process. Below is some information from within, but please click the cover image to view the full guide.
Peer review is an integral component of publishing the best quality research. Its purpose is to:
- Increase trust in the validity and integrity of published research.
- Aid in the vetting and selection of research for publication, advising editors on the relevance, reliability and quality of the work submitted to their journals.
- Provide suggestions for improving articles that go through review, raising the general quality of published research.
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Note: While the information here is generally applicable to all journals with standard peer review practices, it's important to ensure that you take into account any specific instructions given by the particular journal you are reviewing for.
Interested in becoming a Cambridge reviewer?
If you're interested in reviewing journal articles for Cambridge, contact the relevant journal's editorial office or email authorhub@cambridge.org.
Why peer review?
- Learning more about the editorial process.
- Keeping up to date with novel research in your field.
- Having an opportunity to demonstrate your expertise in a field, and fulfilling a professional responsibility to contribute that expertise to others as they develop their research.
- Being acknowledged and credited for your work. Some journals are also experimenting with providing direct incentives to reviewers, such as discounts on article processing charges and access to content. Services such as Publons also provide ways to track, verify and showcase peer review activities.
Type of peer review Anonymity in the peer review process Single-anonymous peer review The author does not know the identity of the reviewers, but the reviewers know the identity of the author. Double-anonymous peer review Neither author nor reviewers know the identity of the other. Triple-anonymous peer review Neither author nor reviewers nor decision-making editor know the identity of the others. Non-anonymous peer review The identities of author and reviewers are known. Sometimes known as open peer review, especially when (often signed) reviews are published along with the paper. Post-publication peer review Manuscripts are reviewed after they have been published. These reviews are most often open and published alongside the article in question. Some Cambridge journals are participating in a trial of the peer review terminology developed by the STM Association, and therefore may use different terminology to describe their peer review processes.
