Okay, we hear you. You’re interested in building your profile and becoming a formidable Peer Reviewer.
Good start!
Peer review is at the heart of every research.
It allows your research to be evaluated and commented upon by independent experts (your ‘peers’) who work within the same academic field as you.
It is important to remember that Peer Review is the gold standard for ensuring the trust and integrity of scholarly communication. More still, it is a form of collaboration between experts, with critical feedback often improving research and helping propel research forward.
But then, you already knew this, didn’t you?
A Peer Reviewer makes significant contribution to a pre-published article by:
1. ensuring that the submitted article is suitable for the journal and its readers.
2. offering exhaustive feedback on the researcher’s work as an expert.
3. alerting the author to any errors or gaps that they may have overlooked.
4. providing a discussion forum between the author, reviewer, and editor around a research field or topic.
Let us look at some smart ways in which you can build your profile as a Peer Reviewer.
And they don’t cost anything. Isn’t that great!
#BE SEEN. LET THE EDITORS NOTICE YOU
Start by building and updating your public profile so that the editors can identify you faster. There are many worthwhile profile platforms where you should create your profile to leverage access to Peer Review opportunities.
Here are a few that you can begin with. You can thank us later!
ORCiD: Do you have an Open Researcher and Contributor Identifier (ORCiD id)?
If yes, that is great.
If not, the first thing that you would like to do is to create your profile on ORCiD, which provides a persistent digital identifier that distinguishes you from other researchers.
The ORCID ID will help editors know you better and understand your area of expertise.
Once you have an ORCiD id, it can be tied to, and integrated in, your research activity. That includes in the journal articles you publish.
PUBLONS: Another great way of letting Editors know that you are interested in reviewing and helping them identify your interests and review experience.
Building a researcher profile on Publons (which has now merged with Web of Science) will help you raise your visibility in the worldwide research community. It will also let the peers and editors view the impact of your work through unique visualizations based on data.
RESEARCH GATE: This professional network connects scientific community from the world of science. Building a profile on ResearchGate will help you share your research, collaborate with your peers, and get the support you need to advance your career.
Interested? Then you will love this list of platforms that we have created, where you must create your profile, to be discovered and network.
Yes, I want to access the list of profile building platforms.
Start building your profile today! All the best!
#BUILD YOUR PEER REVIEW EXPERIENCE
We will say this again and again.
Read as much as you can. Stay up to date with published research in your field. You can subscribe to TOC alerts, RSS fields, abstracts etc.
Another good way of upskilling yourself is by reading peer review comments in articles where available. Besides this, many seasoned Peer Reviews have their interviews and podcasts available online.
You can also sign up with various Journal databases using a comprehensive biography and targeted keywords. When you do that, always showcase yourself as an available reviewer. Most editors scan this space for Peer Reviewers.
When you join Vikramshila, you automatically qualify to become a Post-Publication Peer Reviewer. Click here to Step into Greatness.
Have you thought about co-reviewing with a colleague? Many journals encourage early career Peer Reviewers to co-review with seasoned colleagues. Speak to your seniors.
Some journals also invite review volunteers. Start by writing directly to journal editors and let them know your research experience.
Did you know that editors are always scanning references in published articles? Here they are bound to find names of other respected researchers working in the same field as the author of the article. Another great way to be visible!
Also, when you register on open access platforms and comment on published articles, you are constantly practicing your reviewing skills and engaging in discussions with other colleagues in similar capacity. This also includes preprint discussions on bioRxiv or PREreview.
Always remember – your credibility is built over time. Slow consistent steps.
#PROMOTE, PROMOTE, PROMOTE YOUR WORK
Be visible or vanish! This is more important than ever today.
The more you are visible, the more are your chances of building a robust profile.
And your social media profile helps you get found.
Social media interactions enable access to user opinions, something that quantitative researchers would generally have to collect through surveys or focus groups. This gives a huge scale of data to work on.
When people share your content on social networks, it indicates that your work is valuable. More social shares generate more traffic to the page and more shares also make your content more likely to build backlinks.
We also found that
a) 7 out of 10 most important factors in SEO ranking now come from social media.
b) There is a definitive link between social shares and search engine ranking.
c) Journalists use Twitter as a major source of news stories.
d) Highly tweeted articles were 11 times more likely to be highly cited.
e) Altmetrics scores consider social media mention
So, what are you waiting for? Use social media to discuss and promote, your research.
Now that use of social media is established, let us look at other networking opportunities.
Conferences are a great way to create an impact, network and get noticed.
Blogging is a great way to get noticed too. Your views can gain momentum, and get you noticed faster.
Twitter & You tube have proven to be reliable partners in cross connections and larger profile building.
All this leads to a stronger connected community, a strong sense of loyalty, new reader acquisition, and an increase in citations.
#APPROACH YOUR MENTOR AND SUPERVISOR
Ask, ask, and ask more.
Your mentors and supervisors are a goldmine of experience. They will always have avenues for you to explore and may put in a good word for you.
They can also put you directly in touch with relevant editors or journals.
Speak to them. Tell them you are interested and request them to share their tips and guidance on becoming a good reviewer.
Also check if they would be happy to let you co-author a review with them, which means that you can assist with peer reviews which they are currently writing. You will of course also need the journal editor’s consent for this.
The possibilities are endless!
Remember, it is not easy to always find the right reviewers for every submitted manuscript. Therefore, the journal editors are always on the lookout for new peer reviewers.
Editors also want to ensure that they have a diverse pool of reviewers. A part of this is the ECRs or early career researchers.
Your supervisors may know the journal editors better that you do, and their word will help you start your journey effortlessly.
#PUBLISH AS MUCH AS YOU CAN
This one goes without saying!
Write your research, review it well and publish it with reputable journals. This is your biggest identifier!
Always remember – the better the story you have, the more are your chances of getting acknowledged.
Editors and reviewers are always looking for original and innovative research that adds to their field of study, evolves previous findings, and connects the work in different areas.
Having a great story to tell will get you noticed faster and build your reputation over time.
And that will help you enter the honour board of Peer Reviewers.
The more you write, the more are your chances of getting noticed.
As you review more papers, you will start to spot common mistakes. This could relate to writing style, presentation, or the clarity of explanations. You can then use this knowledge in your own writing and improve your chances of publication.
Log-into Vikramshila today to register with the largest database ‘In-progress’ of research professionals.
We offer you lowest APCs in Indian currency, shortest turnaround time and a seamless digital experience. See you soon!