Reviewers

Why Review for PenScholar?

• Contribute Expertise

  Help editors evaluate research within your field.

• Support Scholarly Quality

  Provide constructive feedback that strengthens published work.

• Engage With Emerging Research

  Encounter new scholarship within your area of expertise.

• Strengthen the Research Community

  Contribute to a responsible peer review ecosystem.

Who Can Become a Reviewer?

Specific requirements may vary by journal.

• Relevant academic or professional expertise
• Familiarity with scholarly research
• Subject-area knowledge
• Ability to provide constructive feedback
• Understanding of research ethics
• Ability to meet review deadlines
• Appropriate academic or professional experience

How Peer Review Works

The exact process may vary by journal — not every PenScholar journal necessarily follows an identical review model.

Read the Full Peer Review Policy

When You Receive an Invitation

Before accepting, consider:

• Subject relevance
• Your expertise
• Availability
• Any conflict of interest
• Ability to meet the deadline
• Confidentiality requirements

Confidentiality & Conflicts of Interest

Manuscripts under review are confidential. Reviewers should not share manuscripts, distribute unpublished material, discuss manuscripts publicly, or use unpublished information for personal advantage.

Reviewers should disclose any conflict of interest that could affect their impartiality — for example, a close personal relationship, current collaboration, direct competition, a financial interest, an institutional conflict, or prior involvement with the manuscript. This is not an exhaustive list; reviewers should use professional judgment and raise any circumstance that could compromise impartiality.

Confidentiality Policy   Read Publication Ethics

AI Tools & Reviewer Confidentiality

Reviewers should not upload confidential manuscripts or unpublished manuscript content into external AI systems unless a journal explicitly permits this and confidentiality is protected. Reviewers remain responsible for confidentiality, the accuracy of their review, the originality of their comments, and their own professional judgment.

AI & Generative AI Policy

What Should a Review Assess?

The exact review form may vary by journal.

A Strong Review Is Constructive

• Focus on the manuscript
• Provide specific observations
• Explain major concerns
• Distinguish major and minor issues
• Support criticism with reasoning
• Avoid personal comments
• Avoid discriminatory language
• Avoid unnecessary hostility

Reviewer Responsibilities

Typical recommendations include Accept, Minor Revision, Major Revision, and Reject — these are examples only; actual decision labels come from each journal’s editorial workflow. The editor makes the final editorial decision, not the reviewer.

• Accept only manuscripts within your expertise
• Maintain confidentiality
• Declare conflicts of interest
• Provide objective and constructive feedback
• Support recommendations with reasoning
• Meet agreed deadlines
• Avoid discriminatory or offensive language
• Avoid using unpublished information
• Follow journal-specific instructions
• Notify the editor if you cannot complete a review

Reviewer Rights

Reviewers should expect clear review instructions, reasonable deadlines, editorial communication, appropriate information about the review process, and a respectful editorial relationship. Where a journal’s review model provides for it, reviewer identity may be kept confidential from authors.

Meeting Review Deadlines

Accept an invitation only when you have sufficient time, inform the editor if your circumstances change, request an extension where appropriate, and avoid unnecessary delays. Deadlines are set by each journal rather than a single PenScholar-wide standard.

Raising a Concern

Reviewers may need to identify concerns relating to plagiarism, duplicate publication, fabricated or manipulated data, unethical research, authorship, or conflicts of interest. Concerns should be raised privately with the editor rather than through public accusations.

Read Publication Ethics

Apply to Become a Reviewer

1. 01

   Submit Your Details

   Provide your expertise, affiliation, and research information.

2. 02

   Editorial Review

   PenScholar assesses suitability and subject expertise.

3. 03

   Reviewer Profile

   Approved reviewers may be added to the appropriate reviewer pool.

4. 04

   Review Invitations

   Reviewers may receive invitations that match their expertise. Not every applicant is accepted, and not every approved reviewer receives frequent invitations.

Information We Ask For

Name, email, institutional affiliation, academic or professional position, country, areas of expertise, research keywords, ORCID, a publications or profile link, preferred journals, languages, and a short professional profile — only what is needed to match reviewers with appropriate manuscripts.

Reviewer information is used for editorial and peer review purposes and is handled according to PenScholar’s privacy policy.

Reviewer Recognition

Reviewer recognition options are being developed as part of PenScholar’s reviewer program.

ORCID for Reviewers

ORCID is a persistent identifier that helps distinguish researchers accurately. Reviewers may include their ORCID iD when applying where the application supports it. Learn more at orcid.org.

Journal-Specific Reviewer Guidelines

This page describes PenScholar’s general reviewer expectations. A specific journal may have additional requirements — always follow the instructions provided with a review invitation.