Written by Teresa Blumenthal, Associate Editor for Spanish and Portuguese Review.

What and Why

Scholarly peer review is the process of an author submitting their work to the reading and criticism of other authors in the field. Peer reviewers then provide feedback to the author and advise the journal to accept the work, accept the work if revisions are made, or reject the work from that publication. These determinations are also known as editorial decisions. The peer review process helps to improve the quality of academic publications and the author’s writing by calling on experts in the field to thoroughly read and provide authors feedback on their work

As graduate students and as professionals, peer review is the mentorship-side of publication and is a great opportunity to support others’ work in the field. Growing as a mentor while supporting other graduate students is an excellent opportunity to serve the profession. Peer review skills are transferable to industry professions as well. Being able to walk alongside someone’s idea development and channel the communication of their passion is important in any career path! 

Logistics of Peer Review with SPR

• Submittable is the platform that SPR uses. If you have submitted to SPR for publication, then you are already familiar! If not, this platform is where you will download the article assigned to you.  
• SPR provides questions to answer as you go through your peer review process. The questions include engaging with different aspects of deciding if a submission is ready for publication such as discussing clarity in the author’s argument, the contribution to the field of study, and if you have references that the author may find helpful. For more information about the questions you will answer, watch at the 15-minute mark of the 2022 Peer Review training. 
• Note that every type of submission to SPR goes through peer review. As a Peer Reviewer, you may receive a more traditional article, a response article, or a book or tool review that is related to your field. You may have to tailor your peer review depending on the submission and that’s okay!  

Starting the Peer Review process

Start by reading the submission! As you read, remember to consider what the author is actually saying. SPR Faculty Board Member Cory Duclos suggests in his interview about Peer Review that spending time closely reading the introduction is a good way to think about what claims the author is making and how they engage with their field of study. He suggests comparing claims throughout the work to those made in the introduction. In her interview, SPR Faculty Board Member and most recent AATSP Executive Director, Sheri Spaine Long advises peer reviewers to read the manuscript and think about the main ideas the author is communicating. Even if the author is sharing a lot of ideas, don’t be overwhelmed! Peer review is your chance to guide an author to best communicate their ideas with readers!  

10 Important Peer Review Considerations

1. As you are reviewing the submission, consider the levels of the big-picture responses from SPR: Accept, Accept with revisions, Not Accept. For the differences between each response, watch 22:30-22:40 of the  2022 Peer Review training video or read explanations of SPR editorial decisions. 
2. Consider the ideas the author is communicating, not what you think the author is saying. 
3. Make sure to take notes while reading! This practice will save you time and work when it’s time to write up your review. 
4. Sheri Spaine Long and Cory Duclos recommend taking more than one pass at a manuscript. Multiple passes will help you digest what you’ve read and ultimately make better reviewer recommendations. 
5. Avoid discussing grammar issues! Attention to grammar is for the author and copy editor to sort out. Peer review is all about the ideas!
6. SPR reviewers are encouraged to address the manuscript rather than the author and to frame negative criticism in positive language. For more details, see the 2022 Peer Review training video
7. Avoid disagreements with the author’s arguments. As succinctly put in the 2022 Peer Review training video, “you’re not writing a response article” as your peer review. It’s fine to disagree with an author, but objecting to an author’s ideas is not a reason to reject a submission.
8. Your job is to help the author make their manuscript really great. What recommendations can you make regarding the author’s ideas, references, and voice to help them achieve an awesome publication? 
9. Remember that a good peer review will take time, and in some cases where you provide a lot of feedback, you might spend multiple sessions crafting your feedback. Seek a healthy work balance of a few passes of 1-2 hours. Read more about time spent peer reviewing at SPR. 
10. As a peer reviewer, you aren’t making comments in a vacuum. Your feedback will be read by the author. Remember you are in a conversation with your colleague. Cory Duclos suggests taking extra time to edit your feedback and think about how the author will understand what you are communicating with them. 

Top 6 Benefits to Volunteering as a Peer Reviewer

1. Learning how to give feedback that is both constructive and critical. 
2. Understanding new ideas that others are offering to the field. There might be ideas that really influence your work like Cory Duclos! 
3. Discerning ways authors communicate their ideas and being inspired to communicate your scholarly ideas differently in the future. 
4. Engaging in the publication process and conceptualizing how others will read your work in the future. Sheri Spaine Long recommends we save our reviewer questions and go through them before we submit our next manuscript! 
5. Supporting fellow graduate students in their scholarly pursuits.
6. Reading others’ writing and providing feedback will help you evolve into a better writer.

Other Helpful Resources

• SPR 2022 Peer Review training
• Explanation of SPR Editorial Decisions 
• Peer Review: The Nuts and Bolts by Sense About Science (SAS)
• Step by step guide by SAE International 
• Time commitment as an SPR reviewer

Register/Save the Date for SPR Peer Review Training

This summer, SPR will be hosting a hands-on Peer Review Training! Stay tuned to learn about the date and save it on your calendar.