How to review a journal article

Once you have been asked to be a reviewer, there are a number of important issues to consider. Here is a list  from PREreview in What makes a good reviewer:

'The number one attribute editors look for in a reviewer is an appropriate level of expertise within the fields of study referenced by the manuscript. Other traits that we believe are equally important to qualify you as a “good” reviewer are the following:

• Respectful. A good reviewer values respect above all and knows not to make their peers feel diminished or personally attacked by disrespectful comments.
• Constructive. A good reviewer ensures that their feedback is constructive and actionable so that authors can easily respond to the feedback and possibly integrate the suggestions into the final publication.
• Honest. A good reviewer knows that constructive does not mean they need to lie or only bring up positive comments. It means they need to write their suggestions in a way that is not insulting to the authors and that can lead to their easy integration in the manuscript. Constructive negative comments followed by examples and suggestions on how to improve the issue are welcome.
• Clear. A good reviewer strives to present suggestions in a clear language, avoiding jargon and, when possible, providing examples and links to additional information that can help the authors make an informed decision on whether or not to integrate such suggestions.
• Humble. A good reviewer is willing to be wrong and corrects themselves along the way.
• Aware. A good reviewer is self-reflective and takes time to assess their biases and examines how they think and operate in the world.'

We strongly recommend that you explore the Open Reviewers Toolkit. The guides are openly available for download on Zenodo under CC-BY 4.0 license. Each of the PREreview guides in the toolkit are also available for download below - Note: you will have to download each of these guides from the course site to gain a course completion certificate.

Other review guides.

How to Write a Peer Review from PLoS. A very helpful and focused guide that 'provides quick tips for writing and organizing your reviewer report'.

Reviewing journal articles - by David Pannell. 'This post addresses various issues related to the journal reviewing/refereeing process, including tips on how to go about conducting a high-quality review efficiently and fairly.'

Examples of journal policies and practices

The South African Journal of Science has a number of policies and practices: Peer review process; Editing peer reviews; Peer review mentoring; Publishing peer review reports; and Guidelines for Reviewers.

We also recommend this resource: 'What every new reviewer should know about peer review: A workshop hosted by the South African Journal of Science aimed at early career researchers with little or no experience in peer reviewing journal articles.' You can explore the slides or access the recording.