A peer reviewer has been asked to review a manuscript. The flowchart is a step by step guide to help potential peer reviewers make a decision on whether to accept or decline an invitation to review.
Key points
- Check the invitation to review is from a legitimate journal
- Read the journal instructions for reviewers, including journal guidance on the use of AI in reviewing
- Consider the review model and evaluation criteria
- If the reviewer has a good idea of who the authors are they should consider potential conflicts of interest
- Consider whether you have the necessary time and expertise to complete the review
- Sharing reviews is a possible mentoring opportunity but must be done with the permission of the editor
Related resources
Core practices:
About this resource
Cite this as
COPE Council. COPE Flowcharts and infographics - What to consider when asked to peer review a manuscript - English.
https://doi.org/10.24318/cope.2019.2.17
©2024 Committee on Publication Ethics (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)
https://publicationethics.org
Version history
Version 2: April 2024
Full page history
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1 May 2024
Version 2: April 2024
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4 January 2022
New flowchart with citation information, updated citation information on web page.
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24 July 2021
Saving revision before making changes.