This session focuses on developing the critical skill of peer reviewing among early-career scientists (ECS), although researchers at any career stage are welcome to participate. It aims to raise awareness about the importance of active engagement in the peer review process and to equip participants with practical knowledge.
The session will begin by presenting some facts and figures on the peer review landscape (e.g. peer review models, declining uptake of requests to review, and reviewer fatigue), emphasizing the need for ECSs to contribute actively and to apply appropriate scrutiny to the requests to review that they receive. We will follow this with a 'do's and don'ts' presentation, outlining best practices and common pitfalls in reviewing.
A key feature of the session will be a hands-on review exercise, where participants work in smaller groups to evaluate real-world examples of peer reviews, sourced from publicly available journal reviews and/or provided by participants. Equipped with the insights from the earlier presentations, participants will assess these examples and discuss their findings within their groups. The outcomes of these discussions will then be shared and summarized in a plenary session. This interactive approach will provide participants with practical experience and deepen their understanding of the peer review process. We will also add some levity to the session by asking participants for examples of the worst reviewer comments that they have received.
