How to Communicate in the Peer Review Process: A Gentle Guideline for Novice Researchers

Abstract

The main purpose of this essay is to encourage novice scholars to participate in the peer review process. This essay discusses how to communicate during the process as a reviewer and an author. When evaluating a manuscript as a reviewer, the scholar needs to show respect to the authors, be cooperative with other members of the review team, and be timely with completing the review. The reviewer needs to also communicate with the editors regarding any concerns or problems in evaluating the submitted manuscript. More importantly, a reviewer needs to be consistent in the tone and the content of the evaluation when communicating with either the editor or the author. As an author, knowing the expectations of the editors, adhering to the submission guidelines, not taking rejections personally, and being reasonably flexible in adhering to the reviewer’s comments are some of the communicative strategies a scholar needs to bear in mind during the review process. Consequently, the peer review process will benefit from having scholars who use these communicative strategies.