Certified Peer Reviewer Course
By taking the Certified* Peer Reviewer course, you will receive a thorough grounding in the principles and practice of refereeing. Co-created, developed and in part delivered by senior academic editors on leading journals, the course has been specifically designed to give those who have not yet reviewed – or who feel they would like additional training in this area – the skills and confidence to accept a request to review.
Delivered via directed self-learning in the form of webinars, podcasts and questionnaires, the course can be tackled in your own time. Several core modules must be completed to gain certification, but you can “pick and choose” additional elements to suit your individual learning needs and interests. You can also check out the speakers & advisory board here and you can familiarize yourself with the syllabus here. Becoming a certified peer reviewer will allow you to publicly demonstrate your expertise as a referee and will be a clear signal to journal editors that you would be a valuable addition to their reviewer pool. In addition, it is possible that your institution might recognize your certification as evidence of continuing professional education.
*Please note that completion of the Certified Peer Reviewer course does not guarantee invitation or selection as a reviewer. Furthermore, practices, requirements, instructions and methodologies can vary considerably according to the context in which you are working, the type of journal and the specific editor and title so the examples and suggestions in the course should be taken as illustrative but non-exhaustive. Please refer to your journal’s guide for authors and any specific instructions or advice from the editor or journal for the most relevant instructions for your review.
What you will learn
- Understanding of the peer review process
- Advice on writing a helpful peer review report
- Advice on handling ethical issues concerning peer review
Modules in Certified Peer Reviewer Course
Introduction to the Certified Peer Reviewer Course
Would you like to become a certified peer reviewer? Elsevier Researcher Academy is pleased to announce a new certified course in peer reviewing.
What to expect from the Certified Peer Reviewer Course?
This podcast gives you a sneak peek into what to expect from the course and why you should sign up.
1.1 What is peer review? Why peer review?
To prepare you for the Certified Peer Reviewer course, in this first section, we take a step back and discuss the history of academic publishing and explain the status quo of peer review.
1.2 Models of peer review
In this section, we discuss the various models of peer review and break down the difference between single/double/triple anonymized and all identities visible review, and discuss their strong suits
1.3 The typical peer review process
This section breaks down the typical peer review process by discussing the steps from submission to the selection of reviewers by the editors.
1.4 How to get involved
Learn how you can get involved in peer review and contribute to trust and quality in academia and research.
2.0 I just got a review invite, what’s next?
This section follows your journey from when you get the invitation to review.
3.1 How to write a helpful peer review report
Probably the most important part of the peer review process, this section digs deep into what it takes to write a peer review report, which will be helpful to the author and ultimately to science.
3.2 The comments to editors and decision recommendations
Continuing your learning on how to write a helpful peer review report, this section discusses the confidential comments you can make to the editor and explains the decision recommendations you can
3.3 How to peer review a review article
Peer review is an essential part of publishing review articles, just like it is for research articles.
4.0 What next?
This final module of the course apprises you of your continued responsibility as a reviewer and discusses how you can get recognition for your efforts.