Writing and Submitting a Review

Manuscript Review is carried out through Scholastica, an online academic journal software system. When Editors contact Reviewers on Scholastica, they will receive an email notification from Scholastica informing them of the request. Subsequently, Reviewers will be asked to create a free Scholastica account, where the manuscript and all relevant documents will be kept. Scholastica also provides a platform on which Reviewers may communicate directly with Editors. Reviewers must fill out the following items when submitting a review through the Scholastica system:

Overview question visible only to Editors

1. Overall rating of the manuscript out of five stars
2. Recommendation:

a. Select one of the following options:

i. Accept

ii. Revise and resubmit

iii. Reject

3. Comments for the Editor

a. Use this section to state whether you have any competing interests; if you do not have any, please state: No competing interests.

b. Use this section to let the Editor know if you have any concerns regarding the submitted manuscript or your ability to review the manuscript.

4. Rating scale questions

Open response questions visible to Editors and Authors

1. Comments to Author (please note that this will be sent to the Author directly, but the identity of the Reviewer will be kept confidential)

a. Include a brief summary of the manuscript, including a statement about the importance of the manuscript to the scientific community as well as the overall strength and weaknesses of the manuscript.

b. List all the changes/suggestions that you have for the Author in a numbered list. Be sure to explicitly state where in the article a specific change/suggestion is referring to in order to better guide the Author where to look in his/her manuscript. This can be done by referencing a specific page number, section or paragraph, and/or by including a quote from the text.

c. Ensure that all suggestions are explained fully to help the Author better understand what is expected of him or her. Please do not include vague statements.

d. Do not include grammatical or syntax corrections, as all of these will be corrected by our Editorial Coordinator.

e. Please do not include comments of a personal nature.

f. Please do not include your recommendation for publication in this section of the review form as the Editorial Board may decide differently.

Below are two articles that the Reviewer may want to consult to help with writing a review if this is the Reviewer’s first time doing so:

1. Seals DR, Tanaka H. Manuscript Peer Review: A Helpful Checklist for Students and Novice Referees. Advances in Physiology Education. 2000;21(1):52-8.
2. Lovejoy TI, Revenson TA, France CR. Reviewing Manuscripts for Peer-Review Journals: A Primer for Novice and Seasoned Reviewers. Annals of Behavioral Medicine. 2011;42:1-13.