KeAi Celebrates Peer Review Week and Reviewers

Peer review has been the cornerstone of academic publishing, since 1665 when The Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society formalised the peer review process. When reviewers take the time to help others improve their papers, they are instrumental in enabling the progress of science, technology and medicine.

At KeAi we work with hundreds of reviewers for our peer reviewed journals. While every reviewer will have their own approach to reviewing, here we outline a systematic approach that we have collated from working with reviewers over the years.

1. Can you assess the importance and clarity of the research hypothesis?
2. Does the article provide a context for testing the hypothesis?
3. Does the paper contribute something new to literature?
4. Is the methodology fully explained and relevant to the study?
5. Can the research be replicated using the methodology?
6. Does the discussion and results relate back to the findings and hypothesis of the research?
7. Do the figures and tables add to the quality and depth of the article?
8. Is the language clear, concise and suitable for the intended audience? Note: Reviewers should not act as language editors. 
9. Does the title reflect the content of the paper?
10. Does the abstract clearly summarise the content of the research article? 
11. Finally, if a reviewer has any ethical concerns about the paper, they should notify the editor.

We wish to sincerely thank all KeAi reviewers for their efforts, the contribution they make to our journals and to the advancement of their fields.