Aries Systems Corporation

Identifying qualified and available Reviewers is a common challenge amongst scholarly journals. Limited access to researcher backgrounds and experience as a Reviewer can lead to unsuitable matches, unanswered review invitations, poor-quality reviews, and expensive delays in the peer review and publication process – ultimately resulting in frustration for the editorial office. As such, it is crucial to gain insight into potential Reviewers’ history to determine whether they may be an appropriate candidate. Within Editorial Manager® (EM), the leading manuscript submission and peer review tracking system, detailed statistics of previous and current activity for Reviewers already registered with the journal are available as a reference during Reviewer selection.

Editors can view Reviewer statistics from the results grid after conducting a search for candidates under the desired filters. Statistics will only appear for researchers who already have an account with the journal’s EM site, and the data displayed in the grid includes a record of the individual’s history with invitations to review and accepted invitations to review. The Editor has the option to access more granular data through the Summary Statistics link within the review candidate’s People record. Statistical information stored within EM includes a summary of current activity, historical invitation statuses, historical Reviewer performance, historical averages, historical recommendations, and completed assignments. If the journal configures the proper role permissions, Reviewers may also view this record within the system at any time by accessing the “My Review History” pop-up window from the Reviewer Main Menu. The statistical summaries chronicled in EM encompass the following:

• Number of reviews in progress
• Number of outstanding invitations
• Number of total invitations
• Number of accepted and declined invitations
• Number of invitations revoked before and after agreeing to review
• Number of cancellations before and after agreeing to review
• Number of total completed reviews
• Number of reviews submitted on time and past due
• Average number of days to respond to invitations and complete reviews
• Number of reminders
• Number of recommendations for acceptance, rejection, revision, or other
• Listing of open Reviews/invitations that reference manuscript number and timelines
• Listing of completed reviews

Reviewer statistics can be a valuable asset for editorial staff during the Reviewer selection process. Through key insights into researchers’ performance and availability, this small (but mighty!) Editorial Manager feature can save Editors time and foster confidence during peer review. To see Reviewer Statistics as part of the Reviewer invitation workflow, check out the tutorial video below. For support, contact your dedicated Aries Account Coordinator (AC).