If you’re looking to boost your CV and get ahead in specialty training applications, you’ve come to the right place. Doctors and medical students interested in academia and research may consider being on the other side of the “research fence.” Why not try critically appraising research instead of conducting it?
🤔What is a Peer Reviewer?
Depending on the context, a peer reviewer can have slightly different roles.
Peer reviewers for research-funding bodies are often involved in funding decisions. Given that available funding for research is finite, peer reviewers may be required to:
- Prioritise research topics
- Contribute to funding decisions
- Critically assess research briefs, proposals, and final reports
For example, peer reviewers on behalf of Cancer Research UK make recommendations for funding research that aligns with the charity’s research strategy, which outlines the key objectives for cancer research (discover, detect, prevent, treat). However, the peer reviewers themselves are independent from both the research-funding body and the researchers to prevent conflicts of interest.
Alternatively, peer reviewers for scientific journals assess the quality of manuscripts written by researchers. (Manuscripts critically analyse research and are used for publication, whereas reports focus more on methodology and are read by individuals that make funding decisions).
Peer reviewers of scientific journals:
- Offer constructive feedback and suggestions for authors
- Detect errors in the manuscript, improving readability
- Assess originality of articles for publication
🔍Who can Become a Peer Reviewer?
Anyone (almost). The NIHR states that their reviewer community may include ‘anyone whose work has a potential impact on health and social care.’ However, there is an expectation that individuals who want to be reviewers are experts in the field of the research being reviewed, unless the content being reviewed requires the appraisal of lay members (non-professionals).
In general, reviewers may be:
- Academics
- Clinicians
- Public health professionals
- Health service managers/commissioners
- Social care workers
In some cases, medical students can peer review for journals. For example, The British Student Doctor Journal is managed by both medical students and doctors, and encourages medical students to publish and review research. Also, medical students are invited to review articles for the BMJ Student journal.
To learn more about becoming a peer reviewer, I contacted Mr June Hyun, a medical student at UCL, who is a registered peer reviewer for the BMJ. He continues to peer review for the BMJ Student journal.
🫵How to Become a Peer Reviewer
There are many ways to become a peer reviewer. Some methods are highly structured, such as an application on a website. However, you can make your own opportunities.
Ways to become a peer reviewer include:
- Applying through a website
- Applying for formal peer review mentorship programmes
- Being assigned a peer review task by a senior researcher
- Joining organisations that provide opportunities for peer review
- Networking with journal editors
- Just asking!
June applied to become a peer reviewer through the BMJ website, where he was asked to provide contact details and any credentials. From this point he was offered review requests for lay members specifically.
The NIHR website also hosts an application for people wishing to become peer reviewers. Peer reviewers for the NIHR review research proposals and reports to help make decisions about publications and funding. Additionally, the British Student Doctor Journal has an application on their website for aspiring reviewers, which can be found here.
Peer review mentorship programmes allow mentees to review publications alongside experienced mentors. Such programmes provide you with an in-depth understanding of the review process, and by taking part you can network with your mentors, gaining new professional relationships and research opportunities. For example, the Journal for Cardiac Failure offers a reviewer mentorship programme and sometimes graduates are asked to lead editorials, resulting in further opportunities.
Another way to become a peer reviewer is to just ask – you can reach out to journal editors and ask about becoming a reviewer. Throughout your career you may also be recommended by a colleague to an editor. From the point of view of journal editors and research-funding bodies, it is important to know the expertise of reviewers. So, when contacting them, be sure to send your CV or a message detailing your expertise in health area and research methodology.
🌟What’s It Like?
According to June, the assignment of peer review tasks is “a pretty laid-back process… once in a while an email notification would let me know whether I would want to accept a peer review task or not.”
After accepting a task, the turnaround time for a completed review is short – around 2-4 weeks depending on the journal. A typical review is 2-3 pages long, however this can vary. June states that, whilst there isn’t a specific word count, the review must:
- Assess each section of the research paper for the quality of analysis
- Conclude whether the paper follows specific guidelines; for example, systematic reviews and meta-analyses must follow the PRISMA guideline
Completing a review can seem like a hefty task, especially for someone new to it. However, this is mediated by the fact that you don’t have to do all the tasks you are sent. “You always have the flexibility of choosing which task to take on and which to leave” says June. Because of this, peer review is an activity that slots nicely into your schedule when it is offered and can be completed when convenient.
There are also plenty of online resources to guide you through a review (such as this one), as well as mentorships that were previously mentioned.
✅What’s in it for You?
You can get a lot out of peer reviewing. For example, you can:
- Establish your presence: In an open review (where the author’s and reviewer’s identities are not anonymous) with expertise you are validated as a credible researcher
- Foster connections: Networking between authors and reviewers may lead to new research opportunities
- Keep up-to-date: In your field – reviewing the latest research in your area of expertise will improve your own research and potentially your clinical practise
- Develop skills: By reviewing a manuscript or report you can develop key academic skills such as analysis and constructive criticism
However, peer reviewers are not typically paid or otherwise compensated for their time unless in unusual circumstances:
“It’s all pro bono work,” says June, “but peer reviewing enhances exposure to current medical research.” He adds that by “…breaking the paper down into parts and assessing what the paper actually shows beyond what the authors describe,” you significantly develop your critical analysis skills.
⚖️Things to Consider before Accepting a Review
Before taking on a peer review responsibility, there are some things to know:
- The different types of peer review
- Ethics!
- Submitting the review
Depending on the journal, the peer review process will differ. For example, some journals carry out single- or double-anonymous peer review, meaning that you may not learn the author’s name, and the author may not learn yours. You might find that this format discourages professional relationship-building. Additionally, the review may be split into a ‘study design’ section and a ‘results’ section (called a registered report). In some cases, peer review might even be carried out after publication.
The quality of peer review is crucial from the researcher’s perspective. Therefore, it is important that any conflict of interest is declared before accepting an invitation to review, and that each manuscript is judged on merit alone. The process is also highly confidential; this means that the unpublished data or the researcher’s information should not be inputted into any tools that do not guarantee confidentiality, according to Taylor & Francis’ ethical guidelines for reviewers. This includes generative AI tools such as ChatGPT.
Finally, different organisations may have varying methods for review submission. You may be required to complete an online form – this could be free text or divided by each section of the paper. You may also be required to write it on a document and then send the document to the editor.
✨Advice for Medical Students From a Medical Student
“If you’re interested, go for it – there’s always a demand for reviewers,” is June’s advice. “It’ll take time for the first review request to come, but it’s a good setup, and you will always have the flexibility to choose what you take on or don’t.”
“Papers not only need perspectives from researchers, but also students and lay people like us.”
Whether you’re a medical student or a distinguished clinician, there is demand for you – and the opportunity is there to improve your research skills should you wish.
