Committed reviewers will receive automatic reminders at designated intervals while their reviews are still outstanding. The frequency of these reminders is configurable.
Once completed, reviews will appear in a Submitted Reviews table on the Reviewers page. To view a reviewer’s recommended decision and report, click the view link next to a reviewer’s name in the table.

How Reviews Are Submitted
Once the reviewer has committed to the review, she/he will arrive at the report upload form where she/he uploads the full-text report, recommends an editorial decision (e.g., “Major revisions required”), uploads a cover letter only the editor can see, and—this is an optional, configurable feature—uploads attachments intended for the author(s).
To see a full description of the reviewer’s perspective during peer review, see Peer Review Tools.
Elements of the report upload form:
- Report: Reviews may be submitted as PDF files, MS Word/RTF documents, or plain text pasted into the provided text box. If an MS Word/RTF file is uploaded, it will be converted to a PDF. This automatic conversion removes the reviewer’s identity from the document Properties of any file. It is up to the reviewer and assigned editor to verify that the reviewer’s identity is not included within the report. The assigned editor can hide the report if the reviewer mistakenly includes identifying information.
- Recommendation: The reviewer must choose between three options, all of which are merely suggestions to the editor for the editorial decision:
- Encourage major revisions as described in my report
- Accept this article with minor (or no) revisions as described in my report
- Reject this article without an option to resubmit
- Cover Letter (optional): Only visible to editors. Never shared with authors.
- Attachments (optional): PDF, MS Word/RTF are recommended. However, any file type can be attached. The reviewer and assigned editor should verify that the reviewer’s identity is not revealed in any attachment, as they will become available to the author(s) once an editorial decision is registered.
Once a referee report is submitted, the manuscript’s Last Event will change to Review completed. Assigned editors receive automatic email notification when referee reports are uploaded. Editors receive automatic email notification if additional reviewers are needed for a manuscript.
Submitting reports for reviewers
Just as editors can upload submissions on behalf of authors, editors always have the option of uploading reports on behalf of committed reviewers. If a reviewer emails his/her report to the editor, it can be uploaded to the system by using the upload report for reviewer feature next to the reviewer’s name on the manuscript’s Reviewers page. If the report is shown to authors after an editorial decision is registered, a report uploaded by an editor on a reviewer’s behalf will appear to authors as if the reviewer submitted it himself/herself.
Following up with delinquent reviewers
The system will notify editors and reviewers when a review is late or if a potential reviewer hasn’t responded to a request.
Editors have the following options concerning delinquent reviewers:
- Suggest a new reviewer: Choose a new reviewer from the Master List of Reviewers or author list.
- Remind reviewer: If the due date is approaching or has passed, use this option to send a reminder.
- Revise report due date: Choose revise due date to specify a new report deadline.
- Give up on a reviewer: Choose give up to indicate that a review is no longer expected from the reviewer. The system will notify the reviewer and cease reminding him/her of the overdue report.