Editors may be given permission to invite Reviewers to review a submission and/or assign Reviewers directly to the submission.
On Reviewer search results pages, up to four selection boxes appear next to each candidate returned in the results: Inv. (invite), Asn. (assign), Alt. (alternate), and Prop. (propose). Boxes displayed depend on the Editor role's permissions.
The Editor selects Reviewers by checking one of these boxes and clicking Proceed. On the Confirm Selections page, the selected Reviewers appear in sections based on the checkbox selected for each Reviewer (Assign, Invite, Alternate, Proposed).
For assigned Reviewers: The letter shown in the drop-down list is the default letter configured for the Reviewer Assigned (Not Invited) event. The Editor may use the drop-down list to choose any letter in the Reviewer Invitation letter family to send (and customize, if desired). Once the Editor confirms the selection of an assigned Reviewer, the Reviewer status shows as "Agreed to Review," and the submission appears in the Reviewer's Pending Assignments folder. (The Reviewer does not need to accept the request to review.)
For invited Reviewers: The letter shown in the drop-down list is the default letter configured for the Reviewer Invited event. The Editor may use the drop-down list to choose any letter in the Reviewer Invitation letter family to send (and customize, if desired). The Reviewer must accept or decline the invitation. Upon accepting the invitation, the Reviewer's status changes from "Reviewer Invited" to "Agreed to Review," and the submission moves to the Reviewer's Pending Assignments folder.
For step-by-step Editor directions, see Invite or Assign Reviewers.
Editors may want to identify alternate potential Reviewers in case one of the invited/assigned Reviewers is not available or declines an invitation to review.
An Alternate Reviewers section appears on the Reviewer Selection Summary page below the list of invited/assigned Reviewers. Editor roles with permission to select alternates may also reorder the list. The system can be configured to promote alternates automatically. The system will promote them in the order they appear in the list. Editor roles with permission may promote alternates manually.
Editor roles with permission may also link an alternate with an invited Reviewer. If the invited Reviewer declines, the linked alternate will automatically be invited. An invitation letter is created when a Reviewer is selected as an alternate, but the letter is not sent until the Reviewer is actually promoted and invited. The letter can be customized at any time before sending.
The process of promoting Alternate Reviewers may be automated. See Automated Management for Promoting Alternate Reviewers.
A publication may limit the Editor roles that can invite or assign Reviewers. Other Editor roles may be granted permission to recommend, or propose, potential Reviewers for other Editors to invite or assign to a submission. Proposed Reviewers are listed on the Reviewer Selection Summary page and can be selected directly to use as Invited, Assigned, or Alternate Reviewers as needed. Editors with permission can remove Proposed Reviewers from the list.
At some publications, inviting Reviewers may be done by publication staff. See Editorial Office Can Invite Reviewers for an Editor.
No letters are associated with Proposed Reviewers.
When Reviewers are invited (not assigned) to review a submission, they must accept or decline the invitation. They may respond using an Action link next to the submission in the Reviewer Invitations folder or via a deep link in the invitation letter. These email deep links for use in Reviewer letters enable recipients to respond to the invitation quickly and easily:
These links are intended to be used in the letters associated with the events, Reviewer Invited, Reviewer Agreed, Late Review, or Promote Alternate Reviewer.
Note: It is advisable to include instructions for Reviewers in an email notification. It is typical for a publication to set up a letter containing instructions for Reviewers in ActionManager for the events Reviewer Agree (this letter goes to the Reviewer after they have agreed to review the submission) and/or Reviewer Assigned (Not Invited) (this letter goes to the Reviewer when they are assigned to review the submission).
The EM system allows Editors to send completed Reviewer comments to other Reviewers. For example, if two conflicting reviews are returned, the Editor might like to get a third opinion. Also, this feature can be used when sending a revised paper back to the original Reviewers.
For example, a third Reviewer might be invited to review a submission in order to break a tie between two Reviewers. Merge fields for use in the Reviewer invitation can be used to send the comments of Reviewers 1 and 2 to Reviewer 3. The Editor has the opportunity to edit the Reviewers' comments before sending them to Reviewer 3.
The Select Reviewer Confirmation page displays a list of Reviewers who have already completed their reviews (above the Reviewers to Invite section). The Editor can view a Reviewer's comments by clicking on the Reviewer's name. The Editor can send the comments made in the completed reviews on to the third Reviewer by checking the box next to the names of Reviewers 1 and 2.
The Editor may also customize the letter to be sent to the third Reviewer by clicking the Customize link. After clicking the link, the Editor can view the Reviewer invitation letter with the selected Reviewer comments appended to it. The Editor can make any desired edits and save the letter.
Reviewer invitation letters must include one or both of the merge fields below to pull in Reviewer comments:
When the Editor confirms the Reviewer selection, the invitation letter is sent to the chosen Reviewer with the previous reviews appended. (The merge fields will not activate if the Editor does not choose to send any comments and the merge fields will not show in the letter.)
Note: This feature also allows Editors to send comments back to the original Reviewer when that person is asked to review a revision.
Editor roles must be granted permissions related to inviting, assigning, proposing, and selecting alternate Reviewers, and letters must be configured to inform the Reviewer of the invitation or assignment.
Go to RoleManager > Editor Role. Select the appropriate Editor role and click Edit. On the Edit Role Definition page, go to the Reviewer Invitations section, check the box next to the appropriate permission(s) and click Submit.
Go to PolicyManager > Email and Letter Policies > Edit Letters. Create letters in the Reviewer Invitation family. These may include invitation for original submission, invitation for revision, assignment for original submission, assignment for revision, etc. For details on letter configurations, see Create Letters.
Then go to ActionManager > Reviewer Letters (select the applicable Reviewer role, if necessary). Go to the Reviewer Assigned section.
Reviewer-related information may be included on custom Details pages. See Configure Details Page.
See also:
Allow Editors to Uninvite or Unassign Reviewers
Proposed Reviewer Import From External Database
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