Configure Reviewer Parameters

Reviewer parameters dictate thresholds in the review process and are configured by Article Type. These thresholds are:

• Required number of reviews before submission is ready for an Editor's decision
• Number of days a Reviewer is given to respond to an invitation
• Number of days a Reviewer has to submit a review beyond the due date

The settings are reflected on the Editor's Reviewer Selection Summary page. The Editor may use the Change links on that page to enter different threshold numbers.

The merge field %REVIEW_DAYS_TO_REVIEW% inserts the number of days the Reviewer has to review the manuscript, based on the number of days set in the Reviewer parameters. If the Editor overrides this default due date when inviting the Reviewer, the merge field inserts the number of days to review based on the new number entered by the Editor. This merge field can be used in any letter associated with a submission, excluding batch emails.

Required number of reviews

Publications can indicate a policy for the required number of reviews before a submission is ready for a decision by the Editor. The purpose of this number is to expose manuscripts that may need additional attention. A submission with a review count below this number moves to the Submissions Requiring Additional Reviewers folder, so that the Editor knows to invite/assign additional Reviewers. When a submission reaches this review count, it moves to the Submissions with Required Reviews Complete folder; this prompts a letter to be sent (set in the ActionManager event, Required Reviews Complete), and the Editor knows the submission is ready for a decision.

Failure to complete the required number of reviews does not prevent Editors from being able to make a decision on a submission. If an Editor starts to make a decision prior to the required number or reviews being met (e.g., the minimum number of required reviews is set to 3, but only 1 review has been returned), the minimum number of required reviews for that submission is reset to the number of reviews that have been returned. 

Note: The required number of reviews setting has no relevance to the promotion of alternate Reviewers. If the required number of reviews is set to 2, and the Editor assigns 3 Reviewers, the system will promote alternate Reviewers so that there are always 3 Reviewers invited/assigned, until the alternates run out. In this example, if the list of alternates is depleted, and there are only 2 Reviewers invited or assigned, the submission will not move to the Submissions Requiring Additional Reviewers folder because the required number of Reviewers is set to 2. If the Editor "requires" 3 Reviewers, then the Editor should set the required number of reviews setting to 3 on the Reviewer Selection Summary page for that submission.

Due date calculation

The amount of time a Reviewer is allotted to complete a review is configured by Article Type. The amount of time before the assignment is considered late can be calculated from one of two points: the date the Reviewer was invited or the date the Reviewer agreed to do the review. Editor roles with permission may override configured due dates.

Editors may change parameters

Editors with permission can edit these three fields via the Review Settings pop-up window accessed via an Edit link in the Invite Reviewers Menu on the Reviewer Selection Summary page.

To configure:

Go to RoleManager > Editor Role. Grant permission to applicable Editor roles:

1. Override Reviewer Due Date: Allows user to override the due date defined for the Article Type.
2. Edit Review Settings: Allows user access to the Edit link.

The role must also have one or more permissions related to inviting/assigning/proposing Reviewers to provide access to the Reviewer Selection Summary page.

To configure Article Types, go to PolicyManager > Submission Policies >Edit Article Types. Configure settings for each Article Type that is to be peer reviewed.

These settings are available in the Reviewer Parameters section:

1. Submissions will move to the Submissions with Required Reviews Complete folder as soon as this number of reviews have been completed: Enter the number of reviews required for this Article Type (whole number). Default is 0. (If 0 is used, then when an Editor is assigned, the submission moves to both the Editor's New Assignments folder and Submissions with Required Reviews Complete folder.)
2. Number of days Reviewer has to respond to invitation: Enter number of days (whole number). The Reviewer is automatically uninvited when this threshold is reached. Default is 0. (If 0 is used, then the Reviewer is not automatically uninvited.) See Note below.
3. Automatically unassign Reviewers [this number of] days after Date Review Due: Enter number of days (whole number). Default is 0. (If 0 is used, then the Reviewer is not automatically unassigned.) A sub-setting applies to late Reviewers who have saved partially completed review; check the box to unassign these Reviewers when the threshold is reached.
4. Automatically promote alternate Reviewers: Selecting this checkbox automatically invites/assigns the Reviewer at the top of the list of alternates when a Reviewer is uninvited or unassigned (either automatically or manually). Two sub-settings are available to further define the conditions for promoting alternates:
   1. Only promote unlinked alternate Reviewers with matching roles: Check the box to match the role of the alternate to that of the original Reviewer.
   2. Select the preferred condition from the two radio buttons for when to stop promoting alternates:
      1. Continue promoting until there are no more alternates in the queue.
      2. Only promote alternates when the combined number of Agreed and Completed reviews is less than the current value of the submission's own value for Required Reviews Complete.
5. Days to review this Article Type: Enter the number of days for new and revised submissions.

When finished, click Submit.

Note: Changes to configuration of an existing Article Type are not applied retroactively. New configurations will not affect submissions in process. They will apply only to submissions initiated after the configuration change.

To define due-date calculation, go to PolicyManager > General Policies > Set Reviewer Preferences.

1. Use the radio button to choose one of the two options:
   • Invitation mode: Reviewer due dates and statistics are calculated from the time the Reviewer is invited to review.
   • Agreed mode: Reviewer due dates and statistics are calculated from the time the Reviewer agrees to do the review.
2. When finished, click Submit.

See also: Allow for Non-working Days when Calculating Due Dates.

Configure a letter to notify Reviewers of due date changes. Associate the letter with ActionManager event: Review Due Date Changed. For details on letter configurations, see Create Letters.

 

For related information, see:

Configure Article Types 

Allow Editors to Invite or Assign Reviewers

Automated Management for Promoting Alternate Reviewers

 

 

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