Select and Promote Alternate Reviewers

Depending on permissions, Editors may invite Reviewers or assign Reviewers to review a submission. They may also want to identify alternate Reviewers in case one of the invited/assigned Reviewers is not available to submit a review.

Select alternates

Results of a search for Reviewers are displayed in the Reviewer Candidates grid. This list displays a Select As column with up to four selection checkboxes (depending on RoleManager permissions) next to each name. Editors with permission to select alternates see an Alt. (Alternate) checkbox.

Check the Alt box to select a candidate as an alternate.
When finished making selections, clicks the Proceed button.
On the confirmation page, use the drop-down list to select a letter to be sent if/when the alternate is promoted and invited to review. This letter may be customized, but it is not sent at this time (see below).

An Alternate Reviewers section appears on the Reviewer Selection Summary page below the list of invited/assigned Reviewers. As Editors add new candidates to an existing Alternate Reviewers list, the new names are appended to the bottom of the list.

Grip tools to the left of Reviewer names with drag-and-drop functionality let an Editor reorder the ranked list. Editors with permission may use the delete tool (trashcan icon) to remove a name from the list. When an Editor removes a proposed Reviewer, the rank order automatically updates to reflect the change.

Alternate Reviewer Invitation Letters link appears below the list of alternates. Letters are selected and can be customized at the same time as the primary Reviewer letters. They are saved but not sent until the alternate Reviewer is promoted. Queued letters can be accessed via this link and edited as needed any time before sending.

Link alternates

After confirming Reviewer selections, Editors (with permission) may opt to link an alternate Reviewer to a primary Reviewer (this is not required). In the event that a primary Reviewer declines an invitation, is uninvited, or is unassigned, the linked alternate Reviewer will be promoted before any other alternates. The linked alternate Reviewer is not required to have the same Reviewer role as the primary Reviewer. Linked alternate Reviewers may be unlinked by an Editor (with permission).

To link alternate and invited Reviewer:

Click the Link tool (interlocking-links icon) next to the alternate's name. This opens a pop-up window.
Use the radio button to select the invited Reviewer to be linked to the alternate.
Click Link Reviewer to confirm the action and close the pop-up window.

Once linked, the alternate Reviewer appears below the linked invited Reviewer in the main list and is labelled as the linked alternate. The alternate will be promoted only when the selected invited Reviewer declines or is uninvited.

To unlink alternate and invited Reviewer:

Click the Unlink tool (broken-link icon) next to the alternate's name.
In the confirmation pop-up window, click OK.

When unlinked, the alternate Reviewer returns to the list of alternates.

Promote alternates

Alternates are promoted in the order they appear on the list. Alternates may be promoted manually by an Editor or publication staff, or the system may be configured to promote alternate Reviewers automatically.

Manual management

When a Reviewer declines an invitation, the Editor and/or publication staff receive a system email notification that the Reviewer has declined. The Editor or staff person must go to the submission's Reviewer Selection Summary page and select additional Reviewers or manually promote previously selected alternate Reviewers.

Click the Promote tool (up-arrow icon) next to the alternate's name. This opens a pop-up window.
The window shows the due date. Users with permission may use the calendar tool to override the configured due date if needed.
Send letter:
- Click Send Custom Letter to open the Customize Letter page. (Customize letter as desired and click Submit.) OR
- Click Send Default Letter to send Reviewer invitation letter without editing.

In some cases, Reviewers may not respond to invitations at all. The Editor/publication staff must identify those unanswered requests (using the report, Reviewers Invited – No Response) and, after some pre-determined length of time, assume a Reviewer is not going to perform a review.

In addition, Reviewers who have been assigned or who have agreed to review a submission may subsequently fail to submit the review. The Editor/publication staff can identify outstanding review assignments (using the Reviewer Reminder Report) and, when appropriate, decide a Reviewer is not going to submit the review.

Both Reviewers who have responded and Reviewers who have not submitted a review may have to be replaced in the same way as Reviewers who have declined the invitation. Reviewers can be uninvited or unassigned, and new Reviewers can be selected or alternate Reviewers promoted.

Note: The Editor folder, Submissions Requiring Additional Reviewers, displays all submissions that have fewer Reviewers, either invited or agreed, than the number defined in the setting, Required Number of Reviewers.

Automated management

Publications may opt to automate the process of promoting alternate Reviewers. An Editor and/or publication staff must select alternate Reviewers while assigning or inviting primary Reviewers to review a submission. An alternate Reviewer will be promoted automatically to take the place of a Reviewer who declines to do the review, who is unassigned (either automatically or manually), or if the invitation to review expires. This means that Editors and publication staff do not have to intervene whenever a Reviewer either declines the invitation or is non-responsive.