Finding referees / reviewers
Editors should always ensure that at least two full reports are received before making a decision, and the manuscripts undergo re-review where appropriate. Difficulties in finding referees can be a cause of delay during the peer review process. In this document we aim to provide you with some advice on finding reviewers for the journal.
Author suggestions
Upon submission, all authors have the option to suggest up to five suitable referees for their manuscript. We can amend the journal’s settings so that this step is mandatory and you can specify the minimum number of reviewers that should be suggestion. It is worth bearing in mind that there can be a potential for bias with author suggestions.
Indexing suggestions
You may wish to use select key terms to perform your own search in PubMed or other indexing services such as Scopus and Google Scholar to find authors of related articles who may be suitable reviewers for a particular manuscript. Specially designed search engines like the Journal/Author Name Estimator (JANE) and Peer2ref, which searches Medline, may be of further assistance in identifying potential names.
Using the Editorial Board
The Editorial Board can serve as both a valuable source of reviewers for the journal, and also suggest new reviewers. You may wish to divide the journal’s scope into sub-sections and appoint Editorial Board member with expertise in the specific areas, to each section. Once a manuscript is submitted relevant to that section, the relevant Editorial Board member can then provide referee suggestions.
The article's reference list
Authors mentioned in the reference list for the manuscript under review, may be a useful source of reviewers.
Medicalia.org
Medicalia.org runs a group of reviewers. Just register and contact them. Also in Spanish.
iMedPub's reviewers database
iMedPub runs a database of reviewers (outside of OJS) who kindly gave us their data through a form to be contacted as reviewers of iMedPub Journals. If you are an editor of any iMedPub journal and want to gain access to the database, please contact us (info@imedpub.com).
