How-to
Responding to a Review Invitation
Opening a review invitation, accepting it with a conflict-of-interest declaration, or declining it with an optional reason.
When an editor invites you, you get an e-mail and a notification in the panel. Accepting or declining the invitation is always up to you. You do not need the reviewer role to review. Every invited user can review.
Opening the invitation
You open the invitation in one of two ways:
- Open the link in the invitation e-mail.
- On the Author & reviewer → Reviewing screen, open the Invitations tab and press View invitation in the row of the invitation.
Invited for the first time
If you have no JournTech account, the editor's invitation creates an account for you. The first link in the e-mail lets you set your password. The link works only once and is valid for the number of days given in the e-mail.
- Open the first link in the e-mail.
- Type your password in the New password and Password (again) fields.
- Press Set password and continue.
- Sign in and open the invitation with the second link in the e-mail.
If ORCID sign-in is turned on for the installation, you can also set up your account without a password with the Accept with ORCID button on the same page. On an installation where e-mail sending is turned off, a system administrator passes these links on to you.
Invitation page
The invitation page shows the title, abstract and keywords of the work. If the editor added a message, it appears on the Message from the editor card. The Deadlines card shows Respond to the invitation, Submit the review, Round and Invited by.
The note at the top of the page says which anonymity rule applies. In single-anonymous and open review, the authors are also listed with their institutions. The rules are in Peer Review Types.
Accepting the invitation
- Read the Conflict-of-interest declaration text.
- If you have no conflict of interest, tick the box under the declaration.
- Press Accept and start reviewing.
The anonymous files and the review form open on the same page. The editors get a notification too.
A possible conflict of interest
If you have a possible conflict, do not tick the box. Explain the situation in the Possible conflict of interest field and press Accept and start reviewing. Your explanation goes to the editor, and the editor decides whether you continue as a reviewer. If you tick the box afterwards, the explanation field closes and the text you wrote in it is not sent.
Declining the invitation
- Optionally, fill in the Reason (optional) field. You can also suggest a suitable reviewer in this field.
- Press Decline invitation and confirm.
The editors get a notification. You cannot open the files of a work you declined.
Response period
When the response period of an invitation ends, the invitation closes automatically and can no longer be accepted. The invitation page then reads The response time for this invitation has passed. Deadlines and reminders are described in Reviewer Deadlines and Reminders.