Wednesday, August 31, 2011

manuscript reviewers - random or legit?

Once in a while I get an invitation to review a manuscript. Not sure how I got on the list, or if they are even legit (and I haven't paid attention to if it's always the same journal, this one is an env. mon. journal). Why would someone want me to review a paper about critters on a coast? Am I in their database now and they randomly choose a name, or do they truly try to match papers with expertise? I once received an invite to review a paper pertinent to my work, but I knew someone even ore knowledgeable so I recommended him. Insights anyone?

3 comments:

Sparkling Squirrel said...

I've only been asked by an ethnobotany journal I was a good fit for, so I have no insight.

Anonymous said...

I have only been asked to review for journals that matched my knowledge/skill set with the exception of one journal. I simply wrote that editor back and said I wasn't a qualified reviewer. The topic was WAY off anything I've ever worked on or thought about, so it made me wonder, too, about how some editors choose their reviewers....
Molly

salsis said...

I went ahead an agreed to do it. It's kind of a simple paper and the critters are in the water, not terrestrial like I envisioned. I'll modify my post so no one can track the title to this!