
Becoming a Peer-Reviewer
Scholars see reviewing as an essential part of their job and know that the effort they put in is reciprocated by others when they submit their own work to journals. Many also want to have advanced access to the latest work in their field, or as an activity that can be used to strengthen their resume. MDPI reviewers have a variety of motivations and often demanding expectations. Here we give a few tips about how to become a reviewer, how to be a good reviewer, and what the benefits are.
Can I sign up as a reviewer?
If you are interested in reviewing for an MDPI journal, you can create an account in the submission system and then sign up. You can then choose the journals you think are most appropriate to your expertise. Our editors will check your qualifications and let you know if you are accepted. They will contact you after receiving a paper that fits your expertise.
For journals from other publishers, if you can’t find a similar sign-up process then you can write directly to the editorial office. Make sure you provide enough evidence that you are proficient in your field, such as a website, CV or list of publications.
Even without being invited, there are many way to practice your reviewing skills. Sites like Publons and Pubpeer allow you to submit a publicly available review for any paper.
What do I need to know about writing a peer-review report?
MDPI has a page dedicated to advice for reviewers, which also includes links to further resources online. The format, expectations and time taken to write a review can depend on the research field, so you can also ask more experienced colleagues for advice.
What benefits can I get from reviewing?
We want to recognise the efforts of reviewers as much as we can. The problem is that it is often a confidential process. Our journals have several ways of saying thank you:
- Fifty MDPI our journals are enrolled with Publons, which provides credit for reviewers. You can even upload reviews from journals that don’t directly cooperate with Publons to receive more credit.
- You can download a letter confirming your contributions from your reviewer profile in our submission system, Susy.
- Reviewers receive a discount on the article processing charge of their next submitted article.
- Once a year, a list of reviewers is published in the journal.
These are in addition to know that you have contributed to maintaining the quality of published papers in your field and having access to research before publication.
If you have any more questions about peer-review at any MDPI journal you can write to the editorial office.
Dear MDPI,
I noticed that from two weeks in my dashboard there is no recruiting reviewer option, why? is it possible to restore it?
Thank you
Hi Enrico, thanks for your comment. I’m not sure why this would be the case for you. You should contact your editorial office to see if they can provide you with any more information about this change.
Dear MDPI,
I wish to become a reviewer in your prestigious journals. My research area includes Applied Statistics, Group Acceptance Sampling Plan, Bio Statistics, Educational Curriculum.
Thank you!
Hello Muhammad,
The instructions to follow to become a reviewer are noted in the article. Thanks for your interest.
Hi!
Could you please help me to figure out how to create a list of manuscripts i have reviewed for mdpi?
Hi Sergei, you should be able to access your reviewer record through SuSy, our submission system. If you don’t want to set up an account there, any of the journal editorial offices should be able to provide the information.
Dear MDPI,
I am trying to become a reviewer again because I no longer have access to Recruiting Reviewer page to apply to review a manuscript. Your website says I cannot apply AGAIN before 2nd June 2023, but I do not understand why, because I never applied before. My research areas include heavy metal pollution impacts, One Health, wild species zoonosis, and wildlife medicine.
Hi Catarina,
Thank-you for you comment and interest in becoming a peer reviewer!
Sorry to hear you’ve been having issues with this process, I would advise you to get in touch with the editorial team of your prefered journal. I have suggested a few below based on your preferences.
I believe from your areas of expertice you would be most suited to apply to be a reviewer at Animals, International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health and Pathogens.
You can find further advice for applying to become a peer reviewer in our article Inviting Great Peer Reviewers
I am working as a postdoc at the University of Wisconsin Madison, and I am interested to join as a Reviewer in your esteemed journal.
My research area is analytical chemistry, Mass spec, proteomics, MALDI-Imaging, glycomics, and PTM.
Thanks.
Hi Min Ma,
Thank you for your comment and for your interest in becoming a peer reviewer!
I believe from your areas of expertise you would be most suited to apply to be a reviewer for Molecules, Proteomes, Cells, and International Journal of Molecular Sciences.
You can find further advice for applying to become a peer reviewer in our article Inviting Great Peer Reviewers
Dear MDPI,
I wish to become a reviewer in your prestigious journals. My research area includes biomineralization, biomimicry, crystal growth and photocatalyst.
Thank you!
Hi Dr Wang,
Thank you for your comment and for your interest in becoming a peer reviewer!
I believe from your areas of expertise you would be most suited to apply to be a reviewer for Crystals, Biomimetics and Materials.
You can find further advice for applying to become a peer reviewer in our article Inviting Great Peer Reviewers
Hi Katherine,
I am a Ph.D. student at North Carolina State University currently working in the area of 3D printable biocomposites. My area of expertise are:
Melt extrusion, Fused deposition modeling, and Biocomposites
Can you please highlight which of your journal/s can I apply to become a reviewer?
Hi Muneeb,
Thank you for your comment and for your interest in becoming a peer reviewer!
Peer reviewers must hold a relevant PhD in their areas of expertise. Once qualified from your area of expertise you would be most suited for Polymers, Pharmaceutics, Composites Science, and Materials.
You can find further advice for applying to become a peer reviewer in our article Inviting Great Peer Reviewers.
Hi, Katherine
Do we still have option to export peer review record to Publons? When I finished the peer review, I didn’t get the link for Publons. Could you help me take a look. Thanks~
Hi Dr. Zhang,
Thank you for your comment. Publons has now integrated into the Web of Science network.
I can’t confirm if they have the same benefits, however, Web of Science does provide a Reviewer Recognition Service
I hope this has been helpful!
Dear MDPI,
I am working as a post doctoral associate in University of Pittsburgh. My field is cardiovascular biology, immunology, metabolism, leukemia, cell death and differentiation. From my Ph.D and post doc I have publish 8 research papers that includes 3 first author papers in reputed journals having impact factor above 5. Recently, I am awarded a post doc fellowship for 2 years by American Heart Association (AHA) to work on the impact of senescent cells in heart failure. I want to be a reviewer in your prestigious journals.
Thank you,
Samreen Sadaf
Hi Samreen, thanks for your comment and interest!
We have plenty of journals in your field. For example, the Journal of Cardiovascular Development and Disease, or the section Cardiovascular Biology in Biology.
You can volunteer to review via the form on MDPI’s SuSy.
I am working as a Professor in a Premier institute IMS and SUM Hospital, I am interested to join as a Reviewer in your esteemed journal.
My research area is sleep and teaching and learning methods for MBBS students.
Thanks.
Hi Dr. Devi, thanks for the comment!
Thank you for your interest in becoming a peer reviewer. We have a journal called Clocks & Sleep which publishes work in your field.
We recently celebrated Peer Review Week. Take a look at the articles for further insight into writing a great peer review report!
Dear MDPI,
I am working as an associate research scientist Diabetes research program at New York University.
I wish to become a reviewer in your prestigious journals.
My areas of interest are as follows,
Cardiovascular biology
Metabolism
Aging
Mitochondria
Diabetes
Immune regulation
Thank you
Vikas Kumar
Hi Vikas, thank you for your comment.
We have a dedicated journal for your research area, Diabetology.
Please get in touch with the journal to discuss. Alternatively, you can apply to become a reviewer directly.