When I attended the workshop Quality and Peer Review organised by Sense about Science this spring I expected it to be an informative event where I could find out more about what peer review is. The content discussed, however made me realise the importance of peer review, which made me take a look at the guide by Sense about Science called 'The nuts and bolts' in peer review.
Thanks to my attendance I then found out about Peer Review Week. It was unbelievable to me that there could be a week dedicated to peer review and I just found out about it now. To explore how I could contribute to the week, I volunteered to join the Peer Review Week 2021 Steering Committee. I was welcomed by the co-chairs and since May I have been active as co-chair of the Marketing and Communications committee in helping the PRW steering committee team prepare a great PRW 2021. So far, I have found my experience really inspiring because we get to work as a team with different individuals and organisations from all over the world to support them in sharing their incredible events and activities they have put together to inform and educate everyone about peer review.
The timing couldn’t have been better as around the same time I also got the news that I had been accepted onto the first stage of the Nature communications ECR peer review program, which allowed us to attend a very insightful webinar organised by `Nature Communications editors on constructive peer review. The webinar was mind-opening and allowed me to understand the process of peer review in more depth. I recently got selected into the second stage of the Nature communications ECR peer review program. I’m looking forward to the hands-on experience of peer reviewing an article from the Nature portfolio with the support of a mentor. Completing the Nature Masterclass course on peer review also helped me to get practically ready for conducting peer review.
Anyone who would like to take part in PRW 2021, please take a look at the activities that are being organised during peer review week at https://peerreviewweek.wordpress.com/2021-peer-review-week-activities/
The theme of this year’s Peer Review Week revolves around identity. The scholarly kitchen at https://scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org/2021/09/17/ask-the-peer-review-week-steering-committee-what-does-identity-in-peer-review-mean-to-you/ recently put together a collection of quotes by members of the 2021 Peer Review Week Steering Committee about what identity in peer review means to them.
Here is what I said: ‘This year’s Peer Review Week’s theme is identity. What is identity? Identity is who we are. We are individuals who live at different levels, such as at the personal level, the professional level, the social level, the cultural level, and any other level. We might think that we use these different identities to connect with each other, for example, in our roles as an employee, a friend, a parent, a brother, a colleague. However, the truth is that it is through the diversity of our experiences and insights into life that we are able to connect with each other because at the spiritual level we are all one.
It is only by recognizing diversity that we can start celebrating humanity. When we acknowledge ourselves as who we truly are at the human level, we can promote peer review practices with inclusivity and equity and we can overcome any obstacle that might come our way. When we work through the process of peer review in a collaborative way, this is actually the moment when our identities, and our different backgrounds merge and we become one because peer review allows us all to come together in our shared aim to ensure high-quality research.
Recent events have shone light onto and emphasized our shared identity as human beings and we need to ensure that throughout Peer Review Week 2021 and beyond we develop a higher awareness as human souls for us to grow as authors and peer reviewers so that regardless of our earthly backgrounds, yes, we can express and show generosity, care, kindness, consideration and understanding as authors, peer reviewers, journal editors, publishers and readers.’
I also recommend the virtual panel discussion that is the first official 2021 Peer Review Week event that premiers today at 2PM BST https://peerreviewweek.wordpress.com/virtual-panel-finding-a-place-in-the-peer-review-process/
If you are interested in learning more about the process of peer review, I suggest starting with the guide here https://senseaboutscience.org/activities/peer-review-the-nuts-and-bolts/
And doing the course Nature Masterclass course focus on peer review here https://masterclasses.nature.com/focus-on-peer-review-online-course/16605550
I recommend you to find out more about suitable peer review courses that might be arranged in the professional scientific organisations that you are part of, and to talk to your supervisor and find out if you could start by co-revieiwing a paper with them.
It was an absolute honour to contribute to the virtual Peer Review Week 2021 panel discussion and I am delighted to contribute to ScienceTalks here http://talk.sciencenet.cn/?id=127 and to the Researcher Live - Edanz co-sponsored panel discussion on ‘Identity in peer review’ here https://www.researcher-app.com/paper/8756511
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