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Peer review is an integral part of scholarly communication and academic publishing. It’s also an opportunity to provide valuable and constructive feedback to authors, helping them improve their manuscripts and to verify the quality of their research.

However, writing peer review reports can be challenging, as there is no one-size-fits-all approach, and some research papers may be lengthy or difficult to interpret. In this blog post, we outline how to write a constructive peer review report that offers feedback authors can easily apply to their manuscript and provide some additional tips to help navigate the peer review process as a reviewer.

Peer review reports – what should be included?

Peer review reports are invaluable to researchers. The most effective peer review reports are easy to follow and provide actionable feedback to improve an article.

Even though there’s no standard structure or template for a peer review report, there are some key sections to include in your peer review report to help give it structure and provide an easily digestible and valuable resource for the author to use to improve their work.

Begin with a top-level summary of what the research paper claims to report. Next, present an overview of the article’s key strengths and weaknesses to illustrate your overall impression of the research.

Next, consider the broader implications of this research on the author’s field. What are the potential impacts and implications of the research? Assessing how the research could impact the field or society is very important, especially when reviewing in an open peer review model, as other researchers, policymakers and the public could read your report.

When approaching the more detailed comments and questions aimed at addressing specific areas of the manuscript, you should begin by outlining any significant issues. Anything included in this section should be fundamental to the soundness of the current study.

Following this, list any minor issues that affect the quality of the article but do not affect the overall conclusions of the research. Examples of minor revisions include typos, spelling or grammatical errors, missing references, technical clarifications and data presentation.

For major and minor issues, structure your feedback systematically, in line with the article structure or in the order they appear, so the author can easily address the suggestions. End your report with your recommended course of action and label each section of your report clearly using headings.

Additional tips to help you when preparing a peer review report

Read the article multiple times

Read the full text of the article and view all associated figures, tables, and data.

The initial reading of the manuscript will help you form an initial impression and give you enough information to start thinking about your eventual recommendation on whether to accept or reject the article. You should take notes when reading the paper so you can start working on your report shortly after.

When articles are particularly long or complex, you should expect to read the paper at least twice, if not more.

Be thorough and specific

A peer review report should discuss the article in full and individual points, demonstrating your understanding of the article’s core elements, such as the research question and methodology. Your comments should contain as much detail as possible, with references where appropriate, so that the authors can address any issues.

Consider the statistics

It’s helpful if you comment on the number of replicates, the controls, and the statistical analyses, if relevant to the research methodology. This information is crucial for understanding how robust the outcome is.

Organise your comments

When listing your specific feedback, separate your comments into ‘major’ and ‘minor’ points. Try to group some of the minor points if your list of amendments is very long.

Be constructive in your criticism

Don’t hesitate to include any concerns or criticisms you may have in your review; however, remember to do so constructively and respectfully. Review as you would want others to review your work and ensure that your comments focus on the scientific content of the article in question rather than on the authors themselves.

In cases where you identify major flaws or recommend significant revisions or rejection of the paper, concluding your report with an encouraging tone is particularly important to motivate the authors to address your feedback. Don’t hesitate to provide positive feedback in your peer review comments. If a paper you’ve been asked to review is excellent, acknowledge it and explain why.

Producing a valuable and constructive peer review report can be daunting, especially if it’s your first time. However, your role as a peer reviewer is essential for ensuring the dissemination of robust, high-quality research. Learn more in our peer review guidelines.