Q: How should I reply to an invitation to be a reviewer?

Detailed Question -

I received an invitation to be a reviewer of a journal in which my paper has been accepted to be published after two rounds of revision. I also received the abstract of the article to be reviewed. How should I reply?

1 Answer to this question
Answer:

It’s great to hear this! A researcher receiving their first/initial invite(s) to be a peer reviewer is a sign of growth. The journal was no doubt impressed by your scientific and writing rigor to want to offer you this opportunity. As a peer reviewer, you will be offering your support and insights to other researchers and to the community at large. You’ll also be increasing your own knowledge as you come across the learnings of other researchers. From the clear, correct articulation of your query alone, you are probably ready for this – we didn’t need to make a single edit to your question. :-)

So, we have provided below some resources (including a detailed course) that could help prepare and equip you for this responsibility. For now, as you asked how you should reply to them, assuming of course that you are interested in this, you could begin with a note of thanks and maybe share a bit about the (presumably positive) experiences you’ve had with the journal in the case of your own submission. You could add that you are happy to take up the responsibility. If needed, you could talk about how you will be preparing for this task (such as by going through the resources provided here and elsewhere). Finally, you could talk about the expectations for the work (such as the extent of detail they are looking for and timelines) and in what ways they could support you if needed.

Hope that helps. Here are some resources that you should find helpful.

All the best for this new responsibility! And before that, congrats for the acceptance of your paper!! :-)

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