Instructions for JCR Associate Editors

Suggest Reviewers

When you are assigned a new manuscript, the editor will ask you to suggest appropriate reviewers. You may recommend ERB members or ad hoc reviewers.

The editor will usually includes some names of potential reviewers in the assignment email and you can just respond to their email (AEs cannot search for or select reviewers on the JCR ScholarOne site).

If the editor has pre-selected  reviewers (we invite three reviewers on most submissions but the editor may select more than three as backups for declines), you can view their selections near the bottom of the main manuscript information page:

If the authors have recommended reviewers (authors may also include opposed reviewers and explain why they are unsuitable), these are listed right below.

Rate the Reviewers

Please rate all reviewers on each submission.

Click “view review” for each reviewer and scroll down to the “Quality Assessment” section to rate the reviewer using the following scale:

Number Your Points

AE reports should focus around a “punch list” prioritizing the review team’s concerns and recommendations.

Please number your points using a simple numbering system (1, 2, 3…).

Check the Reviewer Numbers

On the main “Manuscript Information” page, reviewers are listed in the order they were selected and trainees are flagged ().

However, the system automatically assigns reviewer numbers in the order reviews are submitted and reviewer numbers do not distinguish between regular and trainee reviewers (the journal is unable to modify this process).

On the “Awaiting Recommendation” page where you submit your AE report, the reviewer order may change and the trainee flags will not carry over.

The assigned reviewer numbers are listed at the top of the new window that opens after you click “view review” for each reviewer in the list:

When there is a trainee, staff will leave a note on the submission. This note is available at the very bottom of each page:

Don’t Refer to Trainee Reviews

Trainee reviews should not determine the outcome of the paper in any way.

You may note which reviews were provided by trainees or briefly comment on the quality of a trainee review, but please do not ask the authors to do anything suggested by a trainee or consider them in your decision recommendation.

When there is a trainee, staff will leave a note on the submission. This note is available at the very bottom of each page:

Don’t Refer to Confidential Comments

The confidential comments to the editor provide an outlet for reviewers to voice concerns and frustrations that do not belong in their review.

We encourage reviewers to be candid in their confidential comments with the understanding that we will not share these comments with the authors and other reviewers.

Don’t Mention Your Recommendation

Only the editor should know your decision recommendation. Please do not indicate or allude to your recommendation in your AE report.

In addition, please make sure that the tone of your report is consistent with your recommendation, i.e., do not write a very positive AE Report and then recommend rejection (or vice versa).

Providing Feedback on Desk Rejects

When a new manuscript is submitted, we may ask you to evaluate whether it should be desk rejected.

If you are recommending desk rejection:

In the “Progress” module (on the right side of your screen and near the bottom of the page), change the “# reviews required to make decision” from “3” to “0” and click “Save”:

The system will move the paper forward to the “Awaiting Recommendation” stage.

In the “Recommendation” module:

  • Select “Desk Reject”
  • Enter comments to the editor only
  • Click “Save as Draft” and then click “Submit”

If you have any questions, contact the editorial office.