Science is underpinned by the support and expertise of peer reviewers. By reviewing, you are:
If you are invited to review for one of our journals, and are suitably qualified to review the work, please try to say 'yes'. We will give you recognition (if you want it) and full support.
The Society and its journals are committed to improving inclusion and diversity within science publishing. Reviewers have a vital role to play in this mission. We remind reviewers to be aware of any unconscious biases when assessing a paper. We are all susceptible to such biases and should take care that recommendations are based on the scientific merits of a paper. Possible biases to be aware of are country of origin, institution, name, gender, race and ethnicity to name a few.
We share a growing opinion that the assessment of researchers should not just be confined to the Impact Factor of the journal in which they publish. We believe that assessment should be based on a broad range of research outputs including peer review activity. To help recognise the vital contribution our reviewers make to the publishing process we provide recognition for your review work with us by offering:
Our Editors select reviewers based on relevant expertise from a wide and diverse pool of researchers from all over the world. Are you interested in volunteering to be a peer reviewer for the Royal Society journals?
You need to be qualified at least PhD level (or equivalent) in a relevant subject, an active researcher and have published recently in one or more reputable peer reviewed journal.
If you have less experience, there is still the option to co-review (see below) with your supervisor or another colleague – please approach them expressing your interest, so if they get invited to review you can review with them and get recognition.
To volunteer to be a journal reviewer, please fill in this short form.
Once registered you will be considered as a reviewer for manuscripts that are within your research area. Volunteers are flagged within our system but we cannot guarantee that you will be selected as a reviewer for one of our journals. Read our peer review policy.
We recognise that researchers are busy people and we therefore try to make reviewing for our journals a simple, straightforward and rewarding experience.
The Royal Society encourages early-career researchers to get involved in the peer review process. If you require any assistance with your review please feel free to contact the Editorial Office of the journal.
We would recommend new reviewers to take advantage of training materials such as through the Web of Science Academy or Nature Masterclasses, and would recommend that you read our peer review blog post series including ‘Tips for good practice in peer review’ and ‘What makes a good or a bad peer review?’
If you have a question or feedback on how we might enhance the experience of reviewing, contact us or the journal which invited you - we are happy to help.