Elsevier launches new tool to help editors find reviewers

ElsevierSep 6 2010

- Elsevier Continues to Support the Peer Review Process by Developing a Tool to Help Journal Editors Find Reviewers

Elsevier, a world-leading publisher of scientific, technical and medical information products and solutions, announced today the launch of a new and unique tool to help editors find reviewers ( http://support.elsevier.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/710), which addresses the number one pain point for journal editors. Developed in close consultation with journal editors, this tool which is accessible from EES - Elsevier's Editorial and peer review system - suggests a list of potential reviewers.

Accessible from within EES, editors can search by topic or by name and check for any conflicts of interest. The search is based on the Scopus algorithm for ranking published articles; potential reviewers are listed based on the number of their relevant articles, drawn from over 13,000 journals in Scopus (http://www.scopus.com/home.url) . The results of the search will suggest potential reviewers and provide editors with information to help determine their suitability based on their published work, citations, h-index and conflicts of interest checks with the manuscript under review - previous co-authorship or affiliation to the same institute.

"We hear from editors that the task of finding suitable reviewers can be challenging, and due to the increase in submitted manuscripts, that it is becoming more of an issue. We listen to our editors, and this is just one of the initiatives we have implemented to further support them and the peer review process. This tool will not only help editors to expand their network of reviewers and thus improve and speed up the peer review process, but also will increase reviewers' satisfaction by inviting them to review relevant research," said Martin Tanke, MD S&T Journal Publishing, Elsevier.

"Participating in the usability testing to develop this tool with Elsevier allowed me to give input on the often time-consuming task of searching for reviewers. It will be very helpful to editors in finding suitable reviewers, but also to reviewers who will be asked to review manuscripts specifically relevant to them," remarked Maja Zecevic, North American Senior Editor, The Lancet.