The Publons Academy is a practical peer review training course for early career researchers developed together with expert academics and editors to teach you the core competencies and skills needed of a peer reviewer.
Start building your reviewing profile
Graduates of the Publons Academy will
- Break into the world of expert peer reviewers
- Overcome fears about performing their first pre-publication reviews
- Fully understand how the peer review process works
- Have reviewed published papers in their area of expertise
- Be endorsed by their supervisor
- Connect with editors at relevant journals
“The rationale is that serving as a reviewer is great training to becoming a better author. This is especially important for new academics who need to prove their merit in a multi-faceted way.”
"The review by peers is a tried and tested method for the evaluation of new findings before publication. In science, the method has a long history and, as in all branches of scholarship, it places great demands on reviewers whose assessments must be honest, fair, safe and independent. The establishment of the Publons Academy is a key step in helping to ensure reviewers have access to rigorous training for this task of truth-seeking."
Sir Brian Heap CBE ScD FRS, St Edmund's College, Cambridge
The Course
Ten modules that will teach you how to review
1. Academia, publishing and peer review
This introduction will cover the publishing process and the role of peer review within academia, as well as give a more detailed overview of the rest of the course.
2. At first glance
Learn about the different sections of an article and how to identify common flaws.
3. Evaluating a methodology
The methodology is the backbone of most scientific experiments. Here you’ll learn what makes a sound study design and how to recognise a poor one.
4. Data and results
In this module you’ll learn what to look for when evaluating tables and figures, and to look for clearly stated results.
5. Communicating findings
Learn how to structure and effectively communicate your evaluation by bringing together all your findings into a coherent and constructive review.
6. Ethical considerations
This module examines reviewer biases, conflicts of interest, and misconduct.
7. What journals want
Learn about peer review from a journal editor’s point of view.
8. Working with your supervisor
This section will explain the role of your supervisor in the last modules of the course.
9. Pre-publication reviews
Learn about the process of putting yourself forward for pre-publication peer review and about the expectations and requirements involved.
10. Post-publication reviews
Reviewing a paper after it has been published can be just as important and insightful for progressing research as pre-publication reviews. In this module you will practice everything you've learnt throughout the course by writing full post-publication reviews.
Recommended by:
Designed together with world renowned experts
Hosted on Publons
Publons would like to thank all our Publons Academy beta testers from around the world, including our friends at MiRoR, who helped us to test and refine v 1.0 of the Publons Academy.
