Peer review is a core part of the scientific publishing process. But what if there is a shortage of qualified reviewers? Scott Shookhoff discusses some (perhaps unknown) ways that EES can help.

The Elsevier Editorial Service (EES) was developed specifically to streamline the editorial process. It has helped reduce the time from submission to decision by an average of nine weeks. Within this process, overall review times have also been reduced, sometimes by more than 50 percent. But this increased efficiency is dependent on having sufficient reviewers available, a problem many editors face. Editors’ Update talks to Scott Shookhoff, EES NAHS & Societies Liaison, about ways of locating, contacting and retaining good reviewers.

When EES was first launched, some editors expressed concern that reviewers would find the system impersonal and too systematized. On the contrary, it appears that it has been well adopted by both editors and reviewers. In addition, a high degree of personalization is possible within EES, in addition to allowing editors to work most effectively. Shookhoff explains: “Each journal maintains its own database of users, and user details - name, phone number, fax, email address, as well as areas of expertise - are uploaded and saved in EES. Editors can then access and search this information to locate qualified reviewers. Once an appropriate scientist has been identified, editors can send an email through the system to invite them to become a reviewer for the journal.”

Each journal has access to a standard invitation letter, but there is also the option to set up and customize different types of invitation letters, depending on the situation. EES then tracks any invitations that are sent out. “This is one of the functionalities we’ve found to be particularly popular, because it makes it easy to see which invitations are outstanding. Based on this information, the editor can then decide to send out one or a series of reminders. At present, the reminder letters are not automated, but we see that becoming an option in the future.”

Reviewer performance reports
Once an invitation has been accepted, it is equally as useful to be able to track reviewers’ performance. “Another really helpful functionality, which is not always taken advantage of, is the reviewer performance reports available to managing editors or other senior editorial staff. These reports show, over a specific period of time, which reviewers are performing well, who is agreeing or declining frequently, who is always late - and could be helped to improve - etc.”

In addition to helping editors locate and communicate with reviewers, EES also aims to facilitate reviewer retention. Most editors will already be aware that Scopus, Elsevier’s abstract and citation database, is fully integrated into EES. “Editors have unlimited access to Scopus, which can be an additional way of finding well-cited authors who may agree to become reviewers for their journal. For reviewers, who for the last two years have received 30 days free access for every paper they agree to review, Scopus makes it much easier for them to verify references. This is particularly true since we started offering reference linking through Scopus, which includes direct access to full-text articles in Science Direct. But reviewers can also use these databases for their own research purposes.”

Getting the most out of EES
To help editors, authors and reviewers get the most out of EES; Elsevier has developed a series of   interactive tutorials. Last year, the   Training Desk was launched to provide ‘bite-sized’ training sessions. Typically lasting 30 minutes, the sessions are done through web conferencing, so participants can see the trainer’s demonstrations. “However, if an editor can’t attend a session, it is recorded and can be viewed at another time on Windows Media Player. Like EES itself, the online nature of these trainings means users can access the information when it is convenient for them, and select the trainings that will help them get the most done in the shortest amount of time.”

To cite this article, please use: Cecily Layzell, “Did you know? EES can help review process”, Elsevier Editors’ Update, Issue 27, August 2009