In reply to an author who is wondering what is taking so long with the review process:
I was assigned the paper in March and quickly found one reviewer. Four other potential reviewers sequentially ignored my requests to review. Finally, I secured a second reviewer who is taking longer than expected.
One problem may be that journal editors don't do a very good at picking potential referees.
I'm not sure that a two week review window is the answer.
John, if you can’t do a review for whatever reason, do you have a personal policy of suggesting another qualified reviewer to the inquiring editor?
Got in an off-topic conversation with my PhD class today about the publication process. I was talking about peer-reviews when one of the students asked “What incentive do you have to review papers?”
The only response I could come up with was “We’re just supposed to.”
Here at Appalachian State (At least in the Math Dept) it is considered quality professional service and in some cases scholarship. I can see how in big places like AN Ohio State University is it considered expected, but not given much weight when determining overall service (unless you are an editor).
Scott: Yes, I always recommend Chris Dumas or Craig Landry! Seriously.
Tim: Tell your students that if you don’t referee papers then you are a big fat jerk.
Rene: We count it as service too. It is also a measure of reputation, which may be important for promotion.
I will say that ‘we’re just supposed to’ makes more sense to me in the context of non-profit society journals (where I can tell myself it’s service to the joint purpose of the discipline) than it does in the ever expanding universe of very expensive for profit journals. It’s a lot of free labor for businesses that get their content free and their editing free or very cheaply, and then manipulate market power and bundling strategies to extract large rents from their key audiences – and I don’t think being a reliable and competent reviewer ‘counts’ for as much career-wise as most folks, including me, put into it.
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