run-an-academic-peer-review

name	run-an-academic-peer-review
category	school
description	Run an academic peer review through conflict checks, claim and method assessment, constructive evidence-based comments, confidentiality, and recommendation boundaries. Use when evaluating a manuscript, proposal, or scholarly artifact.

run-an-academic-peer-review

Review the work fairly without appropriating it or policing the author.

When to use

• Use for journals, conferences, grants, classes, or internal research review.
• Decline conflicts and protect confidential, unpublished, personal, or proprietary material.

Preconditions

• Read the review policy, criteria, anonymity rules, deadline, artifact, supplements, and correction notices.

Procedure

1. Declare expertise limits, conflicts, prior exposure, tool use, and ability to review on time.
2. Summarize the contribution and central claims to confirm understanding.
3. Assess question, context, methods, data, ethics, analysis, uncertainty, reproducibility, and claim support.
4. Distinguish fatal validity issues, required repairs, optional improvements, and preferences.
5. Cite exact sections and explain the consequence of each material concern.
6. Check references without demanding self-citation or work outside scope.
7. Write respectful comments to authors and a recommendation justified by stated criteria.
8. Remove identity speculation and confidential editorial information from author comments.

Failure plan

• If misconduct or safety concern appears, use the confidential process rather than investigate independently.
• If expertise is insufficient for a central method, tell the editor and bound the review.

Worked example

A reviewer identifies outcome switching and an unsupported causal claim, requests a transparent correction, and labels a preferred chart change optional.

Done

• A peer-review report records contribution, material findings, exact evidence, priority, author comments, and bounded recommendation
• Conflict, confidentiality, method, ethics, claim, tone, identity, and criteria checks verify a fair review