Guidelines and Resources for Manuscript Peer Review

Sample questions to consider:

• Does the title clearly express the subject and objective of the manuscript?

• Is the importance of the study highlighted in the title?

• Does the title contain any unnecessary description?

After reading the abstract you should understand the aims, key data, and conclusions of the manuscript.

Sample questions to consider:

• Is there a succinct summary of the key aims, methods, important findings, and conclusions?
• Does it include enough information that a reader would be able to determine what the article is about from reading the abstract?
• Does the information in the abstract match the information in the body of the manuscript? (eg. data, terminology, etc)
• Does the abstract grab the readers' attention?

A well-written introduction summarizes recent research, highlights gaps in current knowledge, and establishes the originality of the research aims.

Sample questions to consider:

• Is there adequate context for the topic?
• Is the background explained to justify the aims of the study?
• Is the purpose and hypothesis of the manuscript clearly stated?
• Is other relevant research cited? Does it include the latest research?

Academic research should follow best practice, and be rigorous, replicable, and robust.

Sample questions to consider:

• Is the research design strong?
• Are the methods used appropriate?
• Are the methods sufficiently described so the study could be replicated by other researchers?
• Are the statistical methods appropriate to the study?
• Is there potential bias?
• Have appropriate guidelines been followed? (eg. CONSORT Statement for reporting randomized controlled trials or PRISMA for reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses)
• Are there any ethical concerns?

The results section should tell a coherent study of what the data shows.

Sample questions to consider:

• Do the authors report on the results of all tests noted in the methods section?
• Is raw data provided rather than just summaries or percentages?
• Are the results presented clearly and accurately?
• Is the data described in the text consistent with the data in figures and tables?
• Are the data tables clear and understandable?

The discussion section should logically explain the findings and put the results of the study in context with what we already know.

Sample questions to consider:

• Are the findings discussed in the context of existing research?
• Have all relevant published papers been cited?
• Are the studies' limitations and weaknesses been identified?
• Do the authors discuss the relevance and importance of their findings to the field?

The conclusions section should respond to the aims, hypothesis, or research question posted by the authors.

Sample questions to consider:

• Are the conclusions supported by the data presented?
• Is the conclusion succinct?

Examine any data in the form of figures, tables, or images.

Sample questions to consider:

• Is the information in the tables or figures easy to interpret?
• Are data presented in a clear and appropriate manner?
• Is the data presented in tables or figures consistent with the description in text?
• Are figures or tables detailed enough to stand on their own without reference to the text?
• Could their be improvements in presentation? (eg. an issue with titles, labels, image quality, etc)

You will need to check references for accuracy, relevancy, and recency.

Sample questions to consider:

• Is original research cited rather than reviews or other secondary sources?
• Is recent, pertinent scientific literature cited?
• Are the references over-reliant on self-citation?
• Are any key references missing?