Peer review training course launched by Nature Research

An online training course on peer review, incorporating video interviews with journal editors, has been launched by Nature Research, part of Springer Nature.

The initiative is one of many marking Peer Review Week this week (11th to 17th September), a global event celebrating the role of peer review in maintaining scientific quality.

Nature Research's online course is intended for researchers who are new to peer reviewing or looking to improve their skills.

Nature Journal editors and experienced peer reviewers share key highlights in the "Focus on Peer Review" course, which covers the role of a peer reviewer, how to prepare a report, ethics and peer reviewing, and innovations in the area. There are over 60 videos, short text posts and interactive activities on the course, hosted on the Nature Masterclasses website.

Alicia Newton, senior editor at Nature Geoscience, who features in the training, said: “We truly appreciate the service that peer reviewers provide and recognise just how important they are to the scientific process. We wanted to do what we could to help make it easier for them, and we know that there’s a great need from peer reviewers for training, especially those who are new to reviewing.”

“Every week editorial teams across all of our journals spend thousands of hours co-ordinating the process of peer review, to ensure and improve the quality of the scientific literature and in doing so, advance discovery. Through this training we are able to share our experience as Nature Research journal editors in an interactive and engaging way. We hope that in doing so we can help those already doing this crucial work, and just as importantly, encourage more researchers to become peer reviewers."

Also this week Publons announced the winners of its Peer Review Awards, recognising lead peer reviewers across the world's journals.