Becoming a Reviewer

Due to the large volume of submissions we are pleased to be receiving, JAFSCD is continually recruiting additional peer reviewers to join our Reviewer Team. JAFSCD uses a double-blind peer review system in which the author and reviewer are anonymous to each other.

Criteria for serving as a JAFSCD reviewer:

1. Do you have expertise in a wide range of food system and agriculture development topics? Or, do you specialize in a particular topical area? 
2. Do you have a flair for critical insight and like to give constructive advice to authors?
3. Are you familiar with the design and implementation of qualitative and/or quantitative research, especially surveys?
4. Can you commit to conducting 3 to 5 reviews per year? 

Doing a review of a paper consists of reading the paper thoroughly and then completing an online questionnaire (with the option of uploading additional commentary or edited text), all managed through our online manuscript management system. Reviewer Team members also serve as ad hoc advisers to the JAFSCD publishing team, so you receive occasional memos and requests for your input and participation.

If you're new or newer to the peer-review process, a helpful guide is How To Survive Peer Review. This online guide is written for new authors, but you can read it from the perspective of a reviewer and find helpful guidance.

If you are interested in joining our Reviewer Team, please start out by completing the online questionnaire. (This link will take you to SurveyMonkey to complete the questionnaire. It will be reviewed, and if your skills are a fit for JAFSCD's needs, we will direct you to the Manuscript FastTrack registration page.) 

Photo: Duncan Hilchey, editor in chief, at the American Farmland Trust conference in October 2014 in Lexington, Kentucky. We offered a workshop to new authors at the conference. Photo by Amy Christian.