The Ethos of the PEERfect REVIEWer: Scientific Care and Collegial Welfare

TL;DR

This paper advocates for an ethical approach to peer review emphasizing scientific care and collegial welfare, proposing practical guidelines to foster constructive, respectful, and empathetic review practices that enhance academic progress and well-being.

Contribution

It introduces the ethos of the PEERfect REVIEWer, combining scientific rigor with empathy, supported by a 16-point guideline for reviewers to improve peer review quality and collegiality.

Findings

Guidelines promote constructive and respectful reviews.

Empathy and scientific rigor are mutually reinforcing.

Enhanced peer review supports academic well-being.

Abstract

Peer review remains a cornerstone in academia, yet it frequently falls short in fostering joint progress and well-being. While peer review primarily emphasizes scientific rigor, it often lacks the empathy essential for supporting and encouraging all peers involved. In this experience report, I aim to highlight that peer review is a practice that demands both scientific care for quality and collegial welfare for the joint progress and well-being of all peers involved, including authors, co-reviewers, workshop or conference organizers, and journal editors. Drawing on my ten years of experience in academia, I propose the ethos of the PEERfect REVIEWer, grounded in the two core values: Scientific care and collegial welfare. Through reflection shaped by professional exchanges with colleagues, consideration of literature, and an examination of both self-authored and received reviews, I formulated an accompanying guideline with 16 practical recommendations to guide reviewers in their actions to achieve these two values. The ethos of the PEERfect REVIEWer and its accompanying guideline help reviewers in upholding high scientific standards and conducting peer review in a constructive, supportive, respectful, and timely manner. They demonstrate that scientific rigor and empathy are complementary forces that promote impactful peer review practice. By placing scientific care and collegial welfare at the core of peer review, this experience report reaffirms the importance of scientific rigor while also advocating for greater attention to empathy. It invites reviewers to reconsider their role not merely as gatekeepers but as partners in the academic journey of each peer involved. The PEERfect REVIEWer is both a caretaker of quality and a steward of joint progress and well-being - as truly impactful peer review practice requires scientific rigor and empathy in equal measure.