Why do researchers decline reviewer invitations? Response to the editorial ‘The Peer Review Process: Growing Problem in Recruiting Qualified Reviewers’

Abstract

In the editorial ‘The Peer Review Process: Growing Problem in Recruiting Qualified Reviewers’, Editor-in-Chief of Acta Odontologica Scandinavica, Palle Holmstrup, addresses the increasing difficulty in recruiting qualified reviewers for the publishing process. He cites statistics indicating that over the past decade, editors at his journal have had to double the average number of reviewer invitations to secure enough acceptances. This situation results in additional work for handling editors, prolongs the peer-review process, and causes frustration for authors awaiting the conclusion of the editorial process. Holmstrup appeals to researchers’ conscience by emphasizing the principle of reciprocity in the reviewing process.