Peer-review mentorship program

What is the program?

The Veterinary Evidence Peer-Review Mentorship Program connects mentees with experienced and dedicated reviewers, strengthening the reviewing skills of researchers and practitioners and expanding their professional development.

By participating as a mentee, you will help contribute to the progress of your field and the development of the evidence base for the veterinary professions.

Who can apply?

The program is open to anyone interested in learning how to peer-review papers for journals, you may never have peer-reviewed or would like to gain more confidence in reviewing papers.

It is open to veterinary surgeons, veterinary nurses, paraprofessionals and allied professions in the international veterinary community.

Applicants should be able to show demonstrable engagement in scientific writing, reviewing or in advancement of the veterinary professions.

What you will gain from the experience

1. Contribution to the Field: Peer-review allows you to contribute to the advancement of your field. By providing critical feedback and assessment of manuscripts, you’ll play a vital role in maintaining the quality and integrity of published research.
2. Enhancing Knowledge and Expertise: Peer-reviewing provides you with an opportunity to stay up to date with the latest research and findings in your field. It exposes you to a wide range of research topics and allows you to gain insights into different approaches and perspectives.
3. Building Professional Networks: By engaging in the mentorship program, you can establish professional relationships, expand your networks, and potentially open doors for future research collaborations.
4. Skill Development: Peer-reviewing will hone your critical evaluation skills, scientific reasoning, and analytical thinking. Reviewing also strengthens your ability to provide constructive feedback, communicate effectively, and engage in scholarly discussions. These skills are not only valuable for the review process but also transferable to many other roles e.g. for your own research and career.
5. Recognition and Visibility: Serving as a peer-reviewer demonstrates expertise and recognition within the academic community. It can enhance your professional reputation and CV as well as increase visibility within your field.
6. Professional Development: Peer-reviewing not only contributes to your CPD, but it helps refine your own writing and research skills. Reviewing also provides insights into the publication process, editorial decisions, and journal policies.

What is the process?

You will be assigned to a mentor on a paper relevant to your expertise and reviewing interests. You will work one-on-one to peer-review a paper. If a number of successful reviews are completed, the Editor-in-Chief will have the option to invite you as an independent reviewer for Veterinary Evidence.

Throughout the peer-review process for a paper, you will have consistent guidance from a dedicated mentor. However, from one paper to another, mentors may vary, providing you with a diverse learning experience.

There will be support from the Editorial Office, but we encourage pairs to talk directly to each other.

When you are invited to review a paper, the mentor will be CC’d into the email. Both you and the mentor will have access to the manuscript and will receive all communication from the Associate Editor. For each review, there will be four basic steps:

1. The mentee will read the manuscript and write a draft review
2. The mentor will assess the review and send feedback using a feedback form
3. The mentee will revise their review based on the comments that they receive
4. The mentor will sign off on the review and the mentee will submit the review through Editorial Manager

Mentee / mentor pairs will have three weeks to complete a review. There will also be support from the Editorial Office for the mentees when submitting their reviews to the system.

What will you peer-review?

You will be given the opportunity to review Knowledge Summaries which are like critically appraised topics (CATs).

You will have the option to review the below depending on your interests and expertise:

Original research

Clinical audits

How to apply

Who are the mentors?

Mentors will be individuals who are experienced in writing and reviewing papers and articles within the field of veterinary medicine.

What is Veterinary Evidence’s peer-review process?

All manuscripts submitted to Veterinary Evidence undergo a double-blind peer-review process (neither the author nor the reviewers know each other’s identities) and are sent to a minimum of two reviewers.

The Associate Editor and Editorial Office ensure that the peer-review process is as fair, unbiased, and timely manner as possible. Reviewers are invited to review only if they have suitable expertise in the relevant field.

Authors can provide names, affiliations and contact details of potential reviewers. Suggested reviewers will be used at the Associate Editor’s discretion, and if their contact details can be verified from an independent source.

All disclosures of potential conflicts of interest made by reviewers are reviewed by the Associate Editor to determine whether they could be perceived as leading to bias.

Potential reviewers receive an email where they can accept or decline an invitation to review. Reviewers provide their comments via our online peer-review system, Editorial Manager. We ask that reviewers remain objective and constructive when providing their review and ensure they are aware that the peer-review process is blind and that their names will not be available online alongside the published paper.  

Their review, comments and recommendations are sent to the Associate Editor, and through to the Deputy Editor-in-Chief for comment. The final decision rests with the Editor-in-Chief.

The author will receive the comments and decision along with instructions via our online system, Editorial Manager.

It is usual that more than one round of reviews are needed, you will get the chance to read the revised paper and see the author’s responses to your comments.

For further information please see our Reviewer Hub.

Who can apply?

Individuals with experience in writing and reviewing papers and articles within the field of veterinary medicine.

What you will gain from the experience

1. Personal Fulfilment: Mentoring provides a sense of fulfilment and satisfaction by making a positive impact on someone else's life or career. Mentors have the opportunity to contribute to the growth, development, and success of another individual, which can be highly rewarding.
2. Skill Enhancement: Mentoring allows mentors to enhance their own skills and knowledge. Through the process of guiding and supporting the mentee, mentors often reinforce their own understanding of key concepts, improve their communication and leadership abilities, and develop patience, empathy, and problem-solving skills.
3. Building Relationships: Mentoring fosters meaningful relationships between the mentor and the mentee. Mentors have the chance to establish professional connections, expand their network of individuals and improve their profession-wide connections.
4. Reflective Learning: Mentoring offers an opportunity for mentors to reflect on their own experiences, successes, and challenges. By sharing their insights and lessons learned, mentors gain a deeper understanding of their own journey, achievements, and areas for improvement.
5. New Perspectives: Mentoring provides mentors with fresh perspectives and ideas. Engaging with mentees who may come from different backgrounds, disciplines, or stages in their careers can offer mentors a different lens through which to view their own work.
6. Professional Recognition: Mentoring can enhance a mentor's professional reputation and recognition within their field. By sharing their expertise and supporting the development of others, mentors are seen as leaders and role models in their fields.
7. Legacy and Paying It Forward: Mentoring allows mentors to leave a lasting legacy by positively influencing and shaping the next generation of professionals. Mentors have the opportunity to pass on their knowledge, experiences and values to mentees.

What is the process

We request that you commit to being a mentor on at least two papers; this will not be as additional papers to ones we might otherwise ask you to review.

You will be assigned to a mentee on a paper relevant to your and their expertise and reviewing interests. You will work together to peer-review a paper.

You will help a mentee through the full peer-review process for a paper. You may receive different mentees on different papers.

There will be support from the Editorial Office, but we encourage pairs to talk directly to each other.

When you are invited to review a paper, the mentee will be CC’d into the email. Both you and the mentee will have access to the manuscript and will receive all communication from the Associate Editor. For each review, there will be four basic steps:

1. Your mentee will read the manuscript and write a draft review
2. You will then assess their review and send feedback to them using a feedback form
3. The mentee will revise their review based on the comments that they received
4. Once signed off by you, the mentee will submit the review through Editorial Manager 

Mentee / mentor pairs will have three weeks to complete a review. There will also be support from the Editorial Office for the mentees when submitting their reviews to the system.

If time is short

You do not need to mentor on every paper you review for us, if time is short you can agree to review a paper outside of the mentorship.

How to apply

What is Veterinary Evidence’s peer-review process?

All manuscripts submitted to Veterinary Evidence undergo a double-blind peer-review process (neither the author nor the reviewers know each other’s identities) and are sent to a minimum of two reviewers.

The Associate Editor and Editorial Office ensure that the peer-review process is as fair, unbiased, and timely manner as possible. Reviewers are invited to review only if they have suitable expertise in the relevant field.

Authors can provide names, affiliations and contact details of potential reviewers. Suggested reviewers will be used at the Associate Editor’s discretion, and if their contact details can be verified from an independent source.

All disclosures of potential conflicts of interest made by reviewers are reviewed by the Associate Editor to determine whether they could be perceived as leading to bias.

Potential reviewers receive an email where they can accept or decline an invitation to review. Reviewers provide their comments via our online peer-review system, Editorial Manager. We ask that reviewers remain objective and constructive when providing their review and ensure they are aware that the peer-review process is blind and that their names will not be available online alongside the published paper.  

Their review, comments and recommendations are sent to the Associate Editor, and through to the Deputy Editor-in-Chief for comment. The final decision rests with the Editor-in-Chief.

The author will receive the comments and decision along with instructions via our online system, Editorial Manager.

It is usual that more than one round of reviews are needed, you will get the chance to read the revised paper and see the author’s responses to your comments.

For further information please see our Reviewer Hub.