When a journal’s editors invite you to review, you receive an email invitation and an in-app notification. Nothing is expected of you until you respond, and responding takes a minute either way.
What the invitation tells you
Before you commit, the invitation shows the manuscript title and abstract, your reviewer slot, and the review due date. Where the manuscript file is available, you can read an anonymised copy. Journal review is typically double-blind, so author identities are withheld from you, and yours from them.
Accept, decline, or declare a conflict
You can respond in two places:
- From the email: use the accept link, the decline link, or the conflict-of-interest link. These links are personal to you and valid for several weeks.
- In the app: open the journal’s Reviews page and choose Accept assignment or Decline.
When declining, you can add a short reason; it helps the editors invite a better match next time. If you know the work or the authors too closely to review impartially, declare a conflict of interest rather than declining silently, so the editors understand why.
After you accept
Accepting creates your reviewer copy of the manuscript, a snapshot you can annotate with comments as you read, and opens a draft review for you on the journal’s Reviews page. The due date and reminder schedule are covered in Review deadlines & reminders; the review form itself in Write & submit your review.