Peer Reviews

Alfred Scholar's peer review system lets you share manuscripts with reviewers for structured feedback. Reviewers can read the manuscript, highlight passages, leave inline comments, and provide general feedback - all within the platform.

#How peer review works

The peer review flow in Alfred Scholar follows these steps:

1. Author finishes a manuscript draft and assigns reviewers.
2. Reviewers receive access to the manuscript in a read-only view.
3. Reviewers read the manuscript, highlight text, and leave comments.
4. Author reviews the feedback, responds to comments, and revises the manuscript.
5. Author resolves comments as they address each piece of feedback.

#Assigning reviewers

To invite someone to review your manuscript:

1. Open your manuscript.
2. Click the Reviewers panel.
3. Click Add.
4. Select a workspace member to assign as a reviewer.
5. The reviewer now has access to the manuscript in read-only mode.

Note: Only workspace members with the Reviewer role can be assigned as reviewers. If the reviewer is not yet a member of your workspace, invite them first with the Reviewer role (see Team Members).

#The reviewer experience

#Accessing manuscripts for review

Reviewers can see manuscripts assigned to them by clicking Peer Reviews in the sidebar. This shows a list of all manuscripts they have been asked to review.

#Reading the manuscript

Click on a manuscript to open it in a read-only view. Reviewers can read the full content but cannot modify the author's text.

#Adding comments

Reviewers can leave two types of comments:

#Inline comments (on specific text)

1. Select a passage of text in the manuscript.
2. Choose a highlight color.
3. Type your feedback in the comment box and click Save.

The selected text is highlighted with your chosen color to show that it has a comment attached.

#General comments

1. Click the Comments panel.
2. Click Add Comment.
3. Type your general feedback about the manuscript as a whole.
4. Click Save.

General comments are not attached to specific text - they appear in the comments panel for overall feedback.

#Comment threads

Comments support threaded discussions. Both the author and reviewer can reply to comments, creating a back-and-forth conversation about specific points:

1. Click on an existing comment.
2. Type a reply in the thread.
3. Click Send.

#Reviewing feedback (for authors)

As the author, you can see all reviewer comments in the Comments panel:

• Inline comments are highlighted in the text. Click on a highlight to see the comment.
• General comments appear in the comments panel.
• Threads show the full discussion history.

#Resolving comments

When you have addressed a piece of feedback:

1. Open the comment.
2. Click Resolve.

Resolved comments are grouped separately and dimmed. You can unresolve them if needed.

Note: Only top-level comments can be resolved. Replies within a thread are resolved together with the parent comment.

#Removing a reviewer

To remove a reviewer's access to a manuscript:

1. Open the manuscript.
2. Click the Reviewers panel.
3. Click the remove button next to the reviewer's name.

The reviewer immediately loses access to the manuscript. Their comments remain visible.

#Exporting

You can export or print a manuscript from the review page:

1. Open the manuscript.
2. Click the Export button.
3. Choose As PDF or Print.

#Best practices

• Set clear expectations - Let reviewers know what kind of feedback you are looking for (content accuracy, writing quality, structure, etc.).
• Use the Reviewer role - For external reviewers, use the Reviewer workspace role so they can only see assigned manuscripts, not your full library.
• Respond to all comments - Even if you disagree with feedback, acknowledge it with a reply before resolving.
• Resolve systematically - Address comments in order and resolve them as you go to track your progress.

#Next steps

• Check for plagiarism after revisions.
• Manage your citations to ensure all references are correct.