# 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](/docs/v1.x/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](/docs/v1.x/plagiarism-detection)** after revisions.
- **[Manage your citations](/docs/v1.x/managing-citations)** to ensure all references are correct.