Reviewer Involvement and Recognition
Peer review is an integral part of scholarly publishing and is also a great way to get involved with a journal. The ASTRO journals offer two reviewer training programs to help new reviewers develop their skills. Those interested in reviewing who may not be in the ASTRO journals database can sign up below. Each completed review for an ASTRO journal is worth one point in the FASTRO selection process.
ASTRO Reviewer Recognition Programs
Reviewer CME and CAMPEP Credit
Beginning with the first quarter of 2023, reviewers can claim three credits of CME/CAMPEP credit for each completed journal review. Credit may be claimed once per quarter for a total maximum of 12 credits per year. All details and instructions are included in system-generated reviewer thank you emails, but please contact the Journals editorial office with any questions (or for information on claiming credit for previous reviews).
Top Reviewer Award
The ASTRO suite of journals is piloting a new reviewer incentivization program called the “Top Reviewer Award.” To be eligible for this award reviewers must complete five on-time and high-quality reviews for a given journal between July 1, 2023, and June 30, 2024. For reviewers who are in training programs, completion of five (5) reviews of particularly high quality will be considered.
Reviewers who qualify for the Top Reviewer Award will receive:
- Recognition in the journal for which the reviews were completed
- A Target gift card (US reviewers) or Amazon gift card (international reviewers)
View the list of Top Reviewers for 2023-2024.
Please direct any questions about the Top Reviewer Award to the Journals editorial office.
Open Access Fee Waivers
In recognition of the service provided by our peer reviewers, the ASTRO journals are providing a reward for the completion of 12 timely reviews within three years, beginning January 1, 2022. Submit a completed form to the journal office, and you will be eligible to receive a voucher code.
This code can be redeemed for either: One (1) waived open access fee for Advances in Radiation Oncology, or 50% off one (1) open access fee at either the International Journal of Radiation Oncology • Biology • Physics or Practical Radiation Oncology. The code can be redeemed for use on any accepted submission where the awardee is an author. All papers will undergo routine peer review regardless of waiver status.
Please use the form linked above to indicate which reviews should be considered. Reviews performed for any of the three ASTRO journals can be included on the same form. Completed reviews can be viewed in your Editorial Manager account for each journal by logging in as a reviewer and selecting “Completed Assignments.” Reviews entered for credit will be screened for quality and reasonable timeliness, with final approval from the Editor-in-Chief. Reviews of revisions may be acceptable; however, they must demonstrate time and effort. If entering a review of a revision, please be sure to include the revision number in the manuscript number (likely R1 or R2 at the end of the manuscript number). Only reviews completed on or after January 1, 2022, will be accepted.
ScienceDirect Access
Anyone who reviews a paper for an Elsevier journal on Editorial Manager (including the ASTRO journals) is entitled to 30 days of free access to Scopus (Elsevier’s abstract and citation database) and all full-text content on ScienceDirect. A reviewer can claim access by going to the "Rewards" section on Reviewer Hub from the moment they agree to review a submission in the system. Reviewers have six months to claim the reward.
FASTRO Credit
As reviewing for the journals provides a service to ASTRO, each completed review counts as service to ASTRO in the FASTRO application process. Credit will be granted automatically.
New and Current Reviewers
Signing Up
If you are interested in getting involved with the ASTRO journals as a reviewer, please contact the journals office. You will need to have an account on the Editorial Manager page for each journal. If you are creating a new account, you only need to sign up on one site. The system will automatically create matching accounts for the other two journals.
Structuring Your Review
Each ASTRO journal has its own unique scope and their review formats vary. However, each journal has a space for reviewers to input their comments to the editors and authors. Elsevier provides a helpful "how-to" page as well as a checklist that are good resources for those looking for more guidance in format and structure of a thorough peer review.
Getting More Invitations - Reviewer Classifications
New and current reviewers should make sure to accurately list your "personal classifications" on the Editorial Manager site. These classifications are used by our editors to identify reviewers with the appropriate expertise for each manuscript. These can be updated at any time by clicking "Update My Information" under the Editorial Manager header.
Preferred Reviewer Program
If you are interested in receiving more invitations to review articles for the Red Journal, consider signing up for the Preferred Reviewer Program. Preferred Reviewers will be highlighted within the peer review system and will be invited to review more frequently. To maintain Preferred Reviewer status, participants must accept >75% of invitations and complete their reviews within 14 days. To sign up, please email the Red Journal Editorial Office.
Training Opportunities
Red Journal - Resident Peer Reviewer Training Program (RePRT)
The Red Journal offers a reviewer training program that is catered exclusively to radiation oncology residents. This program accepts applications on a rolling basis and is open to clinical residents in their PGY-1 to 3 years and biology or physics residents in their first or second years of residency. For more information, please see the full program overview.
Applications can be submitted via our new online form or can be directly emailed to the Red Journal office.
Practical Radiation Oncology - Reviewer Apprenticeship
The Practical Radiation Oncology Reviewer Apprenticeship program provides an opportunity for early-career radiation oncologists to develop their peer review skills. Applications for this program are currently closed. For more information, please see the full program overview.
Advances in Radiation Oncology – Reviewer Apprenticeship Program
The Advances in Radiation Oncology Reviewer Apprenticeship program provides an opportunity for radiation oncologists to develop their peer review skills. Applications for this program will open this fall 2023. For more information, please see the full program overview.
