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Peer Review Week 2018: Diversity in Peer Review

This week, September 10-15, 2018, marks Peer Review Week. According to the official website, “Peer Review Week is a global event celebrating the essential role that peer review plays in maintaining scientific quality. The event brings together individuals, institutions, and organizations committed to sharing the central message that good peer review, whatever shape or form it might take, is critical to scholarly communications. We organize virtual and in-person events, webinars, interviews and social media activities.”

To celebrate, TAA will be sharing various items from our blog archive and library of presentations on demand that focus on the peer review process. Look for these items on our social media channels throughout the week tagged with the official Peer Review Week hashtag, #PeerReviewWeek18 and share your comments and experiences with us.

During Peer Review Week, non-members can enjoy free access to the following presentations on demand:

A 30-Step Guide to Publishing in Scholarly Journals

In virtually every institution of higher education in the United States and beyond, faculty publishing is used not only as an index of productivity that is employed by administrators to make decisions on faculty about tenure, promotion, and merit pay increases, but it is also used as an index of departmental, collegial, and institutional prestige. Unfortunately, a large percentage of faculty have never had an article published or have had very few articles published. Thus, it is clear that many faculty members need guidance as to how to increase their levels of productivity.

With these points in mind, the overall goal of this two-part webinar is to provide a meta-framework for publishing that contains steps that are continuous, iterative, interactive, holistic, dynamic, and synergistic. Specifically, in the first webinar, Onwuegbuzie will summarize 30 steps to publishing. In the second webinar, he will outline strategies for helping authors secure impactful publications—which represent publications that advance the field. Both these webinar sessions are applicable for all emergent scholars—including doctoral students—who would like to learn how to secure quality publications. Also, these sessions are useful for beginning faculty members and experienced faculty members alike.

Everything You Wanted to Know About Publishing Your Academic Article But Were Afraid to Ask

Learn processes that will help you be more successful in your efforts to publish academic articles. Topics covered include:

  • Achieving alignment in research design so that reviewers read your work in the best possible light
  • Selecting a journal and matching its structure
  • Submitting the manuscript
  • Responding effectively to reviews
  • Avoiding article rejections

First-Time Authors: An Inside Look at Journal Publishing

Get an editor’s perspective of the publishing process from Dr. Dannielle Joy Davis, Associate Editor for Learning for Democracy: An International Journal of Thought and Practice. Davis shares the common mistakes new authors make when submitting their first journal article and how new authors can use the peer review process as a learning tool.

Manuscript Review in the Humanities: Embrace Criticism and Stand Up for Your Ideas

After peer review but before publication, even the best manuscripts typically require revision. When you are faced with readers’ reports, it’s key to understand clearly the feedback you’ve been given and then to proceed in a way that responds adequately while making the most of your time and retaining the core intentions of your work. This one-hour webinar, focusing on the humanities and qualitative social sciences, will apply to both journal articles and book manuscripts.

Scholarly Publishing: Finding Support Through Peer Mentoring

Learn how S.N.A.P, Support Network for Assistant Professors, a professional learning community at the University of Alabama Birmingham, offers structured support for the School of Education’s non-tenured faculty who wish to become more prolific scholarly writers. Linda Searby, the project’s principal investigator, shares how she created the support group, describes the success that they have had, and tells how you can develop a similar group on your campus.


Eric SchmiederEric Schmieder is the Membership Marketing Manager for TAA. He has taught computer technology concepts to curriculum, continuing education, and corporate training students since 2001. A lifelong learner, teacher, and textbook author, Eric seeks to use technology in ways that improve results in his daily processes and in the lives of those he serves. His latest textbook, Web, Database, and Programming: A foundational approach to data-driven application development using HTML, CSS, JavaScript, jQuery, MySQL, and PHP, First Edition, is available now through Sentia Publishing.