Providing your own peer reviewer?

[superbygk]

Hi all,

So I have one article that a former dissertation adviser had helped me get published. I am in the middle of submitting a work done in that program for publication in a different journal, and this one is asking me to provide names and contact information of peer reviewers in a supplemental file during the submission process. It states that these reviewers will be invited at the editor's discretion. My understanding was that peer reviewers were selected by editor/journal from a pool of predetermined peers. Can anyone shed light on this? Do they want me to provide a list of my own potential peer reviewers whom I think will review it well? I imagine this has to be blind the entire way through, meaning that if I do supply someone's name, I shouldn't let that reviewer know that it was me who suggested them, or that it's my work they are reviewing. Any input would be helpful.

[Eigen]

Different field, but this is common for us.

You give a decent list of names, and they choose to select or not select some of them. Basically, they want ideas of people in the field who will be able to understand your work to critique and review. It's not about people who will provide a good review, but who will be capable of reviewing it due to a close understanding of the methods, etc. involved.

We rarely suggest people that we actually know, but other academics that we know publish in similar areas, and would be able to provide an accurate critique of the work.

From what I understand, they usually use some of the ones you recommend as well as reviewers that they have in their pool, etc. Hence that they would be invited at the editors discretion. And you're absolutely correct that you shouldn't tell someone that you recommended them as reviewers.

Edited February 19, 2012 by Eigen

[rising_star]

Basically, everything Eigen said. Don't suggest someone that has seen the paper, even in draft form before. Instead, suggest scholars who work in that area or a related one, who might be interested in reading your work.

[superbygk]

Thanks for the feedback! That was helpful!