Perspectives from Peerspectives: Structured peer review training for early career researchers

Peer review is a vital part of academic publishing, yet most scientists receive little or no formal training in how to conduct it effectively. In this talk, we will explain why it is important to begin teaching both the theoretical foundations and the practical skills of peer review early in a scientist’s career. We will introduce Peerspectives, a semester-long, researcher-led peer review training course that partners with scholarly journals. This collaboration allows participants to contribute to real scientific peer review while earning academic credit. Originally designed for early-career researchers in the biomedical sciences, the course creates space for participants to critically examine the scientific publishing system and encourages them to apply what they have learned in their academic studies to evaluate research quality and reporting practices. By gaining a clearer understanding of what editors and reviewers value, participants also strengthen their own scientific writing and communication. We will share findings from our evaluation study of the program, highlight our train-the-trainer workshops and customizable teaching materials, and outline ongoing efforts to expand the course to other disciplines.