After I’m requested by college students whether or not they need to settle for some referee invitation (being it for a stat journal or a machine studying convention) I virtually invariably say sure. I believe that there’s a lot to be learnt when refereeing papers and that this well worth the time spent within the course of. I’ll element on this submit why I believe so.
First, this submit shouldn’t be about tips about how to jot down a referee report, however fairly on why. It’s instructive to seek the advice of tips about the hows, and good posts may be came upon there. Word that some journals will even have particular pointers.
Earlier than diving into the advantages of refereeing, let me first say {that a} referee invitation will also be declined for a lot of good causes: in case of a battle of curiosity (CoI), and/or if a number of the authors are too near you in some sense (though in some fields with a tiny neighborhood, this virtually inevitably occurs); if you don’t really feel certified sufficient; or typically, should you really feel you might be certified, however the refereeing activity can appear overwhelming resulting from size or technicality of the paper; don’t really feel obliged to just accept invites from journals you have no idea about, and naturally ignore these coming from predatory journals or publishers (use this guidelines). In any case, be acutely aware that it’s okay to say no an invite. Take into account that the affiliate editor in cost will very a lot recognize tips to different referee names.
Now, what are the advantages of refereeing? It’s a reliable query, provided that refereeing work is normally time-consuming, performed on a voluntary foundation, with out implying any direct or prompt reward. So it is very important perceive what you’ll be able to acquire out of it.
Studying about editorial course of
Within the early levels of a tutorial profession, refereeing papers is a chance of studying by doing concerning the ins and outs of the editorial mechanism. You don’t get the possibility to apply replying to referee stories each different day if you find yourself a pupil. However getting papers to evaluate, you may additionally get to see replies by the authors, and stories from different referees (eg in revision rounds). This may increasingly assist and construct some behavior about how you’ll get into motion when your flip involves reply to referees!
Opening analysis pursuits
We’re normally requested to referee papers in our personal space of experience, however accepting to evaluate papers barely exterior of 1’s analysis pursuits may be rewarding. Be curious! There’s a probability that studying submitted papers will set off new analysis instructions of yours. This occurred to me at the least twice: I’ve began to work on Bayesian deep studying after refereeing an ICLR paper coping with the behaviour of neural networks within the infinitely vast restrict; and (dis)proving a conjecture acknowledged in a COLT submission stimulated a brand new line of analysis of mine on the sub-Gaussian property of random variables. Concentrate that in an effort to begin engaged on such submitted papers in a legit means, you must guarantee that also they are made accessible as preprints on some open repository like arxiv.
Prompting new alternatives
Refereeing papers certainly will increase your visibility. Additionally it is a preliminary step earlier than being affiliate editor. I’m AE for a number of stat journals, and managing papers is a activity that I discover fulfilling, with a social aspect that consists of writing referee invitation messages to colleagues. This helps join or keep in contact with colleagues we do not need events to satisfy in conferences these days!
