The Unified Scholars Platform (USP) is a novel and complete digital solution for scholarly publishing. And at the heart of the platform is its computer-controlled peer review process, which operates independently of any publisher and which offers scholars the opportunity to reclaim scholarly publishing, if they really wish to. We welcome scholars to register on the platform as editors and peer reviewers. After vetting and approval, you would be able to work on the USP- assessing, reviewing and improving papers- before acceptance for publication in our Unified journals. You would get "invitations" when papers are submitted to your field. If you are highly competent to evaluate any paper, you would "commit" to evaluate that paper, and you would provide the service within the twenty five (25) days allowed for it. At the end of the review process for each paper, you would be paid for your time and effort.
If you are an editor on the platform, you would be editing manuscripts and getting them in the best readable form. You would return to the platform an edited version of the paper, when submitting your summarized feedback. But before editing the paper, you would do an initial assessment of that paper to determine its quality and suitability for publication. Out of the twenty five (25) days allowed, you would do your initial assessment within the first five (5) days, then use the remaining twenty (20) days to edit the paper, if it passes your initial assessment. If it fails your initial assessment, you should state your reasons and decline it on the platform.
So as an editor on the USP, you would commit to papers you are competent to evaluate. You would do an initial assessment within the first five days, and then edit the paper over the subsequent twenty days. You would write a summarized feedback and attach an edited version of that paper, for the author.
If you are a peer reviewer on the platform, you would be evaluating papers for quality, accuracy, validity, completeness and consistency. You would have twenty five (25) days after commitment to submit your feedback on the platform.
When the paper is revised and resubmitted, the same editor and peer reviewers would check that the paper is good, before choosing an option on the platform.
So, as an editor or a peer reviewer on the USP, you would be evaluating papers. You would also check that the revised/resubmitted papers are good. And you would be paid for your time and effort. Kindly visit the editors/peer reviewers page to learn more about your role.
Steps to evaluate a paper on the USP
(a) Login to the platform after you receive an "invitation to peer review" email.
(b) On the peer review page, check which paper(s) you are highly competent to evaluate.
(c) Commit to evaluate that paper. This saves it for you, and gives you 25 days to do the job.
(d) For editors only - within the first 5 days after you commit, assess the paper to determine whether it is worth publishing. If yes, do nothing. If no, decline it.
(e) Peer review or edit the paper and submit your feedback before the 25days elapse. Peer reviewers would submit their critical/constructive feedbacks; while editors would submit a summary feedback and attach an edited version of the paper. There are 3 options to submit - approve, revise and decline. you need to choose one when you submit
(h) You would get another invitation when the paper has been revised and resubmitted. Please login and click "my commits" on sidebar.
(i) Look at Review 2; and check that the paper is satisfactory and good. Note brief comments and click one option.
(j) You should only approve a paper when it is sufficiently good for publication. If it is never deserving of publishing, note few points and decline it outright.
(i) At the end of the peer review journey, when a paper has been accepted or rejected; your wallet would be credited with $150.
Kindly refer to the "guide for editors and peer reviewers" document for detailed guidance. And please watch all the demo videos that were prepared for you. This is very important.
We are currently onboarding editors and peer reviewers in all fields of specialization, to evaluate papers on the USP. Kindly visit our "onboarding" page to learn more and register.