Asked to be reviewer for a journal but only have bachelor's degree

[XannyFairy]

I have recently been asked to be a reviewer for a medical journal (impact factor ~3) regarding a basic science article. It is in my area of expertise (RNA-seq, gene expression studies) and I have published only a handful of first-author papers in this field. However, I only have a B.Sc. (North America). I am confident in my ability to review but I have some questions:

1. It is appropriate to accept this review ? I thought only doctorates are allowed to review papers.
2. I am going to medical school this year and subsequently residency. Is there any way I can list this on my residency application? Specifically on the Electronic Residency Application Service® (ERAS®).

Thanks in advance

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[GoSpursGo]

Being a reviewer has nothing to do with degree. If you are credibly an expert in the field then you can review. It’s definitely something you can put on your CV.

That said, impact factor isn’t everything, this could still be a predatory journal. I’ve gotten those kinds of spam emails from open access journals that have impact factor 2-4 based on some relatively weak stuff that I’ve published. I would discuss with one of your mentors on whether it’s a legit journal before accepting.

 

[Dwan]

Being a reviewer has nothing to do with degree. If you are credibly an expert in the field then you can review. It’s definitely something you can put on your CV.

That said, impact factor isn’t everything, this could still be a predatory journal. I’ve gotten those kinds of spam emails from open access journals that have impact factor 2-4 based on some relatively weak stuff that I’ve published. I would discuss with one of your mentors on whether it’s a legit journal before accepting.

IF 2-4 typically implies a decent journal, the issue is these predatory journals will fake an impact score (usually in the 2-4 range), as well as a low acceptance rate (when it's actually 100%). Make sure the journal in indexed in pubmed at least.

 

[DrRedstone]

I second the being cautious and checking out the journal. I once got an email addressed to Dr. DrRedstone asking me to coauthor a textbook. It was a predatory company looking for free things to sell.

 

[Goro]

Being a reviewer has nothing to do with degree. If you are credibly an expert in the field then you can review. It’s definitely something you can put on your CV.

That said, impact factor isn’t everything, this could still be a predatory journal. I’ve gotten those kinds of spam emails from open access journals that have impact factor 2-4 based on some relatively weak stuff that I’ve published. I would discuss with one of your mentors on whether it’s a legit journal before accepting.

Ask your school's librarians if this is a predatory journal. They keep lists of these things.

I get requests from these rags at least once a week

 

[GoSpursGo]

IF 2-4 typically implies a decent journal, the issue is these predatory journals will fake an impact score (usually in the 2-4 range), as well as a low acceptance rate (when it's actually 100%). Make sure the journal in indexed in pubmed at least.

Yes 2-4 is a totally fine impact score. My point was you can’t just go by IF to determine if it’s legit or not.

 

[operaman]

Yeah as others said make sure it’s legit. I joined the editorial board of a legit journal in my field while in medical school and know of another student who did the same. It’s unusual but not unheard of and it definitely gets noticed on the CV.

 

[DameJulie]

Dittos on making sure the journal is legit. And if so, how impressive for a med student to be An Editor for a journal!!

 

[XannyFairy]

Thanks for all the responses. After confirming with multiple sources, the journal is indeed legitimate, PubMed indexed, and not predatory. My last question is how to record this on the residency application. Is there a place to upload a CV? Or do I list this as an experience?

 

[DameJulie]

Thanks for all the responses. After confirming with multiple sources, the journal is indeed legitimate, PubMed indexed, and not predatory. My last question is how to record this on the residency application. Is there a place to upload a CV? Or do I list this as an experience?

I think it would be under "research Experience"

Could you elaborate how you got that invitation? Did you publish previously in the journal? Did you reach out to the editor in chief?

 

[XannyFairy]

I think it would be under "research Experience"

Could you elaborate how you got that invitation? Did you publish previously in the journal? Did you reach out to the editor in chief?

I just got an email from the editor-in-chief to review. I never published with the journal but published articles in the same field in similar journals. Maybe the authors chose me as a recommended reviewer after reading my work, not sure.

 

[TelemarketingEnigma]

In some cases, lists of reviewers are collected from people who have previously published in that journal. Alternatively, sometimes they will ask existing reviewers to recommend new reviewers (especially if someone has to decline, for example), so someone else in your field may have recommended you because of your work. I believe some fields even ask authors to suggest reviewers who would be able to judge their work (presumably with some accounting for COI?) but i've never personally experienced this

 

[operaman]

I just listed under research experience on ERAS. On my CV I have a section for editorial positions where I list editorial board positions and journals where I’ve been a reviewer.