Guidelines for Referees

The following set of guidelines have been compiled to help guide referees who have been asked to comment on an article submitted to the journals, but authors may also find it useful to read through this section.

Information for Referees

Please send your comments to cdlj@ucla.edu; refer to our editorial policy and guidelines for authors, and contact the editor if you have other questions.

Authors have been assured of the privacy and security of their submitted work, so we ask that you do not refer to the work that the draft describes before it has been published. We hope that you will adopt a positive, impartial attitude towards the article under review but if you feel you are unable to judge a submission for any reason within a reasonable time frame, please inform us.

As a referee, you are essential to our existence as a quality journal of record. Without your time and effort, our articles would not be adequately evaluated. We appreciate your help and very much welcome suggestions for improvement of our peer-review process.

Your Report

Please prepare a report for the author(s) of the article you have been asked to assess, structured around the topics listed below. Your comments should be straightforward, constructive and in sufficient detail for the author to follow your line of reasoning, and where applicable, suggestions for major revisions should be included. If revisions are requested, please be as explicit as possible, and distinguish revisions you consider necessary from those you consider desirable but optional.

The draft article may not be in the journal style when you review it, but note that you are not requested to correct style, language or grammar. However, errors which a copy editor may not recognize e.g. misspellings of site names/species, incorrect or outmoded terminology, inappropriate jargon etc. should be pointed out. If you deem necessary, your report may be divided up into two sections: comments for transmission to the author and comments for the editor only. If you choose to do this, please mark your sections clearly.

• Does the article adhere to the editorial policy of the journal to which it has been submitted

• Is the information new
• Is the information of international interest
• Is the information factually accurate
• Overall is the article appropriate in topic, quality and originality
• Does the article supply all relevant documentation

• Is the title appropriate
• Does the abstract provide the correct emphasis
• Is the article well structured and organized
• Is the objective clear and adequate in its approach and execution
• Is the research design/methodology/framework/theoretical position clearly described
• Is the discussion length and relevance appropriate
• Are the interpretations and conclusions sound and supported by the discussion

• Do the references reflect an appropriate level of familiarity with the subject area
• Is the overall level of clarity (e.g. terminology) acceptable
• Are the images/figures appropriate
• Are there any irrelevant sections

• Do you recommend this article for publication in the CDLJ or the CDLB:
  1. with minor revisions
  2. with major revisions
  3. would not recommend without substantial rewriting and restructuring

Please provide any further comments that may be of help to the author. The editors have to balance your judgment with their own and that of the other referee(s), so it will sometimes happen that your recommendations will not be followed.

Please keep a copy of your assessment.

Please contact the editors (cdlj@ucla.edu) if you have any questions.