From the inbox [heavily redacted]:
Dear Dr. Whitehead,
The above-mentioned manuscript has been submitted to [journal]. Given your previous work and research interests, I thought you might find the manuscript of interest. I would greatly appreciate if you would review the work to assess its suitability for publication in [journal].
To be within the aims and scope of [journal], a paper needs to both address [journal title in lower case] and be sound methodologically. ...
If you accept this invitation, I would be very grateful if you would complete and submit your review within 30 days from the date of your acceptance of this assignment. If, having accepted the invitation to review a paper, you find you require more time please give us at least five days notice of likely delay before end of the 30-day review period.
The abstract of the manuscript appears at the end of this message. If you are willing to review this manuscript, please click on the link below:
[link]If you are NOT able to review this manuscript, please click on the link below. We would appreciate receiving suggestions for alternative reviewers: [link]
Alternatively, you may also either register your response or view the manuscript before making your decision by accessing the Elsevier Editorial System for [journal] as a REVIEWER using the logon credentials below: [link]
I printed out the paper but failed to click the accept link so one week later:
Dear Dr. John C. Whitehead,
On [date], I sent you the abstract below, which has been submitted for consideration for publication in [journal]. I would be most grateful if you could find the time to read the paper and comment on its suitability for publication.
Please let me know whether you are able to carry out the review by logging onto the system at: [link] and accepting or declining the invitation now. You can log on again later to submit the review.
You will need to log in as the Reviewer:
Your username is: [username]
If you need to retrieve password details, please go to: [link]
Once logged onto the online reviewing system, you can access and download a full version of the manuscript as a PDF file. When your review is complete, you can log on again to submit it online.
If you are unable to review the paper yourself, I would appreciate your suggestions for alternative referees.
I tried several of my passwords and none of them worked:
Dear Dr. John C. Whitehead,
Here is your confidential password, which you will need to access the Elsevier Editorial System at [journal].
Your username is: [username]
Your password is: [password]
Please save this information in a safe place. Once you login, you may change your password and other personal information by selecting the "change details" option on the menu bar at the top of the page.
After several minutes fighting with my computer to get the correct username/password combination:
Dear Dr. John Whitehead,
The EES account for [journal] has been added to your Elsevier profile. Your Elsevier profile may also be used to access other Elsevier products.
Please note: The username for your Elsevier profile is the E-mail Address to which this message was sent. Your Elsevier profile password is also your EES password.
Currently, the following EES accounts are linked to your Elsevier profile:
[list of journals]
Changes made to your personal information will be reflected in all EES journals - and any other Elsevier product accounts - that are linked to your Elsevier profile.
Once you agree to referee the paper you are on first name basis with the journal:
Dear John,
Thank you for agreeing to referee manuscript number [number] for [journal]. If possible, I would appreciate receiving your review by [date]. ...
All of this took about 15 minutes but seemed much longer. Turning it into a blog post took longer than 15 minutes but seemed much shorter (i.e., it made me happier).
Also, there is absolutely no chance that I'll complete the review by [date]. I think there are at least 3 reviews in front of this one. Two of these are revise and resubmits so that will be quick. But, the other I need to read and I can't read a paper straight through anymore. That is a function of several things, I think: the lack of blocks of time, (related) administrivia, distractions from more interesting things to do (research) and ... is it harder to concentrate the older you get? It takes about a week to read a paper 4-5 pages at a time and then another week to write the review (I rationalize this by saying I'm letting the paper digest). The process usually starts when the late review notices show up so I'm typically about 3+ weeks behind. So, in this case I'll probably complete the review within two months which, compared to the papers I send out for review, would be quite satisfactory.
