My personal encounter with reviewer fatigue: Strategies for broadening the reviewer pool in a period of peer review crisis

Abstract

This editorial presents my personal encounter with reviewer fatigue as an editor and peer reviewer, dedicated to help in improving the scientific papers that are published by academic journals. I then highlight strategies I feel could help broaden the pool of reviewers during this period of peer review crisis. While reviewing manuscripts presents itself as a healthy exercise that could potentially enhance the professionalism of every scholar, reviewer fatigue is fatal to the scholar and the journals. Hence, Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) must put up strategies to help their staff and students nurture the love for volunteering to conduct editorial and peer reviews. Strategies suggested in this editorial include research professors mainstreaming the art of peer reviewing into their research methods lessons, senior scholars co-reviewing manuscripts with junior colleagues and students as a means of mentoring, HEIs rewarding scholars who are remarkable in the conduct of peer reviews during staff promotion and annual award ceremonies, journals showing recognition for peer reviewers through various means including monetary tokens if they are profit-making journals. This editorial firmly asserts that every true scholar must deem the conduct of peer review as a necessary activity that improves science while mentoring students to develop a love for it to sustain the peer review system, an essential ingredient for maintaining the scientific rigor and integrity of published papers.