Disillusion #1 - I'm a referee
disillusion #1 - I'm a referee
Prologue: It happened! I'm a referee! A minor journal asked me to review a review. It was my first time!
Action: Unfortunately my university doesn't provide access to that journal. No problem, I expected that, as a referee, with my ID and password I would able to get a sharp idea of the journal editorial cut. Naive man. I asked why not. Reply:
Epilogue: my colleagues said: "of course, you have only to make indications about the scientific level". I don't disagree, but I'm still un-satisfied. Why? Naive man!
Action: Unfortunately my university doesn't provide access to that journal. No problem, I expected that, as a referee, with my ID and password I would able to get a sharp idea of the journal editorial cut. Naive man. I asked why not. Reply:
"We appreciate your email regarding this issue. However, we do not provide online access to our reviewers".Conclusion: I'm a voluntary reviewer for free, I cannot read the paper I reviewed, I don't know the editorial cut of the journal I review, I will not cite any paper from such journal in my future papers (I can not read them!), but I CAN pump my resume with "I'm reviewer for that Journal".
Epilogue: my colleagues said: "of course, you have only to make indications about the scientific level". I don't disagree, but I'm still un-satisfied. Why? Naive man!