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3 years ago in Peer Review By Payal G
What is "courtesy review" and is it an acceptable practice?
A close collaborator at another university asked if I could do a "courtesy review" of their draft before they submit it to a journal. Is this ethical? How is it different from normal feedback, and could it cause problems later if I'm asked to review it formally?
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By Swetha Answered 11 months ago
Providing informal feedback on a pre-submission draft is a normal and valuable part of scholarly collaboration. The key is transparency and future recusal. You should provide the feedback with the understanding that if the paper is later submitted to a journal where you are asked to be a formal reviewer, you must decline and inform the editor of your prior involvement. This is a clear conflict of interest. To avoid ambiguity, you can tell your collaborator: "I'm happy to give feedback, but if you submit to Journal X, I won't be able to serve as a formal reviewer due to this prior interaction." Distinguish this from "ghost reviewing," where an author secretly has someone else write a review for submission—that is unethical. Collegial help is fine; deceit is not.
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