Research Agora – Better research, together.

Peer review guide

Thank you for contributing to Research Agora as a reviewer. Your role is essential in ensuring transparency, reproducibility, and scientific integrity. This guide will walk you through the review process and the submission steps.

Before you start

Elegibility and confidentiality

You will receive emails with Marbles that match your expertise.

You can accept or decline a review request.
If you accept the review of the Marble, you will get a deadline to submit your review within two weeks.
You may co-author your review with colleagues. If so, include all contributors’ names in the review submission form.
Do not share the Marble or review details outside the review process.

You will receive emails with Marbles that match your expertise.

You can accept or decline a review request.
If you accept the review of the Marble, you will get a deadline to submit your review within two weeks.
You may co-author your review with colleagues. If so, include all contributors’ names in the review submission form.
Do not share the manuscript or review details outside the review process.

You will receive emails with Marbles that match your expertise.

You can accept or decline a review request.
If you accept the review of the Marble, you will get a deadline to submit your review within two weeks.
You may co-author your review with colleagues. If so, include all contributors’ names in the review submission form.
Do not share the manuscript or review details outside the review process.

Review scope

Research Agora does not judge impact or novelty. Instead, your review should focus on:

Clarity: are the hypotheses (if applicable), methods, and results clearly presented?
Reproducibility: are the methods and materials described well enough to be replicated?
Validity: are the authors’ interpretations and conclusions supported by the data?
Constructive feedback: Provide helpful suggestions to improve the work if necessary.

You will receive emails with Marbles that match your expertise.

You can accept or decline a review request.
If you accept the review of the Marble, you will get a deadline to submit your review within two weeks.
You may co-author your review with colleagues. If so, include all contributors’ names in the review submission form.
Do not share the manuscript or review details outside the review process.

You will receive emails with Marbles that match your expertise.

You can accept or decline a review request.
If you accept the review of the Marble, you will get a deadline to submit your review within two weeks.
You may co-author your review with colleagues. If so, include all contributors’ names in the review submission form.
Do not share the manuscript or review details outside the review process.

Review submission form

Fill out the review submission form following the steps below.

You will receive emails with Marbles that match your expertise.

You can accept or decline a review request.
If you accept the review of the Marble, you will get a deadline to submit your review within two weeks.
You may co-author your review with colleagues. If so, include all contributors’ names in the review submission form.
Do not share the manuscript or review details outside the review process.

You will receive emails with Marbles that match your expertise.

You can accept or decline a review request.
If you accept the review of the Marble, you will get a deadline to submit your review within two weeks.
You may co-author your review with colleagues. If so, include all contributors’ names in the review submission form.
Do not share the manuscript or review details outside the review process.

Confirm the type and key elements of the Marble

First, fill out information about the Marble that you are reviewing: specify the linked article DOI, Marble title, and Marble type. Next, you will verify the core aspects of the submission, depending on the type of Marble:

a) Build On and Dead end Marbles

Are the authors testing a new hypothesis derived from the linked article?
Is the hypothesis confirmed?

b) Replicate, Flag and Confirmation Marbles

Are the authors testing a hypothesis that appears in the linked article?
Are the methods the same as in the linked article?
Are the materials the same as in the linked article?
Do the results support the findings from the linked article?

Your responses here help ensure that the Marble is correctly categorized.

You will receive emails with Marbles that match your expertise.

You can accept or decline a review request.
If you accept the review of the Marble, you will get a deadline to submit your review within two weeks.
You may co-author your review with colleagues. If so, include all contributors’ names in the review submission form.
Do not share the manuscript or review details outside the review process.

You will receive emails with Marbles that match your expertise.

You can accept or decline a review request.
If you accept the review of the Marble, you will get a deadline to submit your review within two weeks.
You may co-author your review with colleagues. If so, include all contributors’ names in the review submission form.
Do not share the manuscript or review details outside the review process.

Reproducibility checks and review

Next, focus on clarity, reproducibility, and validity of the research. Assess whether the research question is clearly stated (if applicable), the methods and results are well described, and the conclusions are supported by the data. Consider whether the study is rigorous and reproducible. Are the methods detailed enough for replication, and do the authors acknowledge any limitations?
Answer these simple yes/no questions related to the reproducibility and reliability of the data, and provide a detailed explanation of your concerns. You will need to answer the following questions:

Are figure legends and statistics explicit enough to understand the data?
Are controls (negative and positive) enough to support the author(s)' claims?
Are materials and methods explicit enough to replicate the experimental design?
Are materials, data and/or code available?

If any of these answers is 'No', provide explicit explanation of the issue(s) related to these questions in the next text area.

Finally, write any additional feedback that was not mentioned in the previous checks. Provide a structured and constructive review assessing clarity, strengths and weaknesses. Highlight errors or inconsistencies, and suggest improvements where applicable. Your review should be professional, objective, and constructive, helping authors improve their work while maintaining the integrity of the research.

You will receive emails with Marbles that match your expertise.

You can accept or decline a review request.
If you accept the review of the Marble, you will get a deadline to submit your review within two weeks.
You may co-author your review with colleagues. If so, include all contributors’ names in the review submission form.
Do not share the manuscript or review details outside the review process.

You will receive emails with Marbles that match your expertise.

You can accept or decline a review request.
If you accept the review of the Marble, you will get a deadline to submit your review within two weeks.
You may co-author your review with colleagues. If so, include all contributors’ names in the review submission form.
Do not share the manuscript or review details outside the review process.

Decision recommendation

After completing your review, choose one of the following options:

Accept: the Marble meets Research Agora’s standards for clarity, rigor, and reproducibility.
Accept with changes: the Marble is generally solid but requires revisions before publication.
Reject: the Marble has fundamental issues that prevent publication.

If selecting the two latter options, please specify the current issues and the required changes in your review.

You will receive emails with Marbles that match your expertise.

You can accept or decline a review request.
If you accept the review of the Marble, you will get a deadline to submit your review within two weeks.
You may co-author your review with colleagues. If so, include all contributors’ names in the review submission form.
Do not share the manuscript or review details outside the review process.

You will receive emails with Marbles that match your expertise.

You can accept or decline a review request.
If you accept the review of the Marble, you will get a deadline to submit your review within two weeks.
You may co-author your review with colleagues. If so, include all contributors’ names in the review submission form.
Do not share the manuscript or review details outside the review process.

List co-reviewers and affiliations

If your review was done in collaboration with other colleagues, list all contributing names and affiliations. Include the designation of corresponding reviewer, which by default will be assigned to the person that accepted the invitation to review the Marble.

You will receive emails with Marbles that match your expertise.

You can accept or decline a review request.
If you accept the review of the Marble, you will get a deadline to submit your review within two weeks.
You may co-author your review with colleagues. If so, include all contributors’ names in the review submission form.
Do not share the manuscript or review details outside the review process.

You will receive emails with Marbles that match your expertise.

You can accept or decline a review request.
If you accept the review of the Marble, you will get a deadline to submit your review within two weeks.
You may co-author your review with colleagues. If so, include all contributors’ names in the review submission form.
Do not share the manuscript or review details outside the review process.

Submit your review

Submit your review via our submission form. You will receive a confirmation email once your review is submitted.

You will receive emails with Marbles that match your expertise.

You can accept or decline a review request.
If you accept the review of the Marble, you will get a deadline to submit your review within two weeks.
You may co-author your review with colleagues. If so, include all contributors’ names in the review submission form.
Do not share the manuscript or review details outside the review process.

You will receive emails with Marbles that match your expertise.

You can accept or decline a review request.
If you accept the review of the Marble, you will get a deadline to submit your review within two weeks.
You may co-author your review with colleagues. If so, include all contributors’ names in the review submission form.
Do not share the manuscript or review details outside the review process.

What happens with revised Marbles?

The final decision of publication will take into account three reviews of the Marble. As reviewer, you will be notified once a final decision is made. If a Marble is ‘Accepted with changes’ or ‘Rejected’, the authors will have the opportunity to revise it and submit a new version. You will be asked to review the new version with a fresh deadline.

Your contributions do not go unnoticed. Your name will be added to the Marble once a final decision is reached, recognising your peer review work. Besides, as corresponding reviewer, you will earn 100 tokens for your first review, and 10 tokens for every review later on, which can be used to submit your Marbles for free.

Thank you for joining a community that values openness, curiosity, and the pursuit of better research. If you have questions, contact us at submissions@researchagora.com.

Peer review guide

Peer review guide

Thank you for contributing to Research Agora as a reviewer. Your role is essential in ensuring transparency, reproducibility, and scientific integrity. This guide will walk you through the review process and the submission steps.

Before you start

Before you start

Elegibility and confidentiality

You will receive emails with Marbles that match your expertise.

You can accept or decline a review request.

If you accept the review of the Marble, you will get a deadline to submit your review within two weeks.

You may co-author your review with colleagues. If so, include all contributors’ names in the review submission form.

Do not share the Marble or review details outside the review process.

You will receive emails with Marbles that match your expertise.

You can accept or decline a review request.

If you accept the review of the Marble, you will get a deadline to submit your review within two weeks.

You may co-author your review with colleagues. If so, include all contributors’ names in the review submission form.

Do not share the manuscript or review details outside the review process.

You will receive emails with Marbles that match your expertise.

You can accept or decline a review request.

If you accept the review of the Marble, you will get a deadline to submit your review within two weeks.

You may co-author your review with colleagues. If so, include all contributors’ names in the review submission form.

Do not share the manuscript or review details outside the review process.

Review scope

Research Agora does not judge impact or novelty. Instead, your review should focus on:

Clarity: are the hypotheses (if applicable), methods, and results clearly presented?

Reproducibility: are the methods and materials described well enough to be replicated?

Validity: are the authors’ interpretations and conclusions supported by the data?

Constructive feedback: Provide helpful suggestions to improve the work if necessary.

You will receive emails with Marbles that match your expertise.

You can accept or decline a review request.

If you accept the review of the Marble, you will get a deadline to submit your review within two weeks.

You may co-author your review with colleagues. If so, include all contributors’ names in the review submission form.

Do not share the manuscript or review details outside the review process.

You will receive emails with Marbles that match your expertise.

You can accept or decline a review request.

If you accept the review of the Marble, you will get a deadline to submit your review within two weeks.

You may co-author your review with colleagues. If so, include all contributors’ names in the review submission form.

Do not share the manuscript or review details outside the review process.

Review submission form

Review submission form

Fill out the review submission form following the steps below.

You will receive emails with Marbles that match your expertise.

You can accept or decline a review request.

If you accept the review of the Marble, you will get a deadline to submit your review within two weeks.

You may co-author your review with colleagues. If so, include all contributors’ names in the review submission form.

Do not share the manuscript or review details outside the review process.

You will receive emails with Marbles that match your expertise.

You can accept or decline a review request.

If you accept the review of the Marble, you will get a deadline to submit your review within two weeks.

You may co-author your review with colleagues. If so, include all contributors’ names in the review submission form.

Do not share the manuscript or review details outside the review process.

Confirm the type and key elements of the Marble

First, fill out information about the Marble that you are reviewing: specify the linked article DOI, Marble title, and Marble type. Next, you will verify the core aspects of the submission, depending on the type of Marble:

a) Build On and Dead end Marbles

Are the authors testing a new hypothesis derived from the linked article?

Is the hypothesis confirmed?

b) Replicate, Flag and Confirmation Marbles

Are the authors testing a hypothesis that appears in the linked article?

Are the methods the same as in the linked article?

Are the materials the same as in the linked article?

Do the results support the findings from the linked article?

Your responses here help ensure that the Marble is correctly categorized.

You will receive emails with Marbles that match your expertise.

You can accept or decline a review request.

If you accept the review of the Marble, you will get a deadline to submit your review within two weeks.

You may co-author your review with colleagues. If so, include all contributors’ names in the review submission form.

Do not share the manuscript or review details outside the review process.

You will receive emails with Marbles that match your expertise.

You can accept or decline a review request.

If you accept the review of the Marble, you will get a deadline to submit your review within two weeks.

You may co-author your review with colleagues. If so, include all contributors’ names in the review submission form.

Do not share the manuscript or review details outside the review process.

Reproducibility checks and review

Are figure legends and statistics explicit enough to understand the data?

Are controls (negative and positive) enough to support the author(s)' claims?

Are materials and methods explicit enough to replicate the experimental design?

You will receive emails with Marbles that match your expertise.

You can accept or decline a review request.

If you accept the review of the Marble, you will get a deadline to submit your review within two weeks.

You may co-author your review with colleagues. If so, include all contributors’ names in the review submission form.

Do not share the manuscript or review details outside the review process.