Review Forms

Review forms are structured questionnaires presented to reviewers when they complete their review. Instead of a single open-ended text box, a review form can include multiple targeted questions — improving review quality and making it easier to compare reviewer feedback across submissions.

Accessing Review Forms

Settings → Workflow → Review → Review Forms

Creating a Review Form

1. Click Create Review Form.
2. Give the form a Title (e.g., "Standard Research Article Review") and a brief Description explaining its purpose.
3. Click Save to create the form shell.

Adding Questions to a Form

After saving the form, click Edit on the form and then Edit Form to add questions.

Question Types

Type	Use case
Text Field	Short free-text answers
Textarea	Long-form comments (multi-paragraph)
Checkboxes	Multiple-select from a list of options
Radio Buttons	Single-select from a list of options
Dropdown	Single-select from a dropdown list
Check Box (Yes/No)	Simple binary question

Adding a Question

1. Click Add Item.
2. Select the Element Type (question type from the list above).
3. Enter the Question text.
4. Mark the question as Required if reviewers must answer it before submitting.
5. For checkboxes, radio buttons, and dropdowns, add the response options.
6. Click Save.

Repeat for each question.

Question Visibility Options

For each question, you can control who sees the response:

Visibility setting	Who sees the answer
Reviewer and author	Both — the answer is included in the decision notification
Reviewer and editor	Editor sees it; author does not unless editor forwards
Editor only	Confidential — not shared with author

Set visibility thoughtfully — questions asking reviewers to score specific criteria are usually shared with authors, while questions asking about ethical concerns or publication suitability are typically editor-only.

Sample Review Form Questions

A well-structured review form typically covers:

For the Editor (confidential):

• Overall recommendation (Accept / Minor Revisions / Major Revisions / Reject)
• Assessment of significance and novelty (rating scale)
• Suitability for journal scope (Yes / No / Marginally)
• Ethical concerns (free text)
• Suggested reviewers if declining (free text)

For the Author (shared):

• Summary of the manuscript (brief free text)
• Major issues and required changes (textarea)
• Minor issues and suggestions (textarea)
• Specific comments on methodology (textarea)
• Comments on writing and clarity (textarea)

Activating a Review Form for a Section

Review forms are assigned per journal section:

1. Go to Settings → Journal → Sections.
2. Edit the section you want to use the form for.
3. In the Review Form dropdown, select the form you created.
4. Save the section.

All new review assignments for submissions in that section will present reviewers with the configured form.

Previewing a Form

After creating a form, click Preview to see it as a reviewer would. Check that:

• Questions are clear and unambiguous.
• Required fields are appropriately marked.
• Visibility settings match your intentions.

Editing an Active Form

OJS does not allow you to edit a review form that is actively in use (i.e., reviewers are currently completing it for a submission). To revise an active form:

1. Duplicate the existing form.
2. Edit the duplicate.
3. Assign the duplicate form to the section going forward.

Existing review assignments in progress will continue using the old form.

Further Reading

• Learning OJS — Review Forms — Official review forms guide
• PKP Community Forum — Peer review form design tips