Comments

Abstract

The subject for this issue’s Comments section represents a significant departure from what we have previously published. International Journal of Advertising Editor, Douglas West, recently presented awards for reviewing excellence to two members of the Editorial Review Board, Barbara Stern at Rutgers University and Albert Caruana at the University of Malta. It was our feeling that their views on the reviewing process would be of interest not only to potential contributors, but also to other members of our Editorial Review Board. Having been a reviewer for a number of journals over the past 20 years, I am always happy to see how others approach the reviewing process. We can always learn from the best. Barbara posits a meaningful series of steps in the review process from an assessment of the references to a final evaluation decision, while Albert discusses the particular challenges faced by every reviewer. Albert stresses the need for the reviewer to put themselves in the mindset of the authors and to allow time after the initial completion of the review to think over the suggestions for the authors before sending them out. We hope you will find these essays both informative and valuable. These different perspectives are really quite complementary. As always, we would welcome your comments at ijacomments@warc.com.