The EASE Türkiye satellite session titled “Improving Peer Review Quality and Impact in Scholarly Communication” was delivered by Esma Şenel on 20 May 2026 as an online session. The session focused on reviewer training in foreign language education and introduced Peer Review Lab, a structured reviewer training model developed by Şenel as part of her doctoral research. The session addressed the relevance of reviewer training to scholarly communication, editorial quality, research culture, and the wider EASE theme of quality and impact.
The session began with a broader discussion of the current challenges in peer review within academic publishing. Key issues included reviewer fatigue, the increasing difficulty of finding qualified reviewers, the limited visibility of reviewing as academic labour, and the lack of structured preparation for early-career researchers who are interested in becoming reviewers. These challenges were discussed as part of a wider sustainability issue in peer review.
The session then moved from the general landscape of peer review training to the Turkish context. Particular attention was given to the needs of postgraduate students and early-career researchers in foreign language education. The discussion highlighted that many novice researchers are interested in contributing to peer review but often lack clear guidance on evaluation criteria, report structure, constructive feedback, and ethical responsibilities.
A central part of the session introduced Peer Review Lab, a structured, practice-based, and mentor-supported reviewer training model developed for early-career researchers and postgraduate students in foreign language education. The programme was presented as a response to identified training needs and as an attempt to make peer review a more teachable, guided, and professionally supported academic practice. Its modular structure, use of review guidelines, applied review tasks, mentored feedback, and Reviewer Credits recognition were briefly introduced.
The session also addressed the role of artificial intelligence in peer review. The discussion emphasized that AI may support certain technical or editorial processes, but it cannot replace human judgement, confidentiality, accountability, or field-specific expertise. The importance of AI literacy for reviewers was framed as an emerging component of responsible reviewer development.
The final part of the session focused on the need to build a shared language of quality in peer review. The discussion connected review quality to clarity, constructiveness, respectfulness, evidence-based comments, constructive direction, and professional tone. The well-known “Reviewer 2” figure was used as a familiar example to show how vague, unsupported, or non-constructive comments can weaken the value of peer review. The session concluded by emphasizing that reviewer training can contribute not only to individual professional development but also to stronger editorial processes, better author feedback, and greater trust in scholarly communication.
The audience engaged with the topic through interactive questions on reviewer invitations and reviewer incentives. The responses indicated strong interest in the recognition of reviewing activity, mentoring opportunities, and more structured support for both novice and experienced reviewers.
As a result, the session contributed to the EASE theme of quality and impact in scholarly communication by positioning reviewer training as a practical route to improving review quality, supporting early-career researchers, and strengthening the broader peer review ecosystem.
Lecturer Esma Şenel
İzmir Democracy University, School of Foreign Languages
The recording of the session is available at the following link: https://youtu.be/-QpMUdIhII4?si=C-xT6ahE9Q_1CS05