Writing a High-Quality Referee Report for Academic Research Papers

The scientific peer-review process is essential for the advancement of academic research. In this opinion article, we provide some thoughts and suggestions for writing a high-quality referee report. Our views are accumulated from many years of experience reviewing research papers submitted to various peer-reviewed academic journals. We intend for academic referees to use our opinion article as a checklist when reviewing a research paper. Our catalog may not be a comprehensive list of all of the possible points for referees to consider. Nevertheless, it can be a useful guide for referees to improve the quality and completeness of their review report. Finally, our viewpoints are based on experience serving as referees for academic research in the subject of business (e.g., accounting, information systems, etc.). Hence, some of our thoughts may not be applicable to research in all subject areas. To start the referee report, we suggest writing an introductory paragraph (or two) that summarizes the research paper being reviewed. The paragraph would summarize the paper’s research questions or hypotheses, how the authors executed the study (e.g., data used, research methods, etc.), the findings of the study, and the authors’ arguments for how the study contributes to the literature. Presenting this opening paragraph would demonstrate to the editor and the authors that you have a good understanding of the research paper. Then, you can proceed to provide comments and criticisms