Peer Reviewers


Outline reviewer guidelines

The full guidelines are available here

  • The work should have a clear rationale, setting out its purpose/problem to be addressed
  • The introduction should set the scene with reference to earlier work and context
  • The methods or approach should be appropriate and used properly
  • Results (where applicable) should be valid and be set out in a way that makes sense, with proper use of tabulations, figures, quotations, diagrams, etc.
  • The discussion should contextualise the results/development in relation to other published work
  • Any recommendations should flow from the discussion
  • Limitations should be recognised
  • The conclusions should be concise and flow from the discussion
  • Whether the work represents a research study or otherwise, it should have a logical structure with a clear thread running through it
  • NB: For some papers the IMRAD format is not appropriate. This may include papers describing a data resource, a data linkage study protocol, an opinion piece, an infrastructure development, amongst others. Please contact the Editor-in-Chief for advice if needed.

If you are interested in becoming a peer reviewer and joining the IJPDS international panel of PDS experts, then now is a great time to seize the opportunity to get involved whilst the call is open.

All you need to do is email us directly using contact@ijpds.org with your name, organisation, area/s of expertise, and contact details.

We look forward to welcoming you to the team!


Peer reviewing for IJPDS

The International Journal of Population Data Science (IJPDS) is unique in bringing together all aspects of Population Data Science (PDS) in one place. From new technology, to big data, information governance to public engagement, IJPDS is the open access publication for authors working with data pertaining to people and populations.

IJPDS places great importance on the content of the manuscripts, the impact of a study and the robustness of research when considering authors’ work for publication. With quality at the heart of what we do, our international peer review panel is essential in ensuring we maintain consistently high standards of published manuscripts through its rigorous blind review process.

As a result of receiving an overwhelming response to both the general and special issue calls for manuscripts, we have been increasing the size and complexity of our reviewer panel.

Population Data Science spans numerous fields and whilst we welcome anyone working within PDS to join, we have particular interest in recruiting experts in the following areas:

  • Analysis of free-text data
  • Architectures and infrastructures
  • Clinical IT systems
  • Data protection legislation and regulation
  • Disease registers
  • Ethics and ELSI (ethical, legal & societal implications)
  • GIS (geographic information systems) / spatial data analysis
  • Information / data governance
  • Information security
  • Machine Learning
  • Metadata development
  • Privacy-preserving methodologies, including SDC (statistical disclosure control) and PPRL (privacy-preserving record linkage)
  • PROMs (Patient reported outcome measures)
  • Public engagement
  • Survey data
  • Use of apps

The benefits of peer reviewing

Peer reviewing can be very rewarding bringing numerous benefits and a great way to enhance ones career. Experts that review on a regular basis can gain recognition as leading experts in their field, it is a valuable addition to your CV when applying for jobs, and it ‘ticks a box’ for additional scholarly activity. Peer reviewing other’s work can also help you to improve your own submissions.

Dr James Doidge, Senior Research Associate, Administrative Data Research Centre for England explains, "Being a peer reviewer for IJPDS gives me insight to the editorial process and helps me keep abreast of research being conducted in the field of population data science. Perhaps most importantly, critically reviewing other researchers' manuscripts gives me a better understanding of how to prepare my own papers in such a way as to increase their likelihood of making it through peer review and transferring knowledge to the readers who are our ultimate targets."

This is particularly true for early career or up and coming PDS professionals. Learning how to be a good reviewer will teach you how to be a good author as highlighted by Professor Sinead Brophy, Swansea University Medical School who says, “Reviewing can give ideas for your own work. Other researchers often use methods or alternative ways of doing things that you might not have thought of yourself. Seeing other people’s approaches and datasets also gives ideas for collaborations and helps you get to know other people in the field doing similar work.”

Senior Research Officer and Statistician Rowena Bailey says, "the journal is fantastic and most worthy of support. It also comes with the benefit of gaining insight into upcoming research publications and opportunities to consider how best to articulate statistical and methodological considerations for fellow researchers, so being reviewer has reciprocal benefits to me."

 

10% discount on APCs for IJPDS peer-reviewers

All peer-reviewers who go on to publish a manuscript in IJPDS within 12 month of conducting a review will be awarded a 10% discount on the standard article processing charges.*

 

Do you have what it takes to be a peer reviewer?

If you are new to peer reviewing and unsure whether you have sufficient expertise in your field to get involved, then here is a holistic view of the qualities a peer-reviewer should have.

Firstly, if you are considering peer reviewing then chances are you already have sufficient expertise to get involved. Peer-reviewers are not all high-level professionals and thought leaders with enviable levels of expertise gained from years of experience in their field. With the right combination of skills and knowledge, and a generous helping of enthusiasm, less experienced peer reviewers can add enormous value to the overall peer-review process.

An effective peer reviewer will acknowledge that they can’t be an expert in all aspects of a topic presented to them for review, and will focus mainly on the elements most pertinent to their particular knowledge and expertise. So for example, if you are a statistician then comment on the statistics, if you are a data analyst then question the datasets etc.

Moreover, remember – you are not alone! Two or three people, each from their own angle of expertise, will review a manuscript and collectively this should produce a thorough review for the authors and Editors to determine the next action.

So, armed with the confidence of knowing that you can make a valuable contribution in terms of your expertise, here are some other essential qualities a peer reviewer will need:

Thoroughness – Journals have a responsibility to their authors to turn around manuscripts from submission to (hopefully) publication within the shortest possible time. Peer reviewers that can review quickly and accurately whilst consistently meeting the deadlines are key to helping this process run smoothly. The ability to determine the overall validity of a manuscript along with thorough and detailed proofreading skills are essential to quality control.

Fearlessness – At least not being afraid to give carefully considered feedback. Authors submitting to a peer-reviewed journal understand and expect their research to be returned with comments and suggestions. So be bold, exercise your expertise, and give constructive feedback with comments or suggestions that will help the author. Be prepared to question, for example, the validity of the research question, the robustness of the methods employed, how valuable the research is to the particular subject area, and offer the author suggestions as to how their research could be improved upon.

Conscientiousness – It is fair to say not all peer-reviewers are equal and Editors will soon get a feel for how reliable each member of the review panel is. Put yourself in the shoes of the author (a situation that you have already, or are likely to, find yourself in) and always make sure that you are able to respond to any request to review a paper promptly. Also, be aware of potential unintentional bias that can quite easily creep in to your review of a manuscript and try to remain unbiased throughout the process.

Open communication – Following on from conscientiousness and keeping the author’s best interests at heart, a valued peer-reviewer will read the manuscript in full as soon as it arrives. On doing so, if you feel that you are unable to provide a fair review for any reason, then notifying the editor immediately will enable them to re-assign the paper to another reviewer quickly to avoid unnecessary delays for the author. Reliable communicative peer reviewers will always stand out from the crowd!

Altruistic – Well, perhaps you also want to boost your career, but essentially reviewing is all about helping your peers to attain the highest quality of work and adding real value by helping improve the standards of published research. High quality research stimulates further research; it creates real impact, and ultimately improves the lives of everyone.


Join the IJPDS Peer Reviewer Panel

If you are interested in becoming a peer reviewer and joining the IJPDS international panel of PDS experts, then now is a great time to seize the opportunity to get involved whilst the call is open.

All you need to do is email us directly using contact@ijpds.org with your name, organisation, area/s of expertise from the list below, specialist subject areas, and contact details.

  • Technical Environments
  • Matching and Data Linking
  • Data Preparation & Analysis Methods
  • Data Governance/Law/Ethics
  • Public Engagement
  • Statistical Analysis
  • Research Methods - Qualitative
  • Research Methods - Quantitative
  • Impact and Policy Making
  • Cohorts and Disease Registers
  • Emerging Data Types
  • GIS/Spacial Data Analysis
  • Other (please specify)

We look forward to welcoming you to the team!


*To qualify for the 10% discount, a reviewer must conduct a thorough peer-review upon request, and then submit an article within 12 months of completing the review. Requests to review articles are based upon the areas of expertise required for the content of a particular manuscript and therefore, we cannot guarantee that every IJPDS peer-reviewer will qualify for this offer.


Thank You to all our 2025 Peer Reviewers!

IJPDS is grateful to our extensive international panel of peer reviewers for your ongoing support for the journal and to the field of Population Data Science.

Since the journal’s inception in 2017, IJPDS has developed an enviable international reputation as the leading journal in Population Data Science, and we recognise the vital role that our reviewers have played in our achievements.

There is no question that the consistently high quality of articles and integrity of the science published in IJPDS is strengthened with the help of our talented reviewers, and so we would like to thank each one of you individually.


  • Munir Ahmad, Survey of Pakistan, Pakistan
  • Ashley Akbari, Swansea University, United Kingdom
  • Isabel Algrant, Actionable Intelligence for Social Policy, University of Pennsylvania, United States of America
  • Bethania de Araujo Almeida, The Centre for Data and Knowledge Integration - Cidacs Fiocruz, Brazil
  • Bachar Alrouh, Lancaster University, United Kingdom
  • Samantha Alvarez-Madrazo, Imperial College London, United Kingdom
  • Helen Bailey, Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia
  • Grace Bailey, Swansea University, United Kingdom
  • Marcos Barreto, London School of Economics and Political Science, United Kingdom
  • Richard Beare, Monash University, Australia
  • Chrianna Bharat, University of New South Wales, National Drug & Alcohol Research Centre
  • Chao Bian, University of Toronto, Canada
  • Margarida Bica, Oxford University, United Kingdom
  • Kerstina Boctor, University of Toronto, Canada
  • Yamina Boukari, University of Oxford, United Kingdom
  • Andy Boyd, University of Bristol, United Kingdom
  • Jennifer Kirsty Burton, University of Glasgow, United Kingdom
  • Kenneth Camargo Jr, Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
  • Andi Camden, The Hospital for Sick Children, Canada
  • Claire Cameron, University of Otago, New Zealand
  • Francesca Cavallaro, The Health Foundation, United Kingdom
  • Danni Chen, Aarhus University, Denmark
  • Linus Chirchir, Research Data Scotland, United Kingdom
  • Sophie Crüwell, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom
  • Lachlan Dalli, Monash University, Australia
  • Anne Sofie Dam Laursen, Aarhus University, Denmark
  • Gabrielle Davie, University of Otago, New Zealand
  • Katrina Davis, King's College London, United Kingdom
  • Alice Rose Dawson, University of Manchester, United Kingdom
  • Pauline Dawson, University of Otago, New Zealand
  • Brandon de Graaf, University of Otago, New Zealand
  • Vanessa De Rubeis, McMaster University, Ontario
  • Abhi Desai, Pace University, NY & New England College, NH, United States of America
  • Chris Dibben, University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom
  • Sarah Donald, University of Otago, New Zealand
  • Jeorg Drechsler, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Germany
  • Julie Dreier, Aarhus University, Denmark
  • Stephanie D'Souza, University of Auckland, New Zealand
  • Ruth Dundas, University of Glasgow, United Kingdom
  • Michelle Elbashir, Swansea University, United Kingdom
  • Freya Elise, University College London, United Kingdom
  • Tom Emery, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Netherlands
  • Michael Falster, Centre for Big Data Research in Health, UNSW Sydney, Australia
  • Wendy Feng, The University of Western Australia, Australia
  • Leanne Findlay, Statistics Canada, Canada
  • Felicity Flack, Population Health Research Network, The University of Western Australia, Australia
  • Michael Flemming, University of Glasgow, United Kingdom
  • Tomas Formanek, Aarhus University, Denmark
  • Barb Fornssler, University of Saskatchewan, Canada
  • Regan Foust, Children's Data Network, University of Southern California, United States of America
  • Debora França dos Santos, Universidade de Brasília, UnB, Brazil
  • Asmare Gelaw, Monash University - National Centre for Healthy Ageing, Australia
  • Antonia Gieschen, Edinburgh University, United Kingdom
  • Randip Gill, The University of British Columbia, Canada
  • Joanna Gong, The Royal Melbourne Hospital, Australia
  • Mariel A Goulart, University of Glasgow, United Kingdom
  • Mark Green, University of Liverpool, United Kingdom
  • Lucy Griffiths, Swansea University, United Kingdom
  • Pauline Gulliver, University of Auckland, New Zealand
  • Christian Hakulinen, University of Helsinki, Finland
  • Eric Hall, Oregon Health & Science University, United States of America
  • Suzanne Hall, Kings College London, United Kingdom
  • Nicola Hamilton, Our Future Health, United Kingdom
  • Lamiece Hassan, The University of Manchester, United Kingdom
  • Amy L Hawn Nelson, University of Pennsylvania, United States of America
  • Oliver Hugh, Perinatal Institute, United Kingdom
  • Karey S Iron, Toronto Metropolitan University, Canada
  • Michelle Kimberly Jamieson, University of Glasgow, United Kingdom
  • Gauri Kamat, Brown University, United States of America
  • Shayda Kashef, ESRC, United Kingdom
  • Lisa Kent, Queens University Belfast, United Kingdom
  • Hannah Kim, Iowa State University, United States of America
  • Russell S. Kirby, University of South Florida, United States of America
  • Joseph Lam, University College London, United Kingdom
  • Renette Lee, School of Social Policy & Practice, University of Pennsylvania, United States of America
  • Julia Levy, IQVIA, United States of America
  • Kate Marie Lewis, UCL Great Ormond Street ICH, United Kingdom
  • Anna Leyland, Sheffield University, Department of Social Studies, United Kingdom
  • Yuhang Liu, Moderna Services, United States of America
  • Lisa Lix, University of Manitoba, Canada
  • Jennifer Madans, Retired Federal Executive, United States of America
  • Hec Maldonado-Reis, University of Pennsylvania, School of Social Policy & Practice; Rutgers University, United States of America
  • Anousheh Marouzi, Saskatchewan Health Authority, Canada
  • Sandra Marquis, University of British Columbia, Canada
  • Louise Marryat, University of Dundee, School of Health Sciences, United Kingdom
  • Paul Martin, University College London, United Kingdom
  • Stefano Mazzuco, University of Padova, Italy
  • Orla McBride, Ulster University, United Kingdom
  • Taylor McLinden, McGill University, Canada
  • Michael Mekbib, Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), Ethiopia​
  • Anjali Menezes, McMaster University, Ontario, Canada
  • Kate M Miller, University of Western Australia, Australia
  • Barry Milne, University of Aukland, New Zealand
  • Sophie Mitra, Fordham University, United States of America
  • Francis Mitrou, The Kids Research Institute Australia, Australia
  • Max Moldovan, University of Adelaide, Australia
  • Tanja Mueller, University of Strathclyde, United Kingdom
  • Sumoni Mukherjee, Prahlad Omkarwati Foundation (POF), India
  • Paul Norman, University of Leeds, United Kingdom
  • Jose Nova, Rutgers Center for State Health Policy, United States of America
  • Melissa O'Donnell, University of South Australia, Australia
  • amy beth ohara, Georgetown University, United States of America
  • Muideen Olaiya, Monash University, Australia
  • Emily Oliver, Economic and Social Research Council, United Kingdom
  • Katherine O'Sullivan, University of Sheffield, United Kingdom
  • P Alison Paprica, ICES, University of Toronto, Vector Institute, Canada
  • Serena Pattaro, University of Glasgow, United Kingdom
  • Lindsay Pearce, Curtin University, Australia
  • Sallie Pearson, University of New South Wales, Australia
  • Rebecca Pepe, University of Pennsylvania, United States of America
  • Robespierre Pita, Universidade Federal da Bahia, Brazil
  • Ramesh Poluru, The INCLEN Trust International, New Delhi, India
  • Leila Posenato Posenato Garcia, Instituto de Pesquisa Econômica Aplicada (Ipea), Brazil
  • Theodora Pouliou, Swansea University, United Kingdom
  • Madeleine Powell, University of New South Wales, School of Population Health, Australia
  • Anders Prior, Aarhus University, Denmark
  • Hude Quan, University of Calgary, Canada
  • Alejandro Quiroz Flores, University of Hertfordshire, United Kingdom
  • Gillian Raab, University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom
  • Charles Rahal, University of Oxford, United Kingdom
  • Francesco Rampazzo, University of Oxford, United Kingdom
  • Sean Randall, Curtin University, Australia
  • Jacques Raubenheimer, University of Sydney, Australia
  • Alyce Raybould, University College London, United Kingdom
  • Melanie Rees-Roberts, NIHR, United Kingdom
  • Nadia Roldsgaard Gadgaard, Aarhus University, Denmark
  • Neil Rowland, Queen's University Belfast, United Kingdom
  • Milagros Ruiz Nishiki, University College London, United Kingdom
  • Flora Samu, Hungarian Central Statistical Office, Hungary
  • Andrea Schaffer, University of New South Wales, Australia
  • Rainer Schnell, University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany
  • Manuela Scioni, Department of Statistical Sciences, University of Padova, Italy
  • Michael Seaborne, Array, United Kingdom
  • Jenny Shand, UCL Partners, United Kingdom
  • Kate Sheffer, Newcastle City Council, United Kingdom
  • Julia Shumway, University College London, United Kingdom
  • Ian Shuttleworth, Queen's University Belfast, United Kingdom
  • Ieva Skarda, Centre for Health Economics, University of York, United Kingdom
  • Rachel Skoss, Telethon Kids Institute, Australia
  • Luke Slawomirski, University of Tasmania/University of Western Australia, Australia
  • Boglarka Soos, University of Calgary, Canada
  • Danielle A Southern, University of Calgary, Canada
  • Ingrid Stacey, The University of Western Australia, Australia
  • Kadie-Ann Sterling, University of Aberdeen, Institute of Applied Health Sciences, United Kingdom
  • Tony Stone, University of Sheffield, United Kingdom
  • Stephanie Straus, Georgetown University, United States of America
  • Yuqi Su, Operations Research, North Carolina State University, United States of America
  • Radwan Talukder, South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute, Australia
  • Janet Tate, Department of Veterans Affairs, U.S. Government, United States of America
  • Yonas Tefera, Monash University, Australia
  • Piotr Teodorowski, University of Stirling, United Kingdom
  • Ian Thomas, Cardiff University, United Kingdom
  • Dave Thomson, FFT Education Datalab, United Kingdom
  • Stephanie Toigo, Public Health Agency of Canada, Canada
  • David Ung, Monash University, Australia
  • Marcelo Urquia, Manitoba Centre for Health Policy, Canada
  • Claire Melissa Vajdic, University of New South Wales, Australia
  • Catalina Vallejos, University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom
  • Adolph Wagala, DFCI/Harvard University, United States of America
  • Roger Ward, Australian Research Data Commons, Australia
  • Christine Whitmore, Vanderbilt University Medical Centre, United States of America
  • Alice Wickersham, King's College London, United Kingdom
  • Aaron Williams, Urban Institute, United States of America
  • Deborah Wiltshire, Gesis, Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences, Germany
  • Pauline Zaldonis, Open Data Coordinator, Connecticut Office of Policy & Management, United States of America
  • Ania Zylbersztejn, University College London, United Kingdom