Become A Reviewer

GeoHuman: People, Place, and Power

GeoHuman: People, Place, and Power welcomes qualified scholars, researchers, and professionals to join our reviewer pool. Reviewers play an essential role in maintaining the academic quality, credibility, and integrity of the journal. Through constructive peer review, reviewers help authors improve their manuscripts and support the publication of rigorous, original, and ethically responsible research.

The journal publishes scholarly works at the intersection of human geography, geospatial studies, environmental governance, spatial justice, place-based studies, territoriality, urban-rural transformation, community-based spatial knowledge, and related fields.

1. Role of Reviewers

Reviewers are responsible for evaluating manuscripts objectively, confidentially, and constructively. Their main role is to provide expert assessment of the manuscript’s academic quality, originality, methodological rigor, ethical compliance, relevance to the journal’s aims and scope, and contribution to knowledge.

Reviewers are expected to provide clear, fair, and helpful comments that assist both the editor in making editorial decisions and the author in improving the manuscript.

2. Reviewer Responsibilities

Reviewers are expected to:

1. Evaluate manuscripts objectively and professionally.
2. Provide constructive, evidence-based, and respectful feedback.
3. Maintain confidentiality of all manuscripts and review materials.
4. Declare any potential conflict of interest before accepting a review invitation.
5. Review only manuscripts within their area of expertise.
6. Complete the review within the agreed timeframe.
7. Avoid using unpublished manuscript content for personal, academic, or professional advantage.
8. Identify relevant literature that may strengthen the manuscript where appropriate.
9. Alert the editor to suspected plagiarism, duplicate publication, data problems, ethical concerns, or other forms of research misconduct.
10. Avoid personal criticism of authors.

3. Reviewer Eligibility

Applicants who wish to become reviewers should meet the following criteria:

1. Hold at least a master’s degree or doctoral degree in a relevant field.
2. Have academic expertise related to the scope of the journal.
3. Have experience in research, publication, teaching, professional practice, or peer review.
4. Have published scholarly work in reputable journals, books, proceedings, or academic platforms.
5. Be able to review manuscripts in English.
6. Be willing to follow the journal’s peer review policy, publication ethics, and confidentiality requirements.
7. Have no unresolved record of publication misconduct.

Priority may be given to applicants who have expertise in:

1. Human geography.
2. Geospatial analysis.
3. Geographic Information Systems.
4. Remote sensing.
5. Environmental governance.
6. Urban and regional studies.
7. Rural studies.
8. Spatial planning.
9. Political ecology.
10. Territoriality and place-based studies.
11. Spatial justice.
12. Disaster and resilience studies.
13. Community-based mapping.
14. Cultural geography.
15. Development studies.
16. Sustainability studies.
17. Social and environmental policy.

4. Conflict of Interest

Reviewers must decline a review invitation if they have a conflict of interest that may affect their objectivity.

A conflict of interest may include:

1. Recent collaboration with the author.
2. Working at the same institution as the author.
3. Personal relationship with the author.
4. Financial interest related to the manuscript.
5. Academic competition.
6. Supervisory relationship.
7. Previous involvement in the research.
8. Any condition that may compromise impartial judgment.

If reviewers are unsure whether a situation constitutes a conflict of interest, they should contact the editorial office before accepting the review invitation.

5. Confidentiality

All manuscripts received for review are confidential documents. Reviewers must not share, copy, distribute, discuss, or disclose manuscript content to others without permission from the editor.

Reviewers must not use unpublished data, ideas, maps, figures, tables, findings, or arguments obtained through peer review for personal benefit or for the benefit of others.

6. Review Criteria

Reviewers are asked to evaluate manuscripts based on the following criteria:

1. Relevance to the journal’s aims and scope.
2. Originality and novelty.
3. Clarity of title, abstract, and keywords.
4. Strength of research problem and objectives.
5. Theoretical or conceptual contribution.
6. Appropriateness of methodology.
7. Transparency of data collection and analysis.
8. Validity of findings.
9. Coherence of results and discussion.
10. Quality of maps, tables, figures, and visual materials.
11. Relevance and adequacy of references.
12. Ethical compliance.
13. Academic writing quality.
14. Overall contribution to geography, spatial studies, environmental governance, or related fields.

7. Reviewer Recommendations

After completing the review, reviewers may recommend one of the following decisions:

1. Accept Submission.
2. Minor Revision.
3. Major Revision.
4. Resubmit for Review.
5. Reject Submission.

Reviewer recommendations are advisory. The final decision is made by the Editor-in-Chief or assigned editor.

8. Review Timeline

Reviewers are normally expected to complete their review within three to six weeks after accepting the review invitation. If additional time is needed, reviewers should inform the editorial office as soon as possible.

If reviewers are unable to complete the review, they should decline the invitation promptly so that the editor can invite another reviewer.

9. Reviewer Recognition

GeoHuman: People, Place, and Power values the contribution of reviewers to the scholarly publishing process. The journal may recognize reviewer contributions through:

1. Official reviewer acknowledgement.
2. Reviewer certificate upon request.
3. Annual list of reviewers, subject to reviewer consent.
4. Reviewer record in the journal’s internal database.
5. Future invitation to editorial activities based on review quality and expertise.

Reviewer identity will not be disclosed in relation to any specific manuscript unless explicitly permitted by the reviewer and allowed by the journal’s review policy.

10. How to Apply

Scholars who are interested in becoming reviewers may submit a reviewer application to the editorial office.

Applicants should provide:

1. Full name.
2. Institutional affiliation.
3. Country.
4. Email address.
5. ORCID ID, if available.
6. Google Scholar, Scopus, Web of Science, or institutional profile link, if available.
7. Highest academic degree.
8. Areas of expertise.
9. Recent publications.
10. Previous reviewing or editorial experience, if any.
11. Short academic biography.

Applications may be sent to the editorial office through the official journal contact email or through the reviewer registration form provided on the journal website.

11. Reviewer Selection

Submitting an application does not guarantee immediate appointment as a reviewer. The editorial team will evaluate each application based on expertise, publication record, academic background, ethical standing, and relevance to the journal’s scope.

Approved reviewers will be added to the journal’s reviewer database and may be invited to review manuscripts that match their expertise.

12. Ethical Commitment

By agreeing to become a reviewer, applicants confirm that they will follow the journal’s peer review policy, publication ethics, confidentiality requirements, conflict of interest policy, and standards of responsible scholarly evaluation.

The journal reserves the right to remove reviewers from the reviewer database if they violate confidentiality, provide inappropriate reviews, fail to disclose conflicts of interest, engage in unethical conduct, or repeatedly fail to complete assigned reviews without explanation.