Aries Systems Corporation

Publications use a variety of different channels to source candidates for peer review. These include recommendations from submitting Authors, database searches, the journal’s pool of Reviewers, or even the Editor’s personal network of researchers. Despite this, it is a common challenge to locate and secure qualified and available Reviewers for pending manuscripts. Not only are search and screening processes highly manual and time-consuming, but journals’ own legacy pool of candidates are often overburdened and lack diverse representation geographically, by age or gender, and by discipline/expertise. For publications that rely on external databases or third-party search tools, they may be subject to potential biases, minimal opportunities for flexibility or customization, limited visibility into researcher insights, misaligned scope, or poor match results. These challenges can introduce several risks for publishers, including decreased engagement from Reviewers, frustration for Authors, delays in publication lifecycles, and compromised research quality.

Aries Systems recognizes a need for a more efficient, fair, and data-driven approach to the Reviewer search process. To resolve this issue, Aries has partnered with many third-party technology providers to offer integrated candidate search solutions to Editorial Manager® (EM) clients through the Aries ecosystem of connected tools. Our recent collaboration with Scopus enables the integration between EM and Find Reviewers using Scopus, a Reviewer search and matching tool. This powerful solution bridges the gap for publishers and editorial office staff through the following four key advantages:

Discover the Breadth of Scopus

Unparalleled Research Coverage​

Scopus connects Editors to millions of researchers at their fingertips. Not only does this widens their network, but also offers a more diverse selection through its extensive database​

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More Options, Informed Selections​

Find Reviewers using Scopus generates up to 100 suggested Reviewers in a single search, facilitating expert matching for every manuscript​

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High-Quality and Reliable Information​

As the world’s largest abstract and citation database, Scopus is enriched with linked scholarly literature and research data that is rigorously vetted

Empower Your Search: Dynamic Search Engine

Flexible Search​

Take control of Reviewer search with Find Reviewers using Scopus’ flexible search options. Editors can search by researcher names, then independently refine parameters, set preferences, and apply filters​

Leverage Submission Metadata​

Editors can search against names and keywords/classifications that are provided by the Author at submission. This is automatically extracted from EM for a more automatic search process

Comprehensive Insights​

As a dynamic search engine, Find Reviewers using Scopus allows Editors to dive into the researchers’ Scopus profiles to assess their qualifications, expertise, and publication history for in-depth screening

Support Integrity: Advanced COI Detection

Manage Excluded Candidates​

Inappropriate candidates are automatically labeled and sorted into a COI list, which Editors can independently manage to either clear or add candidates from the list and refine their search results

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Transparent Alerts​

In addition to visual indicators of potential COIs on researcher profiles, the system will prompt Editors to confirm manual bypass of the COI alert and proceed with invitation for flagged candidates

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Select with Confidence​

The research results pulled from Scopus are based only on the parameters chosen by the Editor, not by machine learning which can be subject to bias, strengthening integrity submitted reviews and research

Experience a Seamless Workflow

Frictionless Interoperability​

Integrated interfaces between EM and Find Reviewers using Scopus offers a seamless, intuitive, and disruption-free invitation workflow for Editors​

Working Smarter​

Find Reviewers using Scopus references manuscript data from EM, including other Reviewers already invited from other sources​. Editors can then examine their Scopus profiles to gain more insights

Improved Experience​

User experience is improved for Editors with reduced administrative recruitment burdens and for Authors with fewer delays in the peer review and publication timeline

To respect and maintain absolute data privacy, all manuscript data from EM and search data conducted by the Editor is not retained or stored in Scopus once the search window is closed. To simplify the arrangement for our Editorial Manager customers, an existing agreement with Scopus is not required and a single-vendor relationship is maintained between Aries and the publisher. Through this seamless integration, publications can leverage in-depth researcher insights to identify suitable Reviewers – ensuring a streamlined, impartial, and confident selection.

To see this integration in action, check out our recent webinar or the video tutorial below. To learn more about how it can benefit your journal portfolio, contact your Aries Account Coordinator or request a free, customized demonstration.