Free access to journals for journal reviewers

By Sandra Ham acting as contributor.

Do you know that some journals offer peer reviewers free access to journals and databases in exchange for sharing time and expertise by peer reviewing a manuscript? For independent scholars who actively publish in peer-reviewed journals, whether as an independent scholar or in their "day jobs," this can be a valuable source of free, temporary access to more journals. For example, my recent peer review of a manuscript for the Elsevier journal, Current Therapeutic Research, concluded with instructions to activate 30 days of complimentary access to ScienceDirect and SCOPUS via the Rewards section of my profile in Reviewer Hub at Elsevier. This month of free access is available for any month within six months of accepting the request to review the manuscript.