Cite an open peer review report as a standalone document with the reviewer's name (if disclosed), publication date, and DOI or URL of the review.
Basic Citation Format
Most style guides treat peer review reports as unpublished manuscripts or online documents. In APA 7th edition, the format is:
Reviewer, A. A. (Year). Peer review of [Article title]. Journal Name. DOI or URL
If the reviewer is anonymous, use "Anonymous" or "Reviewer 1" as listed in the platform. Include the original article's title in brackets to provide context.
Example Citations
APA Style:
Smith, J. (2023). Peer review of "Machine learning applications in genomics." eLife. https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.12345.sa1
MLA Style:
Smith, John. "Peer review of 'Machine learning applications in genomics.'" eLife, 2023, doi:10.7554/eLife.12345.sa1.
In-Text Mentions
When referencing the review in your text, clarify what you're citing:
"As noted in the peer review by Smith (2023), the methodology required additional validation..."
This distinguishes the review from the article itself, which you would cite separately.
Platform-Specific Considerations
Different journals handle open reviews differently. Some publish reviews as supplementary files with their own DOIs (like eLife and F1000Research), while others embed them on the article page without separate identifiers. If no DOI exists, use the stable URL and access date.
Verification Matters
Open peer reviews are valuable because they're traceable and transparent. When citing them, double-check that the reviewer name, date, and link match what's publicly available. WisPaper's TrueCite automatically verifies citations against published metadata and flags formatting errors, which helps catch misattributed reviews or broken links before submission.
When to Cite Reviews
Cite peer reviews when discussing the article's reception, methodological critiques, or scholarly debate around findings—not as primary evidence for claims. The review itself is commentary, so treat it as a secondary source that contextualizes the research.
