Additional Information

Benefits of Peer Reviewing

Recognition

MERLOT recognizes your important contributions with these rewards:

Opportunity to win a $50 gift card each month you complete a Peer Review
A personal letter of appreciation at the end of the year
Honorary Member of the Editorial Board in your discipline upon completion of 5 or more reviews per year (April 1 - March 31)
Peer Reviewer Extraordinaire award recognizing individuals as for completing fifteen or more Peer Reviews during a year. You receive a complimentary registration (a $795 value) to the annual conference.

Comments from GRAPE Camp Participants:

I’ve been reviewing papers for years, but this is the first time I’ve actually been taught how to do it properly. Grape Camp will improve the quality of my work as an author and as a reviewer.
This was a really enjoyable training experience. I'm quite excited at the prospect of applying the skills I learned toward (potentially - hopefully!) improving the OER experience for educators in search of materials.
Overall, this was very well done. I'm glad I participated.
Well-designed orientation.
It was very helpful for me to do this asynchronously due to changing computer systems in the middle of the training! I am pleased to be part of your reviewer group.
Respectful of participant's time by keeping sessions valuable and on-time.
I think it’s a great idea and appreciate the time of the facilitator.
Grape Camp was a good learning experience. The materials were organized and clear.
The instructor is knowledgeable, enthusiastic and responsive. Thank you.
It was an enjoyable and comfortable 'classroom' environment.
I think Grape camp is a good way to learn about doing reviews. The format is flexible, as in my case I missed a session and could watch the archived presentation.
I thought the amount of time was just right and the instructor was available for questions between instructional sessions.

MERLOT GRAPE Camp Voices

MERLOT GRAPE Camp Voices is a great place to learn about current strategies and issues that are being discussed in the area of the MERLOT Peer Review Process. Click here to share comments and questions: MERLOT GRAPE Camp Voices.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. When you mention posting something to Voices in your email, what do you mean?

Voices is a discussion forum that we use in MERLOT. It is actually hosted by Ning, which is why you have to sign up before getting access to our discussion. Provide as little information as you can in your Ning sign-up, because you’ve already added a lot of information to your MERLOT profile. A lot of people participate in GRAPE Camp, many of them asynchronously. Hence, they don’t have an opportunity to talk to others. We use Voices to introduce participants to each other and to answer questions that could benefit the whole group. Please feel free to contact anyone else who has posted something, as you may have things in common.

2. Will the author of the material know that I did a review of his/her material? I am a new faculty member and don’t want one of the gurus in the field to know that I reviewed his material.

The MERLOT Peer Review process is anonymous to all outsiders. You are not even able to see who else is doing the same peer review as you. Only the Editor has access to that information. When you submit your Individual Review, it will have your name on it, but again, remember, that review is in Workspace. When the final review is published, it will say that it was completed by the (Discipline) Editorial Board, so you are not identified.

3. Can I peer review in several disciplines?

It is possible but we like to get you started in the one in which you teach the most. Although we all follow the same procedures for doing the peer review, each Editorial Board may have a different “style.” For instance, in Business, we use bullet points and phrases. In other disciplines, complete sentences are required. Another factor is that you will have to have two different workspaces in MERLOT. We suggest you review in one discipline for a year before you decide to make any changes.

4. How many peer reviews will I do?

We ask you to commit to at least one per semester or two per year to be an active MERLOT Peer Reviewer. If you do fewer than that, you might forget how to do them. Many reviewers commit to perhaps 3 per semester, which is completely doable. After you do your first review in your discipline, the Editor will ask you how many you would like to do. We want you to have the experience of doing a review in your discipline before deciding.

5. How long does it take to do a peer review?

There is no easy answer to that. It really depends on the type of material you are reviewing. You should expect to spend no more than 3 to 4 hours from beginning to end. Also, as you become more comfortable with reviewing, you will be able to complete the review more easily. Some materials are very complex while others are less so and won’t require as much time. If you ever feel overwhelmed, just contact the Editor and ask for more time.

6. One of the requirements is that you be an instructor. I’m not an instructor. Can I still peer review?

For all of our discipline communities, you really need to teach in the field. You will be asked to evaluate a resource based on its potential effectiveness as a teaching tool. If you have never taught, you may not understand how students learn, or what effective teaching strategies are. There are several Editorial Boards for which that is not a requirement: Faculty Development, Instructional Technology, ICT Literacy, and Library and Information Services. Individuals in those fields work with faculty and students over a wide variety of topics.

7. What if my field is not in one of the editorial boards?

In that case, we would ask to find one of the boards that is closely related to your field. The way the MERLOT Peer Review Process is set up, we only can review in the fields for which we have Editorial Boards. On the other hand, if you are interested in creating an Editorial Board in your discipline, we have procedures for that. You would assist us in creating a Task Force which will submit materials to MERLOT, determine the taxonomy, and add comments and learning exercises to materials. You would be responsible for recruiting a committed group of people who are willing to do this. We work closely with you and the rest of the group. This has been done with some of our disciplines, so please let us know if you’re willing to do so. You also would probably become the Editor of the Editorial Board.

8. If I have to drop out of GRAPE Camp due to personal reasons, will I have to start all over again?

Sometimes personal or job-related responsibilities occur and you need to drop out. With this self-study, you can drop right back in again. We’re willing to provide whatever support you need.

9. How often is GRAPE Camp offered?

The live GRAPE Camps are normally offered each month for three weeks. There will be a designated day of the week and time for the sessions. For the self-study, you can start any time you want. Using the self-study, you can also easily get through GRAPE Camp quickly. When you sign up for the self-study, you indicate the month in which you want to start. You will be sent the information at the same time the live participants get theirs. You are also welcome at any time to join our live sessions.

10. Are there ways to see what other technical requirements are necessary when viewing material?

Sometimes the author of the material will provide that information. At other times, you may just have to figure it out using a few assumptions. For instance, if it is a Flash material (usually designated by a file extension of .swf, the user will need a Flash player to view it. Likewise, if it is an audio file, they would need speakers. If they need to look at a PDF, they would need Adobe Acrobat Reader. Keep in mind that since most of us have these already on our computer, MERLOT is used by people around the world who may have more primitive systems than you. Thus, providing this information is important. We also always ask you to indicate which browser you used to access the material, so users will know that it works with that one.