Invitation for a Manuscript Review I have been invited to review a manuscript for a peer-reviewed journal. Actually, this is my first invitation and I am a bit confused whether I should accept or decline. The subject is in the field of experimental physics which is quite different from my research field which is computational physics. In addition, the subject is also different from my background. I really appreciate any advice on this matter and if anyone can guide me whether I should accept or not and why. Thanks a lot for your help and for your prompt reply.
When I am asked to review a manuscript I ask myself three questions:


Do I have the time at the moment to do this?

Normally the invitation to review comes with a time limit. In my field this is typically months in the future but can be limited to weeks. If I have a big deadline or other personal commitment coming up I might pass over the review.
Am I qualified to do the review?

When you are asked to review a paper you are often shown the title and maybe abstract too. The job of a reviewer can be broadly thought of as trying to improve a paper. Even if you are inexperienced you might have other expertise which would add something. If the paper is too far away from your field it may take a very long time for you to read and understand which isn't good for you or the authors.
Am I interested in the paper?

Reviewing should be a two way street. In effect you are giving your time away for free! Normally there is an implicit understanding the others will give their time for free to read your work in the future so it all plays out fair. Having said that if you are giving your time away you might want to get more out of the task than simply paying your service. I normally interpret this question in a quite friendly way and have never turned down a review for this reason.


If you have answered yes to all three there is no harm in accepting. Your review is a recommendation that the editor may or may not listen too when making a final judgement. There will also be other reviewers. Reviewing isn't something you should take too seriously and should hopefully something you enjoy doing!