TRAINING WORKSHOPS
Peer Review in the Social Sciences
16 February 2026 (Monday) 9:00 AM to 6:30 PM
PSSC Mercedes B. Concepcion Seminar Room
Rationale
Peer review is a crucial component of the social science research process. As researchers, social scientists should learn more about peer review, the practice of evaluating a paper’s quality and suitability for publication, in order to develop their capacity in knowledge production. Peer review ensures the quality of research outputs produced by individual researchers and institutions. Thus, this open-call training on peer review is designed to address the needs of Filipino social scientists to learn more about peer review, improve the review process, standardize the quality of review, handle emerging ethical issues in reviewing publication manuscripts, and engage in practical exercises.
Learning Objectives
At the end of the training, participants are expected to be able to:
- improve their critical evaluation skills in reviewing manuscripts;
- adhere to standardized quality of peer reviewing publications;
- handle ethical issues arising in peer review effectively; and
- engage in practical exercises in reviewing manuscripts and submissions.
Our Trainers
Joseph E. Palis, PhD
Dr. Joseph E. Palis is a Professor at the UP-Diliman Department of Geography. He teaches graduate and undergraduate courses on countercartographies, island/archipelagic geographies, geohumanities, cultural geography, among others. He heads the Geonarrative Mapping team – a collective that gathers, studies, analyzes and situates multiple forms of place-based stories and storytelling. He is an active member of the Philippine Geographical Society (PGS) and the American Association of Geographers (AAG).
Vanessa Joy A. Anacta, PhD
Dr. Vanessa Joy A. Anacta is an Associate Professor of Geography at the University of the Philippines Diliman. She pursued a Masters degree in Europe through the Erasmus Mundus program MSc in Geospatial Technologies (consortium of Universidade Nova de Lisboa, University of Muenster, and Universitat Jaume 1) and PhD (Dr.rer.nat) at the University of Muenster in Germany through the DAAD scholarship. Her research interests include: cognitive and behavioral geography, spatial learning, geographic education, participatory mapping, hazards and vulnerability research, and GIScience. She teaches applications of GIS in the social sciences, field methods and research techniques. She has published and reviewed articles in several international journals.
Yany P. Lopez, PhD
Dr. Yany P. Lopez is an Associate Professor in the Department of Geography at the University of the Philippines-Diliman. Her specializations include Geographic Education, Geography of the Philippines, and Children’s Geographies, with research interests focusing on child participation, environmental education, disaster risk reduction (DRR), countermapping, and geonarratives.
How much is the training?
Category | Rate |
|---|---|
Regular Rate | PhP5,000 per participant |
Special Rate (Members of PSSC member-organizations and groups of 3) | PhP4,500 per participant |
How to pay?
Bank Transfer/Deposit
Account name: Philippine Social Science Council Inc.
Account no.: 4822-1107-09
Bank branch: Land Bank of the Philippines Diliman Branch
Online Payment
For online payment, please proceed to this link.
How to register?
Interested participants can visit bit.ly/PSSC-peer-review-reg on or before 9 February 2026 or until slots are filled. You may pay via our online payment center or bank transfer. Upon registration and payment of required fees, please send your proof of payment to training@pssc.org.ph to process your official receipt and provide you further instructions. Should you have any concerns or questions, please do not hesitate to contact the email address or call 8-929-2671.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
The course is open to all social science researchers, faculty, students, development workers, practitioners, and local government officers, private sector staff, and journal and book editors interested in learning more about peer review in the social sciences.
The course will be delivered on-site and synchronously. It will employ lectures, discussions, open fora, and interactive exercises.
The course will be held for one day from 9:00 AM to 6:30 PM. The total duration is 8 hours.
Yes. The participants will receive a Certificate of Completion. Each participant must accomplish an evaluation form to receive the certificate.
PSSC Cancellation and Refund Policy
- The PSSC reserves the right to postpone or cancel a training program in case the minimum number of participants is not met or for other reasons beyond the control of the PSSC, such as typhoons, calamities, or other force majeure events. In such cases, payment made shall be returned to the participants in full.
- Participants who cancel before the seven-day period prior to the start of the course will not be charged any cancellation fee. Payments already made shall be refunded in full.
- Participants who cancel within the seven-day period before the start of the course shall be refunded 50% of the training fee already paid.
- No-show participants or those who cancel on the day itself shall not get a refund of their training fee.
- Substitution of participants is allowed up to one day before the start of the course.
- Communications and notifications regarding cancellations must be emailed to training@pssc.org.ph.
