From the context of your question, it appears that you have no advanced degrees which makes it unusual for you to be asked to review scholarly manuscripts for a journal. Normally, requests to review are a recognition of your expertise in the field in which you are asked to provide a review. This is also considered service to the profession and is part of the responsibility of being an expert in the field. It can be listed on your resume and is an acknowledgment that you are externally recognized as an expert in the topic area of the manuscript.

Best regards,

Deborah

Hi Morteza, It's indeed generally a sign of recognition of your expertise that you get asked to review manuscripts. However, you need to consider a couple of things. You getting asked to review is typically the results of a somewhat automated system - since you recently published something in an international journal, your name is included automatically in different databases, usually together with keywords that relate to the paper(s) that you wrote. Hence when an editor needs reviewers, depending on the editorial system he/she either handpicks reviewer candidates from a list in their system, or the system selects candidates based on the keywords (=expertise) list. Neither is obviously a fool-proof approach. It is important that you ask yourself if you feel that you have the knowledge to assess the paper you were asked to review - do you know enough about the subject matter, and the methods used? It is ok if you are not 100% familiar with every aspect - you can make that clear in the review, so that the editor  understand better your expertise.

You also need to understand that it has been getting very difficult for editors to find reviewers - the number of journals and submitted papers has been rising steadily,a and researchers have ever more work on their desks (since they not only have to teach (most of them anyway) and do research, but also acquire funding, to project administration, accounting, etc.). I am an editor for 2 journals, and sometimes I need to ask more than 10 people before getting 2 or 3 to accept. Hence, increasingly also PhD students or similar junior researchers get asked.

In sum, if you think you have the knowledge, go for it - it's a very valuable experience for your own research.

Good luck, Norman

@Norman Kerle

I am truly grateful for your answer. I will consider your points next time as I have declined the previous invitations.

You know yourself better than anyone. If you think it is relevant to your area of expertise and that you have the time and skill set to do it, then go ahead. Yes, some journals do provide you with a certificate acknowledging your contribution; I have received few from journals that I have served regularly as a reviewer. You do learned a lot when you review papers; not only you learned about the subject matter but the methodology of conducting research and you also learned on how to review and assess the quality of research and it does help you in creative writing as well. So my advice is to go ahead but only if you have the time and intellectual competency on the subject.

Hope this helps Morteza Teymoori