Some people are asked to referee papers for philosophy journals way too much. Others are asked less frequently.

And among those who are asked less frequently are some who would referee more, if asked.

(For some data on how much refereeing philosophers do, see this post.)

Since the dearth of available referees is one factor that clogs up journal publication in philosophy, I thought I’d do what I can to put the underutilized in touch with the undersupplied.

So below, and also here, is a color-coded spreadsheet, “Philosophers Available to Referee” to which philosophers can add their names.

If you would like to make it known that you’re generally available to referee, and you have a PhD in philosophy (or in another field yet some of your research has been published in philosophy journals) or you’re a current PhD student who has completed all of their coursework, please add yourself to it. (On the topic of whether graduate students should referee, see this.)

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Make sure you have a PhD in philosophy (or, if your PhD is in another discipline, that some of  your writing has appeared in philosophy journals) or that you’re a current PhD student who has completed all of their coursework. (If not, please do not add your name to the spreadsheet.)
2. On the next available dark gray row, overwriting the existing labels, type your name, areas of specialization, website (if you have one), and email address in the appropriate columns. There’s also a “keywords” column if you want to add specific topics within your areas of specialization.
3. Click the row number at the left of the row in which you’ve just entered your information to select it, and then click the “fill color” button. From the row of “standard colors,” select green if you’re currently available to complete a referee report and can get it done within three weeks, or select red if you are temporarily unavailable (for whatever reason). It will be your responsibility to update your availability.

I’m not asking for any further organization of the spreadsheet (such as alphabetization, or groupings by areas of specialization); people can simply use the search function (Ctrl-F/Command-F) to find things on it.

OK, let’s see if this works.

UPDATE: Google has notified me that the spreadsheet is no longer publicly accessible as it was reported for some reason. I’ve appealed the complaint, and with luck it will be back up soon.

Here’s the spreadsheet: