Q: Can I decline the review of an article after agreeing to do it?

In specific situations, a researcher can choose to decline an invitation to review a paper, such as conflict of interest, lack of time, and lack of expertise or familiarity with the subject matter. Of these, the latter is critical, because you would be doing a favor to the author by not reviewing the work as you may not be able to add value or recognize major gaps. Depending on the journal, there may be different ways to decline the invitation. On the journal’s online portal, there may be a way to decline the invitation simply by clicking on the “decline” button rather than the “accept” or “continue” button. For some journals, you might need to confirm your response via email.

Unfortunately, in your case, you realized that you were not the best fit for the task after you accepted the invitation and viewed the manuscript. Therefore, please get back to the journal editor without any further delay, clearly explaining your lack of expertise as a reason to withdraw from the review. To assuage the situation, you could offer suggestions of other researchers you might know who are qualified to review the manuscript instead.

It is imperative to clarify this with the journal as early as possible. A timely decline of the review invitation will help the editor invite alternate reviewers and reduce publication delay.