《How to Revise a Research Paper and Respond to Reviewers》.ppt

How to be a Good Reviewer Evaluate the paper honestly, objectively, and critically Disclose any potential conflicts of interest Identify areas in which you are not an expert Write constructive and helpful reviews Maintain confidentiality [Benos et al., 2003] Positive Review Negative Review Reviewer’s Average Score on 10+ Papers Number of Reviewers Assassins Demoters Zealots Pushovers Mainstream Odds of Getting a Harsh Reviewer Positive Review Negative Review Reviewer’s Average Score Probability of Reviewer harsh reviewers Odds of Getting a Harsh Reviewer Digesting the Reviews Four-step process: Read the reviews once, and then file them in a safe location Don’t think about the reviews for at least a week (instead go skiing, golfing, etc.) Read the reviews again Discuss the reviews with your co-authors and create a plan-of-attack Outline Understanding the review process Digesting the reviews Revising your paper Communicating your revisions to the reviewers and editor Conclusions Deciding What to Change You must address all comments You can’t pick-and-choose which comments to address Even minor comments need to be addressed Address does not always mean change You and your co-authors should decide what to change, and what to defend Often, changing is the easiest route (demonstrates openness to suggestions) Deciding What to Change Change does not always mean revamp Easy changes include: Rewording Adding extra references Adding an extra paragraph, table, or figure Adding an appendix More difficult changes include: Modifying your central hypothesis Modifying your main algorithm Redoing an experiment Deciding What to Change Always change technical errors It’s the reviewer’s job to find these Even minor errors can cast doubt Always change errors in references Skilled reviewers know the history better than newer authors You don’t want to get off on the wrong foot with experts in the field by not citing the correct papers in the correct order Deciding What to Change Always cha