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What should you do when a reviewer cites an unpublished thesis that you cann...
Question
A reviewer cites an inaccessible PhD thesis as critical context for their comment. You cannot obtain the document. How do you respond fairly?
Tping, Jessica and 9 others2 Comments-
Politely ask the reviewer or editor to share key relevant excerpts.
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State that you cannot evaluate the source without access.
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When should you contact the editor proactively during review, rather than wa...
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Most of the time you wait quietly. But some situations benefit from a short proactive message. What scenarios justify reaching out to the handling editor mid‑review?
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Notify editors if you discover a critical error in your submitted manuscript.
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Alert them if key authors leave the project or authorship changes.
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What is your strategy for managing multiple concurrent manuscript revisions?
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Working on several rebuttals at once is common for active labs. Context switching creates mistakes and missed comments. What systems keep multiple revisions organised?
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Create a separate folder and response document for each revision.
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Use a checklist for every reviewer comment per manuscript.
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What to do when a preprint you cite gets retracted or heavily revised before...
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You cite a preprint during revision, then the preprint is withdrawn or drastically rewritten. How should you update citations and explain the change to editors?
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Track preprint versions and update to the latest stable release.
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Add a brief note in rebuttal if the cited result is no longer valid.
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What are the biggest pitfalls when writing a cover letter for journal submis...
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Cover letters are short but easy to mess up. Generic templates, overclaiming novelty or ignoring journal scope can hurt your submission immediately. What mistakes do you avoid?
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Do not repeat the abstract verbatim in the cover letter.
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Explicitly connect your work to the journal’s stated aims and scope.
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What do you do when reviewers ask for an impossible new experiment with no a...
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Reviewers sometimes request new experiments that cannot be done: samples exhausted, equipment decommissioned or cohort closed. How do you construct a polite, persuasive response without sounding defensive?
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Clearly state the concrete barrier and provide evidence where possible.
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Offer alternative supporting analyses you can run with existing data.
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What is your personal checklist before submitting a revised manuscript back ...
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After finishing major revision work it is easy to overlook small but important items. What fixed checklist points do you run through before clicking submit on your revised manuscript package?
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Verify every point raised by reviewers receives explicit response in rebuttal document.
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Double‑check that all in‑text citations correspond to reference‑list entries.
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What factors should you weigh before agreeing to serve on a journal editoria...
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Being an editorial‑board member brings prestige but also substantial time obligations. Many early‑career researchers receive such invitations. What practical considerations should you evaluate before accepting editorial‑board appointment?
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Estimate real monthly time commitment expected from board‑member role.
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Assess whether journal’s mission, scope and editorial philosophy align with your values.
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What criteria help you decide whether you should respond to public online cr...
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After publication your work may receive public online criticism on social platforms. Responding takes time; ignoring may leave misleading claims unchallenged. What considerations guide your choice whether to reply to public online critiques?
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Evaluate whether criticism points out genuine substantive scientific errors in your work.
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Ignore purely ad‑hominem or aggressively hostile commentary entirely.
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What heuristics help you decide if a research preprint deserves to be cited ...
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Preprints are everywhere, but they lack formal peer review. Some are high‑quality complete work; others are preliminary rough drafts. What quick heuristics guide your decision whether to cite a given preprint in your journal paper?
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Check how complete the methodology, results and discussion sections appear.
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Consider whether there exists any corresponding peer‑reviewed published alternative.
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