GIES PhD Club

It's an R&R! What Next?

Congratulations!

• What is an R&R?
• There are reasons to celebrate
• First reaction stays with you
• Make a time-plan

Strategy

• Read the reviews very carefully and take all seriously
• You do not need to agree with everything
• Yet it is difficult to challenge a reviewer while being thoughtful and respectful
• Divided reviews
  • Do not pick sides, take charge and bring consensus
  • Do not glance over the critical readers
  • Read into the editor's feedback carefully
• Pay very close attention to the editor's comments

Writing

• How nice should you be on a scale from 1 to 10?
• Comment by comment or grouping of issues?
• How long is a good memo?
• How long does it take to write a good memo?
• How detailed your response should be?
• Should you try (hard) to get the paper out?
• Do R&Rs go wrong?

Remember

• Take time to cool down
• Be professional and focused in your response
• Balance "my paper my way" with the fact that science is a social process
• All parties involved should feel good at the end
• Different people have different styles – accommodate your co-authors
• Think about open access and scientific outreach
• Open Peer-Review (e.g., Nature Communications)
   
• Let's have a look at some examples 

Thank you