I reviewed a manuscript and suggested a major revision, which was done in meantime. Now that I receive the revised manuscript again, I see that the 2nd reviewer wrote only one sentence in his review to the first draft of the manuscript, although there were major issues at the theoretical, methodological, and linguistic levels. Should I tell the editor that I consider such a review insufficient?
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1Strictly spoken, it's not your job, but the editor's. I remember writing detailed reviews when my co-reviewers wrote very shallow ones with the opposite opinion. They were chastised by the editor. You may consider highlighting it to the editor so that their attention is directed to the matter and not by chance overseen.– Captain EmacsCommented Jan 12, 2021 at 15:16
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@CaptainEmacs How did you know they were chastised?– Azor Ahai -him-Commented Jan 12, 2021 at 15:25
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1@AzorAhai-him- I saw the comments, they were visible to the other reviewers. That was probably good, because I wrote several pages and that reviewer hardly a paragraph, with a very decisive opinion opposite of mine. I would probably have felt a tinge of my time being not properly appreciated if I hadn't seen the editor take action. Imagine that reviewer's suggestion being followed without comment?– Captain EmacsCommented Jan 12, 2021 at 15:39
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2@AzorAhai-him- Perhaps you did a good job :-)– Captain EmacsCommented Jan 12, 2021 at 17:12
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1Follow-up: I approached the editor in a separate message, and he told me he's usually compensating for bad reviews by reading the paper more carefully himself.– sopharCommented Jan 13, 2021 at 13:30
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3 Answers
I see that the 2nd reviewer wrote only one sentence in his review to the first draft of the manuscript, although there were major issues at the theoretical, methodological, and linguistic levels.
Are these issues not addressed in the revised submission (based on your comments)? Have the authors addressed all your comments carefully and satisfactorily?
Should I tell the editor that I consider such a review insufficient?
I would not do this. It is the job of the editor to see whether the reviewer has done justice to the article.
However, if you think there are still some issues with the revised manuscript, give it a fresh read and add more comments, e.g.
"I can see that the authors have addressed all of my previous comments. But, I still see that the article could be further improved if the following few points are addressed..."
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2"It is the job of the editor to see whether the reviewer has done justice to the article." That might make sense in this case, where it is obvious, but in situations where the assessment of a peer review requires special technical knowledge, the editor asking a peer reviewer for feedback on a peer review is appropriate and does happen. Commented Jan 13, 2021 at 0:51
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@AnonymousPhysicist Yes, absolutely. My statement only focused on the present case of OP. As you said, sometimes the editor has to take help of a peer-reviewer; but, isn't it rare though?– CoderCommented Jan 13, 2021 at 17:07
I suspect that the editor has also recognized this and I doubt that your reinforcing it will have any effect. But yes, you can pass on your observations. There may be valid reasons for the "failure" of the other reviewer (or not).
But it seems as if the paper got improved, so the system as a whole hasn't failed.
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The fact that the paper has improved does not necessarily mean that the system hasn't failed. It could still have major flaws, which is why as many people as possible must read the manuscript carefully.– sopharCommented Jan 14, 2021 at 7:36
I have seen this kind of response as an editor - reviewer A says reviewer B's review is terrible because of so-and-so. I was certainly not offended, and neither was reviewer B, because I never shared reviewer A's comments with reviewer B.
So it's OK. In your case though, "I consider their review insufficient" is not something for you to judge; what is sufficient or insufficient is for the editor to decide. A technical comment such as "reviewer B's ___ comment is not appropriate because ___" would be more useful to the editor. Furthermore, in your case, it might not be necessary to tell the editor at all, because it should be obvious that the second reviewer's review is superficial.
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I agree it is ok. Keep in mind that it is possible that the comment does end up with reviewer B, depending on where you put it (if you directly send it to the editor all may be fine, but if you put it in your review it may end up with the other reviewer in one way or another). So word your comments carefully. Commented Jan 13, 2021 at 12:16