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I received reviewers' feedback after the first round of major revision. One reviewer recommended acceptance, but the other is still not satisfied. The unsatisfied reviewer discounted what I have revised and pointed out specific questions that were not asked in the 1st round.

I feel his/her comments are quite biased and subjective. Unfortunately, the editor agrees with him/her and invited a major revision. However, the editor clearly stated that the chance of getting accepted after a 2nd revision is very low. I am not sure whether I should proceed with a revision or a just withdraw. I personally think my work might have been misjudged.

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  • Unfortunately, the editor agrees with him/her and invited a major revision. However, the editor clearly stated that the chance of getting accepted after a 2nd revision is very low. - What is the actual wording used (redacted okay)?
    – Kimball
    Aug 22, 2018 at 5:41
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    Probably the editor meant the following: if you don't address the comments, then I would have no choice but to reject the paper. It could also be that the journal's policy is to allow at most x number of revisions. I would revise the paper and resubmit if the comments are addressable. Aug 22, 2018 at 8:36

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I understood from the question that you are asking whether to do the second major revision or not since the chance of acceptance is low.

I think it's better to go through with the second major revision and see what will happen. If you think the other referee's notes (aside from the one you think is biased) are valid, and doing those revisions will enrich your paper, then do it.

Your relationship with the editor do not end with publishing this paper or refusing to publish it. You may probably deal with the editor later in your professional life, and you might submit another paper to the same journal despite how this paper will end. So you wanna maintain a relationship with the journal editor. Stopping the communication about this paper without providing a valid reason is not good idea.

Good Luck!

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    I think withdrawing the paper without providing a valid reason is unlikely to damage one's relation with the journal. After all, they have no authority over your paper - if you withdraw it, you're effectively saying "I no longer consent to have you publish my paper", and they can't complain.
    – Allure
    Aug 21, 2018 at 22:27
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The editor's doing something weird. If the odds of acceptance are very low, then he could have rejected the paper. So the fact that the decision was 'major revision' is sort of saying that there's still a chance of acceptance.

I think it comes down to whether you still want to publish in the journal. If not, then you might as well withdraw now and save everyone's time. If yes, then make the revisions and try again. Worst case scenario, your paper gets rejected, but the revisions should still be helpful if you submit it to another journal.

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