Is it appropriate to ask for an opinion about a preprint from researchers I don't personally know before submission?

Question

I'm writing a paper as a Ph.D. student, and I'm starting to feel a little bit unsure about the general approach and results. My supervisor isn't a great help here, and I thought to maybe send a preprint to a couple of authors with more expertise than me, whom I cited a lot, and ask their opinion and if they would find it of interest.

Is this appropriate? I wonder if it would look like I ask them to work as my reviewer or supervisor for free, or I would even look like one of these crazy persons sending researchers their huge manuscripts with fringe theories. On the other hand, I would get feedback during peer review anyway, so I'm further unsure about it.

Answer 1

In my field (mathematics) it is somewhat common to send out preprints like this, especially for junior researchers like yourself.

In my experience, the most common way is to send a copy of the paper as an attachment, briefly introduce yourself and the paper, and say something like "I would welcome any comments if you have any. Thank you very much."

In particular I would not recommend asking questions, at least not in an initial email. I would especially avoid questions such as "would you find this of interest", which can be very awkward to answer. As you said, you want to avoid looking like you're asking them to serve as a reviewer or supervisor.

That said, in my opinion, sending a paper and indicating that you'd welcome feedback is a perfectly fine thing to do. I've got some interesting feedback this way as a grad student, and more recently I've responded to similar emails coming from students.

Good luck!

Answer 2

You can do this, but a blind email with a large attachment isn't the way to do it. Instead, you could send an introductory email, introducing yourself and briefly describing your work, perhaps with any notable contributions/results. Then ask them if they would be willing to give you feedback on the paper itself.

Don't neglect to tell them the length and any time constraints you might have.

Even better if this intro email is from your advisor. Or, if that is impossible, copying your advisor (with permission) on the mail. It is harder to turn down a request from a colleague/peer than from a student.

But, in addition to getting feedback it is a way to expand your circle of contacts which can be valuable in the future.

Answer 3

If the author you send it to is close enough that you cite her/his work, then it might be ok. Make sure that the person is still active in the area. If your field puts papers on arxiv, sending a link after putting it there is ok (but also, I have gotten emails where the intention is to put it on arxiv in the upcoming week).

Answer 4

It might be field dependent. To me, the most critical aspect isn't the reaction of the contacted expert but rather that of your supervisor.

Sending your ms out without knowledge on the part of your supervisor seems a bit uncommon.

Obviously all this depends on the "supervising style" of your supervisor and eventually on the relationship between groups etc.

This is to say that you should frankly discuss your idea with your supervisor instead of asking here, because we don't know the scenario and its details.