All Questions
507 questions
41
votes
3
answers
18k
views
Is my paper under review (or similar) for too long and if yes, how should I react?
I submitted a paper to a journal, and I suspect that it is handled too slowly.
How can I decide whether my suspicion is correct? What handling times should I expect?
Given some expected handling ...
56
votes
4
answers
4k
views
Attributing contributions to academic work that occur in Stack Exchange
Sometimes we may ask questions on stack exchange or online forums wherein the response is helpful or even essential to a piece of work that gets published in an academic journal. If this occurs, how ...
- 673
66
votes
11
answers
5k
views
Why do academics write peer reviews?
I do not understand what good it does them. A professor said it gives an opportunity to read papers he would not read on his own. I am sure there is more to it but I do not see what they gain by ...
- 2,420
131
votes
7
answers
17k
views
Asked again to review a paper, when the authors don't wish to modify it
I have received a manuscript to review for a journal. The interesting thing is, I had already reviewed this article (exact same title, abstract and author list, almost exact same content) for another ...
- 74.1k
77
votes
10
answers
12k
views
Is it common to review papers assigned to your supervisor?
Is it common to supervisors to email their students papers to review (which were apparently assigned to the supervisor, and not to the student). The field is Computer Science, but I would also like ...
- 13.9k
10
votes
2
answers
3k
views
Can I predict the fate of my manuscript (from information other than a decision letter)?
On this site we often get questions along the lines of:
I submitted my manuscript to a journal. X happened. Does this indicate that my manuscript is about to be rejected/accepted?
Here X is ...
- 65k
72
votes
6
answers
19k
views
What to do if reviewers reject a paper without understanding the content?
One of my friends submitted a paper to a reputable communications journal and received some reviews a week back. The paper was rejected, but the review comments were abysmal:
The language was so bad ...
- 23.2k
54
votes
8
answers
7k
views
Why don't all disciplines follow a double-blind review system?
I'm new to the journal publishing world, and I can't but help wonder why the review process isn't completely blind? By blind, I mean the reviewers don't know who performed the research or (more ...
- 4,653
26
votes
6
answers
7k
views
How can editors and reviewers detect data manipulation?
I am preparing a paper in the field of Computer Science.
In order to report test results, we usually run a number of tests and report the average of those tests.
For each test, we generate random ...
- 12.3k
46
votes
8
answers
17k
views
Is it legal to upload a paper to arXiv when it is under double blind review for one of the IEEE journals?
Is it legal to upload a paper to arXiv when it is under double blind review for one of the IEEE journals? I am suspicious that it may violate the double blind review requirements and I couldn't find ...
- 1,051
35
votes
8
answers
29k
views
Why do editors sometimes accept a paper even if a reviewer recommends rejection?
For the last many days, I have a question in mind related with the editorial decision of accepting or rejecting the manuscript after peer-review:
Few days back I got a review report from a very ...
- 2,035
27
votes
6
answers
143k
views
How much time does each stage of paper in Elsevier Editorial System (EES) take? [closed]
We have submitted a paper to an Elsevier Journal and now I want to know how much time each stage in article lifecycle take?
There is an article in Elsevier site which describes different status of a ...
- 963
81
votes
12
answers
12k
views
Why don't researchers request payment for refereeing?
One of the most criticized aspects of the current publishing scheme, is that academics do pretty much all the work for free and publishers get the money.
Why don't people just charge a fee when ...
- 2,849
69
votes
6
answers
10k
views
Should I accept review requests from dubious journals?
I'm a graduate student with, so far, one published article in a peer-reviewed journal. Since the article came out, I've been receiving increasing amounts of "academic e-mail spam" from people wanting ...
- 5,333
40
votes
3
answers
20k
views
Are there any journals that pay reviewers?
Being a young researcher myself I received a comment from my colleague that some of the journals are paying reviewers for the reviewing process.
When I gave it a thought, it started to make more ...
- 531
37
votes
6
answers
1k
views
Open versus Blind reviewing process
A question I have been wondering for a while is if there exists an actual proof that a blind reviewing process (i.e. where the reviewers are anonymous, and the reviews not published) is better than an ...
user102
31
votes
5
answers
12k
views
Who can submit papers to peer-reviewed journals?
Financial terms, content quality, etc, is not a problem. The author has a contribution that will significantly impact the advancement of human knowledge about a particular topic.
Can anyone submit a ...
30
votes
6
answers
4k
views
In single-blind peer-review, can you reveal your identity without the editor's consent?
In my field (chemistry), review is always done in a single blind process, i.e. the author does not know who the referees were, but the referees do know who the authors are. In ten years, I have never ...
- 74.1k
29
votes
2
answers
7k
views
Under what circumstances can one republish a conference paper/presentation?
For conferences that "peer review" and "publish" full papers, when, if ever, can you resubmit essentially unchanged versions for publication in a peer reviewed journal?
In my field, when conference ...
- 105k
7
votes
3
answers
1k
views
What's involved in reviewing an article?
I've just been invited, for the first time, to review an article. The request was somewhat of a surprise to me, as I'm still a PhD student and I'd always thought that reviewers were generally PhD ...
- 303
154
votes
5
answers
19k
views
What to do if a referee plagiarises the result after rejecting a paper?
I find myself in an awkward situation. Nearly two years ago I submitted a paper to a reputable mathematics journal. After 15 months it was rejected with the rationale that there had been papers ...
- 1,643
68
votes
6
answers
13k
views
What should raise red flags to detect fabricated data
In academia, there has been recently some cases that came to light of very well known scientists that have fabricated their data out of thin air.
In some instances these papers have been cited many ...
- 12k
47
votes
8
answers
4k
views
Can I publish the reviews I write?
This is a follow-up question to Open versus Blind reviewing process, and is somehow related to What happens to the reviews that people write for journal articles after they're sent back to the ...
user102
39
votes
4
answers
3k
views
Value of light-to-none peer reviewed pay-to-publish articles
I have been approached by an international student about doing a PhD with me. As an MSc student in his home country he has published 3 articles in pay-to-publish venues, that are known to have little ...
- 105k
32
votes
5
answers
4k
views
Drawbacks of making public which journal a manuscript is submitted to, while it is under review?
Many researchers list out their submitted manuscripts on their website. Some specify the journal name, like
Smith J, Oliver J (under review) My awesome paper. Nature.
while others don't, like
...
- 5,887
32
votes
4
answers
6k
views
How can an author get assurance that his work will not be stolen by journal staff or reviewers?
Suppose some author provides his original research article to a journal for publication. In this way, he is disclosing or revealing his confidential research work to that journal. Now, consider the ...
- 599
30
votes
3
answers
6k
views
Article "communicated by"
What does it mean when it says under a journal article that it has been communicated by "XYZ" where XYZ is not the author but some other scholar with a very strong reputation? What is the relationship ...
- 1,101
24
votes
5
answers
21k
views
Average time alloted for manuscript review across disciplines
I am asking this question because I've always had the impression that manuscripts submitted to a journal in my field (theoretical linguistics) take an insanely long time to get published, and ...
- 9,096
23
votes
3
answers
7k
views
Is it inappropriate for an author to copy and paste from his/her original paper in an extension paper?
I am currently a referee for a paper.
One of the authors of the paper had written an earlier paper,
which I will refer to as the "original paper,"
and the paper which I am now refereeing is an ...
- 19.6k
19
votes
2
answers
6k
views
Is it okay to inquire about the status of a paper when the online submission system shows no update three months after submission?
Around 3 months ago, I submitted a paper to a Math journal for peer-review through an online submission system. The same day I received in my e-mail an acknowledgement saying that the paper had been ...
- 1,119
101
votes
11
answers
22k
views
Why is peer review so random?
8 Scientific Papers That Were Rejected Before Going on to Win a Nobel Prize
Funding Analysis: Researchers Say NIH Grant Funding Allocation Seems No Better Than Lottery
The same paper resubmitted to ...
- 137k
76
votes
6
answers
20k
views
Can I correct a mistake that the reviewers didn't spot in a paper that has not been accepted yet?
Recently my paper was accepted pending major revisions (i.e., not yet accepted), and while following the reviewers' comments and revising my paper, I realized that both reviewers missed a mistake that ...
- 845
70
votes
12
answers
89k
views
Is it possible to submit a paper to a scholarly, peer-reviewed journal without a PhD and get it accepted?
Is it possible to submit a paper to a scholarly, peer-reviewed journal while not holding a PhD? More specifically, what would be the bare minimum qualifications that would grant one the possibility of ...
- 844
60
votes
4
answers
5k
views
How to discourage irrelevant self-citation?
I once reviewed a manuscript whose authors cited many of their own published papers, which were not relevant to the subject of the manuscript. This kind of practice is evidently frowned upon by the ...
- 8,578
42
votes
5
answers
17k
views
What suggestions should I make when reviewing a poorly written paper?
Since I need a break from the reviewing...
Often in my field I review papers from researchers in Asia (reviews are not double blind) which are poorly written. By poorly written, I don't mean that the ...
- 3,671
41
votes
4
answers
12k
views
How do you earn opportunites to review journals or conference papers?
Critical reading is a very useful skill for most PhD students (and postdocs and researchers in general).
Instead of assuming that everything you read in a scientific paper is right, it's useful to ...
- 6,893
34
votes
4
answers
2k
views
How to effectively address conflicting suggestions from reviewers
A bit of background, I am doing research in atmospheric physics and detection systems
Recently, I received a paper submission back with revisions suggested by a couple of reviewers. For the most ...
user7130
25
votes
2
answers
1k
views
Are the referees of a journal allowed to reveal the title of the papers they review after the review process?
I am wondering if a referee can reveal the title of the papers he/she has refereed for a journal (either by talking about it in the pub, posting it on facebook or another mean) after the decision has ...
- 253
21
votes
5
answers
12k
views
submission review is taking too long [duplicate]
I have submitted an article for a journal in which it was stated that the review time was from 80 to 120 days, that is approximately 4 months at most. The submission of my article was approximately 13 ...
- 8,787
16
votes
4
answers
5k
views
How can author deal with late reviews?
Another problem I personally struggle with in peer-review publication process is the situation when review takes really, really, really long. The precise definition of "long" is probably very area-...
- 56.7k
12
votes
1
answer
8k
views
What should I do, as my submitted paper is still under review after 1 year?
I'd just submitted a manuscript to Robotics & Autonomous Systems Journal on Mar. 1st, 2015. Right after 1 month, its status changed to Under Review. I just waited up to Jan. 2016 and send a letter ...
user41207
85
votes
6
answers
70k
views
Do you list journals you have reviewed for on your CV?
Is it acceptable to list the journals you have reviewed papers for on your CV? Is it common? Do you think it’s recommended?
On the one hand, it shows that you are engaged in this necessary part of ...
- 74.1k
78
votes
4
answers
11k
views
During review, I found a superior solution. What now?
I received a journal paper for a review. The paper suggests a solution to an important problem, but the solution is very complicated and has mediocre performance. While reading the paper, I thought of ...
- 17.2k
60
votes
6
answers
17k
views
Why does editor reject when reviewers recommend acceptance?
I have recently received a response for a paper submission. The paper expanded on a conference presentation, and it was submitted to the journal special issue related to that conference.
All three ...
- 603
51
votes
6
answers
115k
views
When / how should I ask about a manuscript's status in review?
I have a manuscript that has been in review for 60 days. The journal asks for reviews within four weeks. At what point is it acceptable (and not detrimental) to contact the editor for an update? How ...
- 3,341
48
votes
4
answers
73k
views
How to suggest reviewers for a journal?
I recently tried submitting a paper to a journal. It was mandatory to suggest three reviewers. Is this a norm in journal submissions? If yes, how should one choose reviewers if I do not personally ...
- 5,077
46
votes
6
answers
4k
views
As a Ph.D. student, should I spend time reviewing papers?
I am a PhD student halfway through my journey. After I published a few papers, I am getting review requests from some medium rank conference and journal editors. While certainly it is an honour for me,...
- 1,625
45
votes
6
answers
4k
views
How can I clear myself of emotional attachment when reading reviewer feedback?
I have received feedback from reviewers on my latest conference paper (this is in Computer Science).
It was an acceptance, which is nice.
I feel I really need to consider in depth the reviewer ...
- 8,746
39
votes
4
answers
11k
views
How to deal with an unreasonable reviewer asking to cite irrelevant articles?
Two years ago, when I was doing my master’s degree, I was working on a computational project. My supervisor was well-known in the field and a highly reputed person. We were doing a great job, trying ...
- 1,405
35
votes
7
answers
13k
views
Publons - is it a serious thing?
Recently several different, unrelated publishers suggested on their websites to join Publons, which is meant to acknowledge referees for peer-reviewing submitted manuscripts.
Publons even suggests to ...
- 1,959