All Questions
2,517 questions
269
votes
8
answers
25k
views
A paper I received to review has (independently) duplicated work that we are writing up. How to proceed in light of peer-review confidentiality?
I did some research with some collaborators, and we have been writing an article ("paper A") describing the work.
A few days ago I received a request to review an article ("paper B") that covers most ...
- 3,774
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
140
votes
22
answers
37k
views
Should I simply ignore it if authors assume that I'm male in their response to my review of their article?
I received a response about a manuscript I reviewed earlier, and the authors write about the reviewer (i.e., me) and his concerns. As a woman, I'm not so keen on this.
Obviously this isn't ...
- 10.1k
135
votes
12
answers
37k
views
I am an editor for a lousy paper and I found a better algorithm than theirs. Must I share it with them?
I am handling a paper as an associate editor that proposed an algorithm that I find to be weak. In fact, I was able to show that a very simple, brute-force approach actually has a better running time ...
- 1,111
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
117
votes
5
answers
12k
views
If I request a paper through my university library, must they pay a substantial amount of money?
I was asked to referee a mathematics article, submitted for publication in a reputable journal. To evaluate it, I also wanted to look at a cited article which it claims to extend. Upon searching ...
- 26.5k
114
votes
10
answers
23k
views
Editor rejected manuscript claiming it is similar to a not-yet-published manuscript (that I haven't seen). How to proceed?
A few months ago, I submitted a manuscript. After the reviews were completed I received a rejection decision from the Associate Editor (AE). The rejection was based on the basis of a single rejection ...
- 1,013
112
votes
11
answers
15k
views
Ethical concerns regarding the review of a paper on autonomous armed drones
I would like your suggestion on a delicate matter involving a paper that I am reviewing. I will avoid giving too many details to preserve anonymity.
In this article the authors describe an algorithm ...
- 857
103
votes
10
answers
20k
views
During peer-review, should I comment on the authors' messy code?
I'm reviewing a paper in pure mathematics. A lot of results in the paper depend heavily on computer computations, and the authors have provided in the article a link to the Magma code they used for ...
- 821
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
101
votes
5
answers
27k
views
What should I do if I suspect one of the journal reviews I got is AI-generated?
I’ve submitted a paper to a reputable journal and received two reviews asking for a revision. One of the reviews is on-topic and helpful. The other, however, I suspect was generated by an AI based on ...
- 863
94
votes
13
answers
15k
views
Is it OK to refuse to cite paywalled papers?
I wonder how reviewers would react if authors of a submitted paper refuse to cite paywalled papers. Is it a valid reason to refuse citing some papers?
I am mostly interested in the field of computer ...
92
votes
9
answers
21k
views
Referee says the proof is wrong, but it is not, what to do?
About 3 months ago, my co-author and I submitted a mathematical paper to a journal. Yesterday, we got the editor's response and the paper has been rejected. The reason is that the referee thinks that ...
- 941
87
votes
13
answers
15k
views
What to answer an author asking me if I reviewed his/her paper?
Suppose I review someone's paper anonymously, the paper gets accepted, and a year or two later we meet e.g. in a social event and he/she asks me "did you review my paper?". What should I answer? There ...
- 17.2k
87
votes
11
answers
47k
views
Can I, as a reviewer, tell authors to get a native English speaker to proofread their paper?
I am reviewing a paper for possible publication in a respected journal. The English in the paper is very poor. The authors are clearly not native English speakers. I want to write something to the ...
- 741
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
82
votes
12
answers
21k
views
Is it acceptable to use non-English references in a computer science paper?
I am currently reviewing an interdisciplinary computer science paper which is heavily based on previous works in logistics and process engineering that have been unfortunately published only in German ...
- 887
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
80
votes
6
answers
21k
views
Is it okay to mention we're citing an article only because a reviewer told us to?
In a recent review, one reviewer said we must rework the paper in light of two other papers. One paper was a highly valuable suggestion, and we've enthusiastically taken it on board. However, the ...
- 10.1k
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
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
77
votes
3
answers
5k
views
A manuscript I refereed gave me an idea for a paper, not sure how to proceed
So, last week I refereed a paper for a journal. The paper in question is a reply to a previous paper by a different author: it points out a serious problem in the original paper and then proposes a ...
- 9,096
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
76
votes
7
answers
12k
views
Is it okay for a reviewer to share an under review manuscript with their colleagues?
In a research meeting I mentioned I was doing some peer-review for a conference and disclosed the general topic it was about, without any further details. Immediately my colleagues demanded I disclose ...
- 2,756
76
votes
3
answers
15k
views
How should I handle poor English in reviewing an article that claims to be proofread by two native English speakers?
I was asked to review an article written by non-native English speakers. I had never seen this before, but the manuscript includes a link to a certificate from a website called Textcheck that says:
...
- 741
74
votes
14
answers
16k
views
How is it possible that [insert known crackpot] has articles published in Peer-Reviewed Journals?
Note: This question is intended to be a generic version of something that gets asked occasionally on this site. I apologize for making it overly-contrived, but it's intended to be a generic template ...
- 48.8k
72
votes
8
answers
16k
views
I got a paper to review from a journal that had rejected my earlier works, how to respond?
Recently, I got a paper to review for a journal (Elsevier) which is very reputed. The fact is that this journal had rejected two of my earlier works after keeping it under review for more than a year ...
- 13.1k
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
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
70
votes
7
answers
8k
views
Should a paper be reviewed in entirety, if the introduction contains plagiarized passages?
I'm very new to being a peer reviewer. I agreed to anonymously review a paper for publication, and while reading it for the first time, I was a little annoyed by the writing style. It sort of reminded ...
- 683
70
votes
6
answers
12k
views
Seemingly-irrelevant papers, all with author in common, suggested by reviewer
I recently received a decision letter calling for minor revisions prior to acceptance. One anonymous reviewer was extremely knowledgeable and provided many helpful suggestions to better explain and ...
- 833
69
votes
9
answers
15k
views
Journal published a paper, ignoring my objections as a referee
A few months back I received a request from a reputed journal to review an article. The article was in a fast-track mode because of its assumed importance. I did review it, and found that it makes ...
- 2,334
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
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
67
votes
11
answers
14k
views
How can I obfuscate my writing style when I review papers?
Does anyone have any good advice for obfuscating one's writing style when reviewing papers? I have a fear that I would inadvertently use the same turn of phrase in a referee report as in some ...
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
66
votes
12
answers
14k
views
Reject a paper based on relevant but pointless research direction
Disclaimer: this is a hypothetical question, not (immediately) related to any concrete past, present or future reviewed paper.
My context is the no-fly zone between Computer Science and Applied ...
- 962
66
votes
4
answers
15k
views
Colleague stole my work and is publishing it as his own; my PhD supervisor supports him; I got the paper to review. How to proceed?
By chance, I am reviewing now the paper which I recognised as a paper of my colleague. We are from the same institution and I am surprised that I got this paper to review, but, on the other hand, I am ...
- 671
65
votes
4
answers
9k
views
What to do when I can prove a conjecture of a paper I'm peer reviewing
I was given a paper to peer review. A result of that paper has been obtained with some extrapolation trick and so they present it as highly plausible conjecture.
It turns out that me and another ...
- 1,660
64
votes
14
answers
16k
views
Is it ethical to make an anonymous referee realize we know who he is?
A year ago we submitted a manuscript to a high-profile journal. I was a co-author. The review process for this journal is single-blind—that is, the authors do not know who the referees are, while the ...
- 4,730
64
votes
5
answers
180k
views
What does a "major revision" mean?
I recently received the reviews/comments for an article submitted few months back to a journal. All the reviewers overall appreciated the content and the usefulness, but also suggested corrections (...
user1162
63
votes
3
answers
9k
views
Why can't we just use platforms such as arXiv for proper peer-reviewed publishing?
Many of you will know that, whether per subscription fees or via open access models, there is a ridiculously absurd amount of money flowing to many big (or medium-size) publishers for getting our ...
- 1,501
63
votes
11
answers
18k
views
Co-author uses ChatGPT for academic writing - is it ethical?
I am writing a paper with a co-author. I spent a considerable amount of time (several months) writing a first draft of the paper. I then sent it to co-author asking them to revise the draft and add ...
- 56.7k
63
votes
1
answer
7k
views
I found a nontrivial mistake in my currently-under-review paper. Should I send a correction to the editor?
I submitted the paper to a respectable journal about five months ago. My field is mathematics, and I'm at the postdoc stage of my career.
The proof of one of my theorems is more or less completely ...
- 633
61
votes
13
answers
26k
views
I am reviewing a very bad paper - do I have to be nice?
I received a paper to review that I can only describe as very bad. Not only are there structural issues that anyone that has previously published a paper in a respectable journal should know to avoid (...
- 22.6k
61
votes
7
answers
13k
views
Results that are too good to be true - peer review
So, I'm reviewing a medical study (open-label trial) that compares the efficacy of different drug doses on a patient population (heart failure). The study is arguably of low-quality, compared to the ...
61
votes
12
answers
9k
views
Handling unsolicited proofs of famous mathematical problems
I have been receiving mails from (most probably amateurs), who claims to have proved famous mathematical problems, like the ABC Conjecture or Goldbach Conjecture. But invariably, they all contained ...
- 1,051
60
votes
6
answers
9k
views
Is it OK to review a paper which builds on my work?
Suppose I've written a paper which someone else (who I do not know) has built on. The new work is intimately related to mine; it would not have existed without my paper. I'm now asked to review the ...
- 137k
60
votes
9
answers
9k
views
What prevents reviewers from providing biased and very negative reviews?
One of the fundamental features of science, maybe even the most important, is that publication of scientific results is peer-reviewed.
I want to understand why peer review is effective in the ...
- 3,809
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