I do not agree to the reviewers comments. What should I do?
I had submitted a manuscript for publication. I have received the reviewer’s comments asking for some changes to be made. However, I do not agree to the changes. What should I do?
The peer-review process is in place to ensure the quality of scientific work that is released in the public domain. It is usually the responsibility of the peer-reviewer that is appointed by the journal to ensure that your work is authentic, up to the mark and worthy of being published. In such a scenario, it is highly possible that reviewers are overly critical or overly cautious when it comes to reviewing a manuscript. What you need to remember is that feedback received for your work may lead to the improvisation of the quality of your paper. However, if you have a different perspective than that of the reviewer, you could write a rebuttal letter to the comments and try to explain your point of view. However there are certain considerations that you need to keep in mind while writing the rebuttal letter. Firstly, you need to be polite and respectful. Do not be rude or arrogant even though you may be completely opposed to what the reviewer has to say. Provide a detailed point wise explanation for every point that is mentioned in the letter to ensure that the reviewer thoroughly understands your point of view. Also try to put yourself in the reviewers shoes and try to understand their perspective. If you are in doubt about what should be done, talk to your mentor or senior colleague. If they too feel that the changes are justified, you could consider making these changes. However, if they agree to your point of view then you could go ahead with writing the rebuttal letter to the journal. If the journal and reviewer is satisfied with your explaination and agrees to publish you work without the requested changes, then Congratulations! If not, you could always consider submitting your manuscript to another journal.
If you are still in doubt, you could consider using Enago’s professional Pre-Submission Peer Review. Enago has a team of professional peer reviewers that are specialists in their subject areas that can help you in getting your manuscript effectively peer-reviewed. You even have the option of choosing your own reviewers and getting your manuscript reviewed by upto three reviewers, thus giving you a diverse array of opinions and feedback, which will hopefully help you take a decision in your situation.