Resource of the Week #140: “How to Handle a Rejection”

Hello again. This week’s resource is an openly accessible article published this year. This article is titled “How to Handle a Rejection”.

The article gives advice on what to do if a journal rejects one’s paper. Almost everyone who submits papers to journals sometimes receives rejections. “The only way not to face rejection,” the authors write, “is to avoid submitting one’s work altogether.”

Before providing their main advice, the authors describe the emotional reactions that researchers may have when a paper is rejected. They liken these reactions to the stages of grief that Dr. Elisabeth Kübler-Ross observed in the dying.

The authors also list 10 reasons that papers are rejected. Knowing these reasons can help in avoiding rejection or in understanding why a journal rejected a paper.

The authors’ main advice is as follows: Carefully read the comments from the peer reviewers and journal editor. Then revise the paper accordingly, and submit it to a suitable journal. (Of course, one should check the new journal’s instructions to authors.)

Although painful, rejection can ultimately be productive. Revision based on expert feedback can improve papers and, the authors note, “may even translate to better research.”

Until the next post—

Barbara