ARC: Research: Research Tips: Dealing with Rejection by Bart Weitz
by Bart Weitz, JCPenney Eminent Scholar Chair, University of Florida
Over the last years as editor of the Journal of Marketing Research, an editorial board member of several marketing journals, and a researcher attempting to publish in academic journals, I have seen a large number of reviews of my research and the research of others. Some of these reviews led to eventual acceptances and others, unfortunately were rejections. Based on my experiences, I have the following suggestions for dealing with reviews:
Lower your expectations. As JMR editor, I processed over 900 submissions, and only ONE initial submission was conditionally accepted. In almost all cases, at least one of the reviewers recommended rejection. Thus, plan on receiving some, or a lot, of negative comments and don’t get discouraged. Even the most prolific researchers experience negative feedback on their submissions. In my experience, 75% of the articles that were given the opportunity to revise and resubmit to JMR were eventually published.
Bite your tongue. Given the time and effort you have put into doing the research and writing the article, it is difficult to accept the criticism you will receive. Your first reaction may be “This reviewer doesn’t know what he/she is talking about” or “The reviewer did not read the paper carefully.” You may even be tempted to call the editor and complain about the low quality and “wrong” reviews. Put the reviews aside for a couple of days until you can make a less emotional response.
Remember that the reviewers typically are experts. As you read the reviews again, think about why the reviewers made the comments they did. Often reviewers’ comments that you feel are incorrect were made because you did not clearly support your conceptualization or explain your methods or results. Maybe you did not emphasize a critical point that needed more discussion. As you read the comments, ask yourself “why did the reviewer make that comment?”
Respond to the reviewers’ comments. When revising the manuscript, you need to respond to the reviewers’ comments. In some cases, you can make an argument that your perspective is superior to that of the reviewers. Remember the manuscript is your research, not the reviewers’ research. Your name will always be associated with it, so you should not make changes just to accommodate reviewers that you do not believe in. However, in many, if not most, cases, you need to make changes in the manuscript either clarifying the presentation of an issue or recognizing a limitation in your method or conclusions. Most journals will ask you to summarize the responses you have made to the reviewers’ comments when resubmitting the manuscript.
Dealing with rejection. If you feel strongly that the rejection of your manuscript was based on an inaccurate assessment, you do have an opportunity to approach the journal editor and ask that your manuscript be reconsidered. Many award-winning manuscripts were rejected on their initial submission. The best approach for lodging an appeal is to write a letter to the editor outlining the problems with the reviews and how you can deal with the issues raised if given the opportunity to revise and resubmit the manuscript. Follow up on the letter with a phone call, but give the editor a chance to consider your letter and the reviews before the conversation. Remember that you only have one or two opportunities with an editor to ask for reconsideration. Use these opportunities wisely.
Learning from the review process. In most cases, the review process is constructive, even though there is some pain. Manuscripts are improved through the process. Even rejections provide an opportunity to learn how to conduct and present research more effectively. Sometimes researchers will have an article rejected and immediately send it to another journal without making any changes in it. In this case, the manuscript does not get any better and it often receives the same comments and a similar outcome as when it was initially submitted. If you decide to send a rejected manuscript to another journal, revise it just as if you were resubmitting to the initial journal.