EditorialResponding to referees’ reports: a personal perspective

Citation

Newell, G. (2021), "EditorialResponding to referees’ reports: a personal perspective", Journal of Property Investment & Finance, Vol. 39 No. 6, p. 509. https://doi.org/10.1108/JPIF-09-2021-185

I do a lot of refereeing for various property journals including the Journal of Property Investment and Finance. It is always very satisfying to see a revised paper get published, where the author has clearly responded to the helpful comments from the referees. But, it is also sad to hear of cases where the author has been asked to revise the paper (either with minor or major revision) by the referees, but the author chooses not to make any changes and not to resubmit.

It is tough getting into the top property journals, and referees are selected because of their expertise in the research area. Referees always try and give supportive feedback to improve your paper; they are not trying to attack the paper. So here are my personal recommendations for any author that receives a “revisions” decision from the Journal of Property Investment and Finance or any other journal.

First, if this applies to you, it is much simpler to revise your paper as per the referees' comments rather than fight with the referees; you will not win this game. Your priority should be revising the paper according to the referees' comments. In most cases, the referees' comments are very consistent, and you are getting constructive feedback from typically two or three referees who are leaders in their field.

This is often an inexperience issue for early career researchers who do not fully understand the process and purpose of refereeing. There are also cultural issues; it is important to understand that referees are trying to improve your paper, not just reject your paper or personally attack you.

Have I ever had a paper where I have not had to make revisions? No. And I always look back on papers I have been asked to revise, and I can see that the changes suggested and made are big improvements on my original paper.

So do not take being asked to revise your paper personally; it is not about you, it is about the quality of the paper, and how it can be improved before publication.

It is also tempting to just send your paper to another lesser journal rather than make the requested revisions. I strongly recommend that you do not do this. It is not in the interests of your research career in the longer term. All universities want their researchers to publish in the top property journals, so it important to revise your papers if asked by the referees. The Journal of Property Investment and Finance is a top quartile (Q1) journal, so a paper in the Journal of Property Investment and Finance will be a key element in your publication portfolio for promotion.

What do I do when asked to revise a paper? I take a deep breath and just do it. It is much simpler to do this and you get a great outcome. So focus on the end game of getting your paper published in a top property journal; it will add real value to your research career.