To be honest, the title of the last post was not really accurate. I guess I got carried away with the idea of making an engaging, even grabby headline! But it is probably accurate to say that most challenges have to do with the two identified categories - those being authors and reviewers/editors. I was complaining about peer review one time with some co-presenters, just before a virtual conference session began. Professor Sally Campbell Galman, the brilliant author of the graphic research comic: Shane the Lone Ethnographer, used the terms "actionable" and "not actionable" for what I was calling with less concision "comments you don't know what to do about." In my little graphic above, I have included a classic non actionable comment from a peer reviewer: "Your paper is too long!" In fact, my graphic shows a couple of non actionable comments and then some (admittedly wordy - but this is my style as a reviewer or editor) versions that provide some additional guidance. There are, as with most things, pluses and minuses associated with providing detailed comments. Pluses include the authors may have a clearer idea of what you are talking about. They may also have some ideas of what to do - either because they understand your comment or because you provided examples. The major minus, I think, is the risk in crossing from reviewing/editing to contributing author-level content. Professor Elizabeth Creamer in a recent webinar noted that published manuscripts typically end up being the result of collaboration between authors and reviewers (and this is clearly my day for name-dropping!). So while it may be a given, to some extent, I personally feel bad when authors take my recommendations, that may include possible ways to phrase things, and use them exactly as provided. I don't feel bad about making a detailed recommendation, but I do regret the possibility that the authors felt forced to follow it in a specific way.
Final thoughts: if you are a peer reviewer, try to avoid making non-actionable comments. If you are an author who receives an abundance of these (you can probably manage a couple by deciding what it means and addressing the thing you picked), I suggest you reach out to the editor directly and ask for guidance. Some very involved editors will notice these comments and interpret them for authors before sharing them. Graphic: screen shot of Microsoft Word document with stock images (the person outline) and shapes ("rectangular call out"). Text made up by me and reflects composite comments given/provided over the last decade or so.
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AuthorI am Sheryl L. Chatfield, Ph.D, C.T.R.S. I am a member of the faculty in the College of Public Health at Kent State University. I also Co-coordinate the Graduate Certificate in Qualitative Research and I am a member of the Design Innovation Team at Kent State. Archives
February 2024
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