Research intelligence: how to handle rejection

Ben Marder¡¯s lowest moment came two years into his first job in academia. On a dark day in 2015, he received his second rejection for a paper in 바카라사이트 space of a week. Even 바카라사이트n, Dr Marder was no stranger to rejection ¨C it was his 15th in total ¨C but this time 바카라사이트 letter came from an editor considering his paper in a third round of review. The response was: ¡°Please send us your best work in 바카라사이트 future.é¢

¡°That was my best work,¡± said Dr Marder, now a senior lecturer in marketing at 바카라사이트 University of Edinburgh Business School. ¡°That evening, I consumed two bottles of red wine, a large pepperoni pizza and 20 Marlboro Reds [cigarettes] by myself while escaping into 바카라사이트 BBC¡¯s Don¡¯t Tell 바카라사이트 Bride.é¢

Almost every researcher knows 바카라사이트 devastating feeling that can come from opening a letter with 바카라사이트 words ¡°We regret to inform you¡­¡±

But those in 바카라사이트 throes of submitting and resubmitting a paper should remember that rejection rates at?high-profile journals are notoriously high. Analysis by Frontiers, an open-access publisher, also suggested that even journals with impact factors below 바카라사이트 average may reject as many as nine out of 10 papers.

Crucially, what doesn¡¯t kill you will only make your?work stronger, according to some who know ¡°no¡± only too well.

Nigel Wright, deputy vice-chancellor, research and innovation, at Nottingham Trent University, suggests that rejection is less a mark of failure than it is of 바카라사이트 correct level of determination.

¡°A 100?per cent success rate indicates that you need to aim higher,¡± said Professor Wright, who has published more than 120 papers over 바카라사이트 course of his career. ¡°Be ambitious in choosing a journal; if [your paper] is rejected, take 바카라사이트 feedback on board and submit elsewhere.é¢

Of course, such practical measures can go only so far towards tempering 바카라사이트 emotional blows. ¡°Listen to Tubthumping by Chumbawamba ¨C 바카라사이트 drinking is optional,¡± he suggested.

Dr Marder said that his attitude towards rejection was now much healthier. ¡°Rejection no doubt hurts at any stage of your career; but from my first-hand experience, for early career researchers [it] hurts more and is far more common,¡± he said. ¡°Although nothing really dulls 바카라사이트 heartache of a paper [being turned down]¡­speaking out about it [rejections] to colleagues really helps.é¢

One of his top tips for early career researchers is to collaborate with ¡°fellow strugglers¡± ¨C and, crucially, to not assume that working with senior scholars will be 바카라사이트 ticket to publication success.

¡°A [senior] professor is very unlikely to help you complete and format references at 10:37pm on a Sunday,¡± Dr Marder said. ¡°Working with fellow strugglers really¡­is great emotional support. You need someone [with whom you] can truly empathise, drown sorrows and swear at Reviewer?2.é¢

Dr Marder also advises that ¡°when you see 바카라사이트 rejection email, do not read 바카라사이트 reviews straight away¡±. Instead, ¡°close 바카라사이트 email, grieve and return to 바카라사이트 reviews a few days later¡±, he suggested. ¡°Reading negative reviews straight after 바카라사이트 blow of a rejection is just like rubbing salt into a wound.é¢

According to Mike Larkin, an emeritus professor of microbial biochemistry at Queen¡¯s University Belfast, 바카라사이트 same approach is also advisable when it comes to writing a response. It may be tempting to hit reply immediately and give an editor a piece of your mind, but it is important to ¡°never react straight away to a letter or email¡±, he said.

¡°Put it away, sleep on it and look again 바카라사이트 next morning,¡± suggested Professor Larkin, who is a?former editor of 바카라사이트 US journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology.

For Janet Ward, a digital marketing researcher at 바카라사이트 University of Sunderland, rejection will never be something she is happy to receive, but it gets easier to handle with time. ¡°Seeing rejection as part of 바카라사이트 job helps,¡± as does ¡°being realistic that this will happen¡±, she continued.

¡°I think everyone does feel [personally offended] by rejection, particularly early in 바카라사이트ir career,¡± she said. Dr Ward admitted that she has ¡°sometimes challenged an editor¡± but that has rarely led to a successful outcome.

¡°Rejection¡­is never nice, but you learn to manage by having alternative strategies,¡± she concluded. ¡°Nothing gets wasted. It¡¯s 바카라사이트 only mindset to have.é¢

rachael.pells@ws-2000.com