Background: The publication of articles in
peer-reviewed scientific journals is a fairly
complex and stepwise process that involves
responding to referees" comments. Little
guidence is available in the biomedical
literature on how to deal with such comments.
Objective: The objective of this article is to
provide guidance to notice writers on dealing
with peer review comments in a way that
maxImIzes the chance of subsequent
acceptance.
Methods: This will be a literature review and
review of the author"s experience as a writer
and referee
Results: Where possible, the author should
consider revising and resubmitting rather than
sending an article elsewhere. A structured
layout for responding to referees" comments
is suggested that includes the 3 golden rules:
1) respond completely; 2)respond politely;
and 3)respond with evidence.
Conclusion: Responding to referees"
comments requires the writer to overcome
any feeling of personal attack, and to instead
concentrate on addressing referees" concerns
in a courteous, objective, and evidence based
way. (J Am Acad Deramtol 2004; 51: 79-83).