Getting help from your colleagues

In our “Before You Begin Your Research” course we recommend that before sending your manuscript to a journal for peer review, you should ask your colleagues and other peers to comment on your draft.

” course we recommend that before sending your manuscript to a journal for peer review, you should ask your colleagues and other peers to comment on your draft.

Showing your research findings to others and opening yourself to criticism can be intimidating. But there is much to gain by asking a colleague to read your draft. You can know if your manuscript is ready to publish, or if any further study or revision is needed.

Additionally, knowing how your peers define the importance, novelty, and relevance of your study will give you an idea of what the journal editor might think. These aspects of your work should also be explained to the journal editor in a carefully prepared cover letter accompanying your submission. 

• Our Journal Submission and Peer Review course explains how to develop a cover letter.
• See also our interactive PDF, “Anatomy of a Cover Letter to a Journal Editor“