A Decision Finally!

So, after languishing for months in the inbox of an editor, I have received reviews for a paper I wrote on the topic of research policy. They were strongly positive, with all reviewers describing the work as “interesting” and one even saying it could have “far reaching consequences”. Which is really cool for something I cooked up in my spare time for fun.

The official decision was given as “Revise and Resubmit”. Usually (but not always) that means that the editors believe it is meritorious enough to warrant publication, if the issues identified by the reviewers can be addressed. And I can absolutely address these reviews. I feel confident that this will be published, and I am hopeful that it will make a contribution to the literature on research policy.

For the first time, I feel like I can commiserate with my biologist and chemist colleagues who are asked for new experiments in their reviews. My reviewers have asked me to upend my research design and make wholesale new experiments, produce new figures, and conduct different statistics. Now, because I’m working in simulation, this will take me a few days, rather than the weeks or months that it might take to satisfy reviewers in other fields. Nevertheless, it’s still a large ask.

But it’s an interesting ask, and I think it will make the paper stronger. I’m feeling positive and confident. I think this is going to make a tiny difference in a small part of the science world. It’s exciting. This is not my professional work. This is just something I did because of interest I acquired through conversations over on twitter.

But science giveth, and science taketh away. Nothing means anything until an editor says “Accept as is”. We’ll see what the future holds for this little project.