impostor syndrome | Landscape Surgery

Thank-you everybody who attended and contributed to the Landscape Surgery session last week on top-tips (21st Jan 2014).

It seemed like everybody had lots to say, and we have a set of topics stored up for the next top-tips session which will be after easter. In the mean time, here is an attempt to collect together all the great resources and tips that came through in the session and that people posted on twitter and e-mailed me.

Here is a link to the storified tweets ( thanks Simon and Laura for pointing me towards this)

http://storify.com/HarrietGeogArt/phd-top-tips

Thanks all for your contributions…

Please keep adding via the comments function below or reposting

Dealing with those reviewers…. you know- the ones that never agree….

Steph Morrice’s advice would be:

*Conflicting reviewer comments can be daunting. ie. One reviewer suggests you shrink the theoretical section and expand the empirical, the other suggests the opposite. You need to make a reasoned decision as to which, if either, you agree with and make an argument for why. In the past, I’ve asked the editor for guidance with this.

*Realise that you do not need to make changes to your paper in response to every single reviewer comment. If you don’t agree with a reviewer’s suggestion, explain why. Remember that you are entitled to a good argument.

*Response letters should be clear and well-numbered, first addressing any major issues raised by the reviewers and then followed by a more detailed comments. I normally start by creating a basic two columned table. On the left, I copy all the comments from reviewers (one per box) and on the right I summarise and explain my response.

*In my experience, the entire submission/resubmission process can be quite lengthy, but the general advice I would give is: not to be discouraged by “major revisions”. If an editor asks you to resubmit, this is still a positive outcome. And to try not to be disheartened by negative comments – it can be frustrating having your hard work critiqued, but I would recommend keeping an open mind – and giving yourself a day or two, even a week, before tackling the comments.