How to Complain When Your Manuscript Is Sandbagged by a Peer Reviewer
Peer reviewers sandbagging manuscripts is a prevalent form of academic bullying which we can learn to do something about
This article is dedicated to the University of Groningen martyr and feminist hero, Susanne Täuber, in whom I find great inspiration.
"[O]ne of the weakest bits in the peer-review process currently seems to be the editor. In the end, it is her/his decision that counts but often it seems they go by a majority vote amongst the reviewers." — Anton Feenstra, Peer Pressure
Even after publishing over 400 peer-reviewed papers, I still get upset by rejection if I suspect that a peer reviewer did not read a manuscript. Or worse, that they did not have to read the manuscript to arrive at their recommendation that it should be rejected without the possibility of revision and resubmission. In such cases, I consider among the possibilities that my colleagues and I have been sandbagged. Sometimes it is only my momentary emotional judgment precipitated by an unexpected disappointment about a manuscript in which we had put so much work, but sometimes it remains a conviction that we were sandbagged.
It do…