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manuscript that contains some useful data but the data are seriously flawed. The editor would probably reconsider
such a manuscript if it were considerably revised and resubmitted, but the editor does not recommend resubmission.
Third, there is the type of manuscript that is basically acceptable, except for a defect in the experimental work—the
lack of a control experiment perhaps—or for a major defect in the manuscript (the data being acceptable).
If your "rejection" is of the third type, you probably should consider the necessary repairs, as detailed in the reviewers'
comments, and resubmit a revised version to the same journal. If you can add that control experiment, as requested by
the editor, the new version may well be accepted. (Many editors reject a paper that requires additional
experimentation, even though it might be easy to modify the paper to acceptability.) Or, if you make the requested
major change in the manuscript, e.g., totally rewriting the Discussion or converting a full paper to a note, your
resubmitted manuscript is quite likely to be accepted.
If your rejection is of the second type (seriously flawed, according to the editor's reject letter and the reviewers'
comments), you should probably not resubmit the same manuscript to the same journal, unless you can make a
convincing case to the editor that the reviewers seriously misjudged your manuscript. You might, however, hold the
manuscript until it can be buttressed with more extensive evidence and more clear-cut conclusions. Resubmission of
such a "new" manuscript to the same journal would then be a reasonable option. Your cover letter should reference the
previous manuscript and should state briefly the nature of the new material.
If your rejection is of the first (total) type, it would be pointless to resubmit the manuscript to the same journal or even
to argue about it. If the manuscript is really bad, you probably should not (re)submit it anywhere, for fear that
publication might damage your reputation. If there is work in it that can be salvaged, incorporate those portions into a
file:///C|/...0208%20Books%20(part%201%20of%203)/How%20to%20write%20&%20publish%20scientific%20paper/18.htm[4/27/2009 1:09:12 PM]