One of the referees submitted his opinion after just one day

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the implications of receiving a referee's comments shortly after manuscript submission to Physical Review Letters. Participants share their experiences and thoughts on what a quick response might indicate regarding the quality of the review or the manuscript itself.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant expresses concern about the quick turnaround of a referee's comments, questioning whether it indicates a positive or negative review.
  • Another participant suggests that if the comments are available, the author could read them to alleviate their worries.
  • A different participant notes that the tracking system may only indicate that a review was received, and the time taken could vary for many reasons, including the referee's availability or potential conflicts of interest.
  • One contributor shares a personal anecdote about a paper being accepted very quickly, implying that rapid responses can occur without negative implications.
  • The original poster acknowledges the advice and expresses a desire to focus on other projects instead of worrying about the review.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally agree that the quick response time does not necessarily indicate the quality of the review, but there are differing opinions on how much weight should be given to the timing of the comments.

Contextual Notes

Participants mention various factors that could influence the timing of referee comments, including personal circumstances and editorial processes, but do not resolve the implications of these factors.

Who May Find This Useful

Researchers submitting manuscripts to journals, particularly those interested in the peer review process and its variability.

amicus_tobias
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I recently submitted a manuscript to Physical Review Letters, the editor sent it out to two referees. One of the referees sent his comment back on the second day. Do you think-based on your experience-this bodes well or the paper received a disastrous comment from the referee??

I know this question is kind of ridiculous for a lot of the people here, I mean, what can I do. But I am a little worried..

Thank you for your comments!
 
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If the referee's comments are in, can't you read them? Then you would know the answer to your question...
 
I'm not personally familiar with the details of PRL, but I suspect the issue is that the tracking system indicates that a review was received. Normally, the associate editor has to check out the reviews before making the comments available to the authors.

I wouldn't read too much into the time. It could mean anything from the fact that the reviewer simply had time to read it right away, to him or her citing a conflict of interest or not feeling qualified to review, or maybe they know that the work has been done before.

You won't know anything until the review is received, so don't sweat it. Just move on to other projects.
 
Exactly - you can't do anything, so why beat yourself up? It might mean anything - I had a paper accepted by PRL in 6 hours once. On a holiday. (Of course, I had warned the editor ahead of time)
 
I guess you are right. Thanks. I will try not to think about it for the moment...
 

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