How to Respond to Criticism and Comments

How to Respond to Criticism and CommentsFor the past year I have been investigating and interviewing many researchers about their life's work and what they feel is the best way to deal with critics, comments and criticisms. The feedback from these interviews I have received is that some authors will deal with criticism in a proactive manner and others prefer to be reactive to criticism.I have been discussing my findings with colleagues and we have become quite clear on this point and as a result of our work have formed a new consensus regarding the best way to deal with criticisms. Most of us now agree that an author should be proactive when dealing with critics and then be reactive to criticisms and comments. This position is supported by the suggestions and feedback we have received.One of the first things you will need to do is identify how you want to respond to critics and comments and then make sure your team are in agreement as to the format of your response. My colleagues and I found that most authors tend to respond to criticisms and comments with a statement of beliefs and values to explain why they believe what they believe. This creates confusion and leads to misunderstandings rather than clarifications.It is important that your own explanations for your ideas and theories are accepted and respected by other researchers. While being in the majority opinion is good, you can also learn a lot from others that disagree with you.You should take into account and understand the fact that critics and comments on research papers come from varied sources. It is your responsibility to gather and collate the opinions and feedback you receive. If you do not feel that you are understanding other's views, then there may be times where you do not understand what others mean.When looking at your comments and criticisms and you think it is best to have a discussion, then it is important to remember that the discussions should be on the research paper and not the auth ors themselves. Your readers and readership will appreciate it if you can understand why they are talking and what they are saying. It is also important to avoid patronising and pretending that you understand what they are saying.Your readers will appreciate if you are willing to listen to the feedback that they have given and acknowledge their comments and criticisms. It is common for researchers to read the criticisms and comments and reply in their own words rather than addressing what the reviewer is saying directly.It is a common belief that articles written by authors who have had very controversial ideas or beliefs will be more open to criticism and comments. In such cases you may find that you are more likely to respond to criticism and comments directly.