How can you build resilience to overcome peer review challenges?

1 Acknowledge your emotions

Peer review can trigger a range of emotions, from excitement and pride to anger and disappointment. It is normal and natural to feel these emotions, but they can also cloud your judgment and affect your response. Instead of suppressing or ignoring your feelings, acknowledge them and give yourself some time to process them. You can also share your emotions with a trusted colleague, mentor, or friend who can empathize and support you.

2 Focus on the constructive

Peer review is meant to help you improve your research, not to tear it down. Even if you disagree with some of the comments or suggestions, try to focus on the constructive aspects of the feedback. Identify the strengths and weaknesses of your work, and look for opportunities to address the gaps, errors, or limitations. You can also use the feedback to refine your research question, methodology, analysis, or presentation.

3 Learn from the experience

Peer review is a learning opportunity, not a final verdict. You can use the experience to develop your research skills, such as critical thinking, writing, communication, and collaboration. You can also learn from the reviewers' perspectives, expertise, and insights, and incorporate them into your own research. Peer review can also help you learn from your mistakes, failures, or setbacks, and use them as motivation to improve and grow.

4 Seek feedback from multiple sources

Peer review is not the only source of feedback for your research. You can also seek feedback from other sources, such as your peers, mentors, supervisors, or editors. These sources can provide you with different viewpoints, suggestions, and validations that can complement or contrast the peer review feedback. You can also seek feedback from different stages of your research, such as before, during, or after submission, to get a more comprehensive and balanced feedback.

5 Celebrate your achievements

Peer review can be a long and challenging process, but it can also be a rewarding one. You should celebrate your achievements, no matter how big or small, and recognize your efforts and contributions. You can celebrate by sharing your work with your network, applying for awards or grants, or simply taking a break or doing something you enjoy. Celebrating your achievements can boost your confidence, satisfaction, and resilience.

6 Develop a growth mindset

Peer review can help you develop a growth mindset, which is the belief that you can improve your abilities and outcomes through effort, feedback, and learning. A growth mindset can help you overcome peer review challenges by making you more open to criticism, adaptable to change, and persistent in pursuing your goals. You can develop a growth mindset by embracing challenges, seeking feedback, learning from others, and celebrating progress.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?