近日偶读Robert A. Day和Barbara Gastel合著的“How to Write and Publish a Scientific Paper”。我的这本已经是第六版了,可见该书比较受读者欢迎。其中有一章是关于如何为科学论文写同行审稿意见的。提了一些具体建议,似乎是老生常谈,却值得注意,例如:
In preparing comments intended for the authors, remember that the authors are human beings. Almost certainly, they care greatly about their work, are sensitive about it, and will be most receptive to feedback if it is given in a constructive tone. Therefore avoid sarcasm, and phrase your comments tactfully. Set a positive tone by first stating the strengths of the paper,then,after offering suggestions,perhaps end the review with words of encouragement.
另外还有一节“提供非正式同行评议”(“Providing Informal Peer Review”),讲的是如何评议投稿前的稿件,这种请况多数是论文作者请同行预审以征求修改意见。书作者提倡一种“三明治”的批评模式:称赞、批评、再称赞。还用一些例子来说明批评的写法。其一,把负面评价作为自己的感觉来写,而不是作为事实来写。例如,可以说“我发现这一章节难以明白”(I found this section hard to follow), 而不要说“这一章节全然不清楚”(This section is totally unclear)。其二,应该评论文章本身,而不要评论人。例如,可以说“这篇草稿似乎有不少标点错误”(This draft seems to contain many punctuation errors),而不要说“你对标点符号的掌握很糟糕”(You have a dreadful command of punctuation)。