Receiving Research Review

Receiving Research Review

Handle review feedback with scientific rigor. Verify claims against actual data before acting. Push back on incorrect assessments with evidence.

Core principle: Verify before implementing. Evidence before agreement. Scientific correctness over social comfort.

Response Protocol

When you receive a research review report:

1. READ the complete review without reacting
2. UNDERSTAND — restate each issue in your own words, or ask for clarification
3. VERIFY — check each claim against the actual data files
4. EVALUATE — is the feedback scientifically valid for THIS study?
5. RESPOND — technical acknowledgment or reasoned pushback
6. IMPLEMENT — one issue at a time, verify each fix

Forbidden Responses

Never respond to a review with:

• "You're absolutely right!"
• "Great point!"
• "Excellent feedback!"
• "Let me implement that now" (before verification)

These are performative, not scientific. The reviewer may be wrong. Verify first.

Handling Unclear Feedback

If ANY item in the review is unclear:

STOP. Do not implement anything.

Ask for clarification on ALL unclear items before proceeding. Why: review items may be related. Partial understanding leads to wrong implementations that waste time and may introduce new errors.

When to Push Back

Push back (with evidence) when:

• The reviewer's suggestion contradicts your actual data
• The reviewer lacks context about domain-specific practices
• The suggestion would introduce a known confound
• The statistical recommendation is inappropriate for your data type
• The reviewer conflated your phase with a later phase
• The suggestion violates your pre-registered analysis plan (unless the plan itself was flawed)

How to push back:

• State the specific claim you disagree with
• Provide the file path and data that contradicts it
• Explain the scientific reasoning
• Propose an alternative if you have one

For External Reviews (journal peer review, collaborator feedback)

Before implementing any suggestion from an external reviewer:

1. Check: Is this technically correct for THIS study's design and data?
2. Check: Would this change break the pre-registered analysis plan?
3. Check: Is there a reason the current approach was chosen? (Check design doc)
4. Check: Does the reviewer have the full context of the study?
5. Check: Would this suggestion apply to your specific domain and methods?

Implementation Order for Multi-Item Feedback

1. Clarify anything unclear FIRST (ask all clarification questions at once)
2. Then implement in this order:
   • CRITICAL issues (blocking — must fix before anything else)
   • MAJOR issues that are simple fixes
   • MAJOR issues that are complex
   • MINOR issues
3. Verify each fix individually (re-check the data, re-run if needed)
4. Confirm no regressions (fixing one issue didn't break something else)

After Implementing Fixes

After addressing CRITICAL and MAJOR issues:

• Request re-review via eureka:requesting-research-review
• Include a summary of what was changed and why
• Reference the original review for continuity

Integration

• Called by: After eureka:requesting-research-review returns feedback
• Pairs with: eureka:requesting-research-review (for re-review after fixes)