Examples
Worked examples
- Is an instance
A senior colleague who read three drafts and proposed restructuring the discussion, acknowledged by name with consent
Counter-examples
Looks similar, but isn't
- Not an instance
A casual 'looks good' email response is not pre-submission feedback in the creditable sense
Editorial commentary
Pre-submission feedback contribution is substantive intellectual input — comments, critique, suggested restructuring, or methodological advice — that a colleague gives on a draft manuscript or proposal before it is formally submitted to a journal or funder. It sits outside the formal peer-review system entirely: the feedback is informal, requested directly by the author, and typically unpublished.
How it differs from related terms: Unlike peer review, which a journal or funder commissions as part of a formal evaluation process, pre-submission feedback is solicited by the author from a trusted colleague, with no institutional evaluative role attached. It also differs from mentorship contribution, which is an ongoing relationship rather than commentary on a single draft, though the same person can obviously provide both.
Feedback that materially changed the work’s design or conclusions is typically recognised through a named, consented acknowledgement — “we thank X for comments on an earlier draft” — while feedback that rises to substantive intellectual contribution to the work’s actual claims may instead warrant authorship under ICMJE’s four criteria.
References
- ICMJE Recommendations (2024)
- COPE Authorship Discussion Document (2019)
Also known as
Draft feedback · Pre-submission review
Machine-readable encodings
Use in your systems
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