Q: How to reply to a reviewer's comment suggesting I submit my paper to a conference?
My major is in computer science and I submitted a paper about system composition to provide new services. The article is based on the major technologies that have been introduced into this field at present and how the system is configured to transmit data and what service is possible. The final opinion on the submitted paper is a major revision, and I received an e-mail with a comment saying that the reviewers have recommended publication, but also suggest some revisions to your manuscript. But one of the reviewers commented that this paper is an interesting work for researchers in this field. It also provides an explanation of prototypes for new technologies. However, it is not a scientific paper. It looks more like a technical manual, so it would be much better to submit it as a conference paper. I do not know how to respond to reviewers' comments. I have had such a review in the past because of the nature of my research field. As this journal is the most prominent SCI journal, would you please advise how to respond well?
Answering reviewer comments can be tricky and challenging. The ideal way to respond to reviewers is to address each of their questions point-wise. Usually, if they suggest some additional experiments or analyses, it is best to prioritize on the best possible experiments and add these to your manuscript.
In the present case, my understanding suggests that your manuscript is technical in nature and one of the reviewers has suggested an alternate submission type. I would suggest that you first try to revise your manuscript as per reviewer comments and make it more scientific and aligned to the journal’s scope. If that is not possible, then you should explain point-by-point how your manuscript is suitable to be published in the present form in the journal. It is perfectly fine if you disagree with the reviewer as long as you can justify it in your response letter.
Related reading:
This content belongs to the Journal submission & peer review Stage