Q: How to respond to questions by reviewers?

Detailed Question -

After reading through the reviewers comments, I found myself a little bit confused about how to address certain comments. When a reviewer asks me a question, should I only respond to the question or should I revise the manuscript according to the question too? For example: What is the scale used in the microscopic observations? From where did you get the pathogens used in this study? Does the expression "....." mean this or that? Should I respond to these comments in the response letter only or is this another way of asking me to add or clarify this information?

1 Answer to this question
Answer:

Thank you for writing to us. Responding to peer reviewer comments requesting for revisions (major or minor) is indeed a daunting task sometimes. Although this requires some effort, it contributes to improving your paper, making it worthwhile!

Whether a response should acknowledge the comment alone or warrant changes in the manuscript would solely depend on the nature of the reviewer comment. In case it is a general comment, you may proceed with simply acknowledging it. For the questions shared by you, we’d suggest that you provide and explanation and also ask whether the relevant text needs to be included in the manuscript for added clarity. Once you receive a clarification, you may include the text in the manuscript, if required.

We would also suggest that you go through the following resources for added insights in this regard:

Please feel free to get back to us in case you need added clarity in any regard.

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