Plan a research collaboration with your co-authors
A reviewer who receives a draft needs to know what kind of help you want. Checking a sample count takes different evidence from polishing a paragraph. Give each co-author one decision to make, the material to check and a place to record the answer.
Agree on the next deliverable
At your first meeting, write down the research question, the intended reader and the next piece of work the group can review. “A Methods draft explaining how the interviews were selected” gives the team a clearer stopping point than “work on the paper.” Name the writer and the person who can verify the selection criteria.
Make the review request easy to answer
Invite the co-authors who need project access. Keep one working manuscript in the project and add the sources you can share to its library. Put a comment beside the sentence in question. If the answer needs work outside the draft, create a task with three details: who will check, what evidence they will use and what answer the writer needs back.
Record what the team decided
When the reviewer replies, update each place that depends on the decision: the text, its table or the abstract. Leave a short note explaining the change before resolving the comment. Someone joining later can then tell whether the number changed because a record was excluded or because the team corrected a label.
A handoff you can copy
“Methods says 68 interviews; Table 1 lists 64 participants. Mina, please check the interview log for repeat interviews and reply here with both counts.” If the log confirms four follow-ups, the writer can say “We conducted 68 interviews with 64 participants” and label Table 1 “Participants.” The task is done when both places use the same definitions.
Before you send the draft for review
- Can the reviewer open the current draft and the supporting material they need?
- Does the request point to a specific passage, table or decision?
- Is one person responsible for the answer and another ready to apply it?
- Have you told the reviewer whether to suggest wording or check the underlying analysis?