Letters commenting on published articles: Last but not the least

Abstract

As a part of the post-publication peer review, readers can send comment letters to a journal on the articles it has published. Such letters critically comment on the content of the related article. They allow the readers to see the messages of the article in the context of the criticisms, give the authors of the concerned article an opportunity to clarify their stand, help initiate scientific dialogues, and, with consequent corrections or retractions, even help perfect the scientific literature. Comment letters should be relevant, scientifically foolproof, short, focused, straightforward, balanced, and polite.

Keywords

• letter to the editor
• lte
• correspondence
• editorial letter
• comment letter
• electronic letter
• rapid response