Some time ago, I wrote a post about how to write scientific papers. This post is not quite famous like other technical ones, but it might help those who are starting in the research world. I’m revisiting this topic again by explaining how to prepare a blind copy of a paper for reviewing.

But what is a blind copy and why is it necessary? A blind copy is a version of an article that doesn’t show the authors and any other reference for them. Their names and affiliations should be removed from the front page as well as sentences mentioning previous works rephrased and self references hidden. All this caution is necessary to ensure honesty in the reviewing process, or at least maximize it. A well known researcher might influence the reviewers, who will be inclined to accept the manuscript not because of the overall quality of the work, but because of the author’s influence. Other reviewers might be inclined to reject the paper because they might be direct competitors. And sometimes we write such bad papers that it’s better that nobody knows who did that shit.

By hiding paper’s authorship when submitting the paper for review, authors, editors and program committee members are contributing for a more reliable reviewing process, directing the focus to real research instead of other influences.

How do we know if we have to send a blind copy? It is usually required in the call for papers. I would suggest to always give preference to conferences, journals, magazines and books which adopt blind reviewing. It is good for our research because people will be more honest with us.