Q: What does "awaiting final decision" after "awaiting admin processing" mean?
It has been 1 month since I submitted an article to one of the leading journals in my field. For 1 month, the status was "awaiting admin processing." I checked the status recently and it has changed to "awaiting final decision." In the past, I have submitted many articles to several journals and there has always been the "under review" process.
Does anyone have any idea why the status didn’t change to "under review" during this 1 month?
Once submitted into the system, a manuscript first undergoes the admin check and the initial editorial screening to decide if a manuscript fits within the scope of the journal and is novel and interesting. A manuscript is sent for peer review only after it has cleared the admin check and the initial screening. Unfortunately, a direct “decision in process” or “awaiting final decision” without undergoing peer review possibly means that the manuscript will be desk rejected. This could possibly be because the manuscript does not fit the scope of the journal. Another reason why a paper can be desk rejected is if it does not meet the requirements mentioned in the author guidelines, such as formatting, reference style, etc. If the rejection is due to the latter reason, you can make the necessary changes and submit the paper to the same journal again.
Related reading:
- Does a direct 'Decision in Process' status indicate rejection?
- What does the status 'awaiting final decision' mean?
thanks for the answer, it has been 6 weeks since submission, and 10 days since "awaiting final decision" appears. still waiting.
This content belongs to the Journal submission & peer review Stage