Q: Could you explain the below status updates regarding our submission to Elsevier?

Detailed Question -

Dear all – We submitted one of our articles to an Elsevier journal on September 21. The status was Submitted to Journal. On October 3, it changed to With Editor. On October 9, the date was updated, but the status remained With Editor. This happened on October 29 too. Today, on November 4, it is Decision in Process. Is it possible that it was Under Review, but the editor did not change the status even once? Thank you.

1 Answer to this question
Answer:

Hello Ahmad – Welcome to the forum! We can understand why you are asking this. A direct change to Decision in Process after submission usually indicates a desk rejection. However, there are several possibilities, though perhaps not the one you have mentioned. So, it is not likely that the handling/associate editor (AE) sent the manuscript to peer review without updating the status in the system.

What seems more likely is that AE assigned to the manuscript probably changed a couple of times. This may be due to a variety of reasons, mainly regarding the journal/publisher. So, it may not be relevant to discuss that here.

Another possibility is that the review was done internally, in case they had two AEs from the same field, which too could explain the double date change. Maybe one AE accessed it one day, and the other the other day. However, this is only a distant possibility.

The end outcome though is the same: the manuscript has gone for a decision by the Editor-in-Chief (EIC). Note that a quick change (although it’s not entirely been quick in this case) to the decision stage doesn’t always mean a desk reject. At times, they may suggest a transfer to a sister journal or even a partner journal. In other cases, you may receive a reject-and-resubmit decision, which leaves the door open just a bit, so to speak. Because the date changed so many times, it may be that the AE isn’t entirely sure of your manuscript, and so has referred it to the EIC, who may well suggest that they send it for peer review. So, in this case, all outcomes are possible. You all needn’t get your chins down, at least not yet, and should wait for the next update to be absolutely sure. :-)

In the worst case that it’s a direct reject, as you may know, you can make changes to the manuscript based on any feedback you receive here and submit to another journal.

For more information on the various points discussed here, you may find the following resources insightful:

All the best for whatever’s next!

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