Q: Does a status change from "Awaiting reviewer selection" to "Awaiting ED recommendation" imply desk rejection?

Detailed Question -

Three weeks ago, I submitted my paper to a social sciences journal with impact factor. For 2 weeks, the submission status was showing ‘Awaiting admin processing’. It then moved to ‘Awaiting reviewer selection’ and stayed at that stage for 9 days. Now the status has changed to ‘Awaiting ED recommendation’. I have previously published in the same journal and it had taken 5 months to complete the first round. With the status of my current submission, I am worried whether it implies a desk rejection.

 

2 Answers to this question
Answer:

After a manuscript is submitted, the exact course of the review process varies from journal to journal. From the description of the status change of your current submission, it seems that the manuscript had passed the admin check and the reviewer selection process had started. Therefore, it does not look like a case of desk rejection.

However, it appears the manuscript has not undergone the peer review stage. Possibly, suitable peer reviewers were not available and the handling editor is now evaluating the manuscript to decide the next step. If this is the case, then the handling editor might refer the manuscript to another editor/editorial board of the journal for a final decision regarding the submission.

Related reading:  

Comment

Answer: Thank you so much for your response. My paper got rejected in its current form but I have been advised to incorporate some changes and resubmit it to the same journal. The editors sent me a very constructive and comprehensive review.
Comment