Q: How long does the status 'Evaluating Recommendation' take?

Detailed Question -

Hi, dear sir, I submitted my paper to an SSCI journal (Economics, very good journal) on 1st May 2017. The first status update was ‘AE assigned, under review.' After two months, 01-07-2017, the status changed to 'Evaluating recommendation’ and still the same status. I want to ask how long this status would be like this.

1 Answer to this question
Answer:

Ideally, the status "Evaluating recommendation" should not take more than a few weeks. In this stage, the Associate Editor (AE) evaluates the suggestions of the peer reviewers and gives his/her recommendation to the Editor-in-chief (EiC). However, in your case, it is not very clear whether the paper was sent for an external review since the status was "AE assigned, under review." I think this indicates the initial screening conducted by the editor. If the paper clear the initial screening, it is sent to external peer reviewers. If it doesn't, it is desk rejected. 

The status descriptions for this journal seem to be slightly different. It is possible that the AE has completed the initial screening and is now evaluating whether to send the paper for peer review or reject it without review. However, this should not take too long. If you do not see any status change in a week's time, you can write to the journal.

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