Q: How many reviewers are usually assigned for short communication articles?

As far as I know, the peer review process for short communication and research note type articles is the same as that of an original article. The number of reviewers that a paper is sent out to depends on the editor. If the editor feels that one reviewer is sufficient for him/her to get a clear idea about the quality of the paper, he/she might send it to just one reviewer. On the other hand, the editor can also send the paper to two or more reviewers if he/she feels the need to. However, while some journals have a policy to send original papers to at least two reviewers, in the case of short communication or research notes, which involve less empirical data, the policies may be less strict. Additionally, because these articles have less of data and analysis, they might not always require two or more reviewers.

Another reason why editors might choose to have just one reviewer for short communication articles is that these articles most often need to be published on an urgent basis as the relevance of these articles is dependent on timely publication. Since peer review is the most time consuming part of the publication process, editors might choose to go ahead with just one review.

Related reading:

• 6 Article types that journals publish: A guide for early career researchers
• Delays in peer review