Q: I received an email that all required reviews have been completed, but the status on the manuscript central still shows "Awaiting Reviewer Selection"

Detailed Question -

I submitted a manuscript in mid-January 2021. I received a mail in mid-February that the paper has passed initial screening and is awaiting reviewer selection. The status on the manuscript central remained unchanged till mid-May. I received a mail that all required reviews have been completed and the editor’s decision is awaited. However, on the same day, the status on the manuscript central changed to awaiting reviewer reply. After 10 days the status again shows awaiting reviewer selection. I have contacted the journal to resolve this confusion; but didn't receive satisfactory response.

1 Answer to this question
Answer:

Thank you for your query! It is difficult to arrive at a definitive idea of what has happened here, as some of the details would be known only to the journal. However, a likely scenario is that one of the peer reviewers had to withdraw for some reason and the journal was obliged to find another one. Again, it is not possible to arrive at a definitive conclusion based on the limited information available, but this is one possibility.