Q: Why is my paper repeatedly changing from "Required reviews completed" to "Under review"?
I submitted a paper to a journal on May 24th, and upto July 24th it was "With editor." I requested the return of the manuscript to make changes and resubmitted on July 26th. It was "Under review" until October 28th. I submitted the revised version on October 31st.The status changed to "Required reviews completed" on 6th Nov, then back to "Under review," then again to "Required reviews completed" on Nov 16, then remained the same until 29th of Nov when it changed to "Under review."What could be the cause? This timeline is also above the average for all years shown on the journal home page.
The status changing to "Under review" once again after "Required reviews completed" indicates that the editor has sent your paper for an additional review. This is quite a common scenario. If the reviews are weak or conflicting, and the editor feels that he/she is unable to take a decision on your paper based on the reviews, he/she can send it for an additional review.
However, it is slightly unusual to send the paper for additional review a second time, but this is what seems to have happened in your case. Possibly the editor is finding it difficult to arrive at a decision and is, therefore, sending the paper for review multiple times to ensure that you get a fair judgment. Keep your fingers crossed. Hopefully, you will receive a decision soon. However, if this happens again, it might be a good idea to write to the journal to get a clearer picture.
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This content belongs to the Journal submission & peer review Stage