Q: Is it normal for a journal to wait for reviews from more than five referees?
I submitted my paper last November to a Springer journal in the field of computer science. The submission has passed through the usual workflow of peer review. It was under review till 1st March 2018, and then the status changed to "Reviews completed". Since then, the status has remained unchanged. Meanwhile, the status date has changed twice. I think this is happening because the submission is receiving more reviews. When I sent an inquiry, the editorial office of the journal informed me that five reviews have been received, and the editors are waiting for more reviews to come! I have read somewhere that more than four reviews are rare. Can you explain this scenario? I am worried since my thesis defence requires an accepted paper and this delay would certainly affect my future career. I have already informed the journal editor about the situation through the staff in the journal’s editorial office but have received no response. I would really appreciate if you have any suggestion or recommendations for such situations.
Asked on 03 Apr, 2018
I agree with you that collecting reviews from more than five peer reviewers is not a common practice. But such a situation can arise if the editor is not certain about the quality of the reviews received or if the reviews have conflicting opinions. In such cases, before taking the final decision, the editor usually sends out the manuscript to additional peer reviewers with the aim of receiving more balanced or calibrated reviews (unbiased and aligned with the journal’s standard).
I would suggest that you wait for a couple of weeks more to hear from the journal. Then you can write to the editor-in-chief directly explaining the urgency of your situation and requesting for a clarification on the status of your submission.
Suggested reading: