Q: Is it unacceptable to ask reviewers their review area?

Thank you for your question. As peer-reviewed journals are expected to select experts in your study field as peer reviewers of your file, it would be better if you do not ask the peer reviewers where their expertise lies. Peer reviewers do not make the decision to accept or reject papers. At most, they recommend a decision.

At peer-reviewed journals, the decision-making authority rests solely with journal editors or the journal’s editorial board. It is therefore the journal editor who is considered to be central to the decision-making process. For more information regarding the peer review process, you may wish to check the following link: Peer review process and editorial decision making at journals