Q: Reviewer assigned to Reviews completed on same day

Thank you for your query. The status “Editor Assigned” means that your paper was assigned to an Associate Editor (AE). The AE responsible for your manuscript till the first decision. However, the change of status from “Editor Assigned” to “Editor Invited” indicates that the assigned editor had declined the request to handle your paper either because his/her schedule was busy with other work or he/she had a conflict of interest with your paper. The journal then sent out an invitation to another editor and the status changed back to “Editor Assigned” once the new editor accepted the request to handle your paper.

Given that the status changed to “reviewers assigned,” it means that the editor was satisfied with your work and appointed peer reviewers to review your paper and that the reviewers accepted the invitation.

The status “reviews completed” indicates that peer reviewers have finished evaluating your manuscript and the review reports have been sent to the journal. It essentially means that the minimum number of reviews required by the journal are completed. It does not mean that the journal editors have gone through the reviews yet. This status could also mean that editors have called for additional reviews, which is also common. It is normal for the submission to remain in this stage for about two to three weeks as the editors make their decision or call for additional reviews. After the editors have gone through all reviews you can expect to receive communication regarding revision or acceptance. Given that you haven’t heard back or seen a status change even after a month, you can go ahead and reach out to the journal to inquire about the status.