Q: What do these double statuses mean on ScholarOne?

Journal statuses are sometimes difficult to interpret, especially dual ones such as this.

To begin, here, the managing editor is represented by ‘ME,’ the ‘consulting editor’ by ‘CE,’ and while the role isn’t mentioned, the associate editor by ‘AE.’ The AE and ME work with the journal, while the CE in this case seems to be an external role, that is, the peer reviewer(s).

What these statuses could mean is that the AE has had a look at your manuscript and has made a tentative decision on it. To get a second opinion, they have referred the manuscript both to the ME and to the peer reviewers. The Awaiting CE/Reviewer Scores status also means that the AE has assigned the basic number of peer reviewers required for the manuscript, either two or three. So, the manuscript is out to all two or three reviewers, who will get back with their decision. The ME, or perhaps the Editor-in-Chief (EiC), will make the final decision based on everyone’s inputs.

As it has been just a day or two since you submitted your manuscript, you could wait for some time to know the decision. However, given the speed with which the statuses have changed so far, you could also know soon enough.

To answer your second question (on desk rejection), while it wouldn’t be fair to speculate, given the speed with which the manuscript has changed statuses, it may mean an eventual rejection. However, any of the reviewers, the ME, or even the EiC could have a different view from the AE. So, you should indeed wait until the next status update. Also, note that it would technically not be a desk reject, as the manuscript has been sent to the peer reviewers.

In case of an eventual rejection though, you could always submit to another journal, making some changes based on any feedback you get from this journal (such as scope match, quality of writing, novelty of research, and so on).

Finally, we have a new platform, PubSURE, that aims to help authors avoid desk rejection, by helping them improve their manuscript through an AI-powered check and also by giving them a chance to showcase their improved manuscript to several journal editors. If interested, you may find out more about the platform here: PubSURE

You may also find these other queries relevant:

• Should I expect a desk rejection based on my manuscript's status?
• Does the status "Awaiting final decision" within a week of submission indicate desk rejection?
• What does a status change from "Awaiting reviewer score" back to "Awaiting reviewer assignment" mean?