Q: What does a change to Reviews Completed mean within five days of submitting my paper after a major revision?

Detailed Question -

I submitted a review paper to a Springer-based journal. The various status updates have been as follows.

  • July 1: I made the initial submission.
  • August 12: The status changed to Under Review.
  • September 6: The status changed to Reviews Completed.
  • September 15: I received a major revision recommendation.
  • October 5: I submitted the revised manuscript.
  • October 28: The status changed to Under Review.
  • November 2 (today): The status has changed to Reviews Completed.

I wonder how the reviews completed within five days. Is this an indication of a rejection? Please share your experience.

1 Answer to this question
Answer:

Thanks for sharing all the status updates. From what we see, the manuscript has been moving along quite smoothly since it went for peer review. The journal seems to have been quite prompt with their reviews and updates, and so have you. You turned around the changes for a major revision decision in about three weeks, whereas the usual time provided is eight weeks (two months). The journal seems to have matched your promptness by completing the second round of review in less than a week. Now, the Associate Editor (AE) will go through the reviewers’ final comments/recommendations and arrive at a decision on the manuscript, which they’ll then share with the Editor-in-Chief (EIC), who will make the final decision.

To respond to your actual question, while it would be conjecture to guess the decision, as they have requested for a major revision, they are probably quite interested in your paper. Which may perhaps explain their relatively quick turnaround as well. So, there is reason to think it will probably be an accept, at the most, with a request for some final minor changes. That said, you should still wait to hear from the editor. :-) All the best!

In case it is indeed a positive decision, you may want to prepare yourself for the next stage, proofing, by going through the following resources: