Q: What does "In Peer Review" mean without AE assignment?

Detailed Question -

After submitting a paper to IEEE Transactions, the status was "AE: Not Assigned; ADM: ***; Submitted" for six weeks, but now it has changed to "AE: Not Assigned; ADM: ***; In Peer Review". Does peer review proceed without AE? Does that mean that ADM serves as an AE?

1 Answer to this question
Answer:

Thank you for your question.

Please note that according to the process outlined in the following link (https://ieeeaccess.ieee.org/guide-for-authors/stages-of-peer-review/#:~:text=IEEE%20Access%20strives%20to%20maintain,comparable%20to%20other%20IEEE%20journals), the manuscript is assigned to an Associate Editor (AE) only after it clears the initial pre-screening step. If the AE feels the article is appropriate for peer review, they will invite qualified and relevant reviewers (ADM) who are experienced in the area of expertise of the manuscript. Once the AE receives reviewers’ feedback, they will evaluate the reviewers’ comments and the article itself and then determine if the article should be accepted or rejected. Please keep in mind that the final decision rests with the Associate Editor (AE), and the reviewers only provide recommendations.

Currently, your manuscript is under Peer Review. Once that process is complete, the reviewers will provide their feedback to the AE and the AE will get in touch with you regarding the next steps.

 

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