Q: What does 'Reviews Completed' mean three weeks after submission to a research journal?
This is quite simple. Reviews Completed means that the peer review of the manuscript is complete. The associate editor (AE) will now make a first decision on the manuscript and share this with you shortly. However, the short period of time since submission seems to suggest that this is a rapid publication journal or that the peer review was done internally (in case the journal had the requisite expertise). We understand that you are probably thinking that this may also mean a potential rejection, but that may not prove to be true. It may well be a Revise and Resubmit decision, whether for a minor revision or a major revision. So, you should simply wait for the next update.
Until then, you may find it helpful to go through the following related resources:
- A journal editor's insight into what happens post manuscript submission
- Editorial decision-making: what are the possible outcomes for a manuscript?
- A guide to understanding journal statuses [Handbook]
All the best for whatever is next in store!
The status is showing "reviews completed" since 7 days. What should I do in this case?
In your original question, you stated that it was three weeks since submission. Presently, you have shared that it is a week since submission. Anyway, you are understandably curious or concerned about the status of your submission. :-) In this case, as you have asked, you may write to the journal requesting an update on the status. For help with email templates for communicating with journals, you may find this handbook useful: A practical handbook of templates for communicating with the journal [It is from a sister brand, R Upskill, which has a whole suite of learning programs for researchers/academics. For a limited period, you may try the courses/programs for free.] Hope that helps. Good luck with the next steps.
Sir, I have submitted my manuscript on Oct 27, after three days it was assigned to reviewers and status changed to "under review".. On Nov 22, the status was showing "reviews completed".. Till now the status is same. This was my question.
Thanks in advance.
Ok, got it. :-) As it has been only three days since the reviews were completed, you could wait for a week or 10 days to hear from them. However, as this looks like a rapid publication journal, you will probably hear from them sooner. In case you don’t, as we suggested earlier, you may write to them requesting an update. Presently, the handling editor – the Associate Editor (AE) or the Managing Editor (ME) – is probably going through the reviewer’s comments to arrive at their decision on the manuscript. If needed, they may share their decision with the Editor-in-Chief (EIC) to get their views and then share the first decision with you. Hope that helps. Again, all the best!
This content belongs to the Journal submission & peer review Stage