Q: Why does my manuscript move from “Under Review” back to “Reviewers Invited”?
I have experienced a confusing situation. I submitted a paper on April 8. It passed the initial evaluation 10 days later. Then, there was a call for reviewers, and the status changed to ‘Reviewers Invited.’ So far, so good. After half a day, the status changed to ‘Under Review.’ However, 14 days later, it changed to ‘Reviewers Invited.’ Why did this happen?? Can anyone please tell me what is the reason for this and what’s wrong with the paper??
Manuscript status may change from Under Review back to Reviewers Invited because
(1) one or more reviewers pulled back out of review (maybe after discovering a conflict of interest or realizing that they weren't qualified to review your paper) or
(2) one or more reviewers submitted an obviously weak or incorrect review and the associate editor decided to find new reviewers.
For now, you don’t need to think about “what’s wrong with your paper.” Your paper has been progressing in the system, except for this recent matter of reviewer challenges. You could wait for some time, say, a couple of weeks, to see if the status changes back to ‘Under Review.’ If not, that is, the journal is still finding it challenging to find a peer reviewer(s), and you know of any, you may drop in a mail to the editor with some suggestions.
Additionally, you may also find it worthwhile to invest in this handbook: Keep calm and wait: A guide to understanding journal statuses
All the best for the next update!
