Q: What is the meaning of the 'Decision in Process' status after two rounds of revision?

I guess the two rounds of revision were first a major revision and then a minor revision. Of course, both could have been major, but the final possibility – that both were minor – is perhaps not likely.

The ‘Decision in Process’ status after the ‘Required Review Completed’ status means that the associate editor (AE), who has been handling your manuscript all this time, has made a decision on your paper based on the peer review comments and your changes, and has now communicated their decision to the Editor-in-Chief (EiC), who will make the final decision.

To answer your question, as it has gone through two rounds of revision, that too with an Elsevier journal, it is likely to be accepted. However, it may not be prudent to begin celebrating just yet, because for those same reasons, it may perhaps not get accepted. We always urge authors to ‘Keep Calm and Wait’ when it comes to journal statuses.

The EiC should make their decision in a few days (based on the number of manuscripts in their system). However, if you don’t hear from them in, say, a couple of weeks, you could drop in a mail seeking an update.

In case it’s a no-go, you can submit the revised manuscript to another journal. As it’s been updated a couple of times, it should be more robust than what you started out with.

All the best – either way!

For more information, you may refer to these previous queries around this status:

• How long does a paper remain at the 'Decision in Process' status?
• https://www.editage.com/insights/what-is-the-meaning-of-decision-in-process-status
• Does a direct 'Decision in Process' status indicate rejection?