Q: Is it common to send a paper for review again following very minor revisions?

Detailed Question -

I recently resubmitted a manuscript after making major revisions. After a while, I received a message stating that the revisions I made have been accepted by the reviewers and I was only being asked to proofread the manuscript again to correct potential mistakes. (I wasn't explicitly asked to send my paper for language editing.) I read the manuscript again and again and corrected a few mistakes that I found. After two days, I was surprised that the status had changed to Under Review again. The first and second rounds of review together took almost six months, and it looks like it will take some more months this time as well.

1 Answer to this question
Answer:

Hi Amir – Welcome back to the forum.

You are right in your understanding and your querying – this isn’t common, but it does happen. Sometimes, a simple word change may make a big difference, and the reviewer/s may want to check that. However, it is surprising here because the reviewers were okay with your major revision changes. Perhaps the Under Review status here then refers to the review by the Associate Editor (AE), who may be quite meticulous about small errors. (This may be the case for a top-tier journal.) From the way you have articulated your query here and from your previous query, there doesn’t seem to be any major concern with your language.

In a rare case, the AE may send the manuscript to a third reviewer if they are not sure about some scientific or technical aspect, but from the details you have provided, that may not the be the concern here. The only reason for the status change we can think of then is that because the manuscript initially received a major revision decision, the AE wants to be absolutely sure about all aspects before (in all likelihood) giving it their nod.

What we would suggest eventually is to be patient for just a while longer. The manuscript has spent six months with this journal (which is pretty much the average time across for an initial major revision decision), and seems to be quite close to the acceptance door. It may not take “some more months” as you are assuming/fearing, but maybe just a month more. You could wait for a week or so to hear from them. In case you don’t by then, there’s no harm in sending a query requesting an update on the manuscript, in which you may also choose to ask about the matter that is puzzling you here.

For more insights into the key points discussed above, you may find it helpful to go through these previous queries by other researchers :

Hope that helps. All the best in these final stages!

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