Q: Should I worry if the 'Required Reviews Completed' status remains unchanged for 1.5 months?
I submitted a manuscript to an Elsevier journal in the field of Applied Statistics. After three months, the status on the website was ‘Required Reviews Completed’. However, this status remained unchanged for the next 1.5 months. When I contacted the journal (the journal does not allow direct emailing to the editor), I got a reply from the journal office stating that ‘2 referees have sent their report 1.5 months ago’, which did not add any information to what I already knew. I am puzzled whether 1.5 months of this unchanged status should be a cause of worry. Any advice?
Both the status (Required Reviews Completed) and the journal office’s response (‘Two referees have sent their report 1.5 months ago’) mean the same thing: that the reviews have been completed (by two reviewers) and sent to the editor and are awaiting the editor’s evaluation. However, as the status has not changed (to either ‘With Editor’ or ‘Under Editor Evaluation’), it seems that the editor has not commenced their check. The editor could be away (due to the holiday season) or have a considerable queue of manuscripts to review at various stages. So, this is not a cause for worry. I would recommend that you wait until after the holiday season is over (mid-January) to see if the status changes. If not, you could write to the journal again. However, as you have written that the mail goes to the office rather than the editor, this time, you could provide specific details and also express your eagerness and concern about the progress on your manuscript to elicit a more specific response. All the best!
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This content belongs to the Journal submission & peer review Stage