Questions tagged [editors]

Questions about the roles and responsibilities of editors, who decide what papers are accepted into peer-reviewed journals.

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29 votes
10 answers
5k views

Is it fair to desk reject a manuscript because it breaks Relativity?

Every so often a journal I edit receives papers with some kind of claim that, if true, would break mainstream physics. For example: The results of this paper suggest that the velocities of dark ...
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0 votes
1 answer
108 views

From "editor assigned" to "editor invited" [duplicate]

A quick question about paper submissions. I have submitted my paper to a journal for a peer review. For 2 months the status was "Editor assigned" but changed a few days ago to "editor ...
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0 votes
2 answers
155 views

When multiple editors make a decision on a paper, is it normal to not reveal their names to each other?

I recently handled a paper where the peer review process ended with two minor revision reviews and two reject reviews. The disagreement was pretty fundamental - the two reviewers recommending ...
  • 114k
0 votes
2 answers
450 views

Is my paper doomed if even the top journal in the field cannot find reviewers?

In February last year, I submitted a manuscript to a well-known Q1 BMC Journal in my (very narrow and small) field. The editor asked for some direct revisions after one week. We resubmitted the ...
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1 vote
1 answer
122 views

Submitted to journal, rebuttal period now ongoing but no feedback from referees yet

I submitted a paper to a journal in January. According to the journal web site, the rebuttal period is the present week of February 20 to 24. It's February 20 everywhere in the world and actually ...
0 votes
3 answers
166 views

How to handle situation in which the article has been "Awaiting reviewer assignment" for 5 months?

I submitted an article 5 months ago to a journal. Since then, the article has been jumping between "Waiting for Reviewer Assignment" and "Contacting Potential Reviewers" (10 ...
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2 votes
2 answers
317 views

We appealed an editor's decision and sent a revised version, but he hasn't acknowledged it since 5 weeks

This is about a post-review rejection. This is one of the top journals in our field. The reviewers found our work interesting but sent a long list of controls and additional experiments to do. The ...
32 votes
2 answers
6k views

The editor mixed up the reviews and rejected my paper based on the reviews of a different paper! Now they're denying everything. How to proceed?

I have heard lots of stories about rejection based on unfair reviews, etc. But this is a new one for me, and I wanted to seek the Academia SE's advice... We recently submitted a paper (let's call it A)...
2 votes
0 answers
132 views

How often should I send a reminder to the editor of a journal? [duplicate]

I am a Mathematics PhD student, number theory background. My research article is under review in a journal since 1 year 4 months. Since I am a PhD student, I am expected to have publications in time. ...
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3 votes
1 answer
800 views

How often do editors reach reviewers whose expertise don't match the paper?

It's inevitable that sometimes, editors will invite reviewers whose expertise don't match the paper very well (example). How often does it actually happen, and what percentage is considered acceptable?...
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7 votes
1 answer
419 views

What is the meaning of the "eye symbol" on a corrected proof?

I have submitted my corrections of the proofs to a Wiley journal, in the corrections, I have corrected a typo in one of the equations, the typo was not made by the typesetter but rather by me, in the ...
  • 445
0 votes
1 answer
119 views

What defines if a researcher is an expert in a field/topic or not? [closed]

I have often seen academics and science communicators who are positioned as subject matter experts in a field or topic but haven't been directly involved with doing research since their Ph.D. or ...
3 votes
3 answers
214 views

Options about responding to offer from editor to transfer manuscript to lower-tier journal

I recently submitted a first-author paper to a top-tier scientific journal (A). The editor responded that the paper would not be reviewed in that specific journal (A), but that it could be transferred ...
0 votes
2 answers
228 views

I can not submit my paper again because the previous journal is not confirming the withdrawal request

I am in a desperate situation. Nine months ago, I submitted a manuscript to journal. In the first five months, the manuscript remained with the editor without being sent for a review. During that time,...
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8 votes
5 answers
2k views

Do authors prefer to see reviewer reports before a decision?

Suppose there is a paper with 3 promised reviews, 2 of which have been submitted. In this scenario there will usually be no decision while the editor waits for the third review. Will the author want ...
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0 votes
1 answer
225 views

2nd review round, referee did not accept the invitation - what are my options?

On a submission for a 2nd-round revise-and-resubmit in an Elsevier journal, one reviewer who did provide 2 rounds of positive feedback did not accept the invitation to re-review, 40 days after the ...
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1 vote
1 answer
80 views

Is it normal for a revised submission, which is reviewed by the same reviewers, to take a longer review-time than the initial submission? [duplicate]

I have submitted a manuscript to a journal. Five months after the initial submission, I have received the decision, which was a major revision. After submitting the revised manuscript three weeks ...
  • 445
4 votes
2 answers
163 views

Incorrect report and no answer from editor

Several months ago I submitted an article to a journal with good reputation. Then I received two different reports. One was asking for minor revision. However, the second one overlooked at the content ...
6 votes
2 answers
282 views

What are objectives and incentives of journal editors?

I am trying to understand better the factors that affect the decisions of journal editors (re: publication). I am not interested in strategies to boost my chances of publication, rather I want to ...
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12 votes
2 answers
4k views

Reviewer left no comments. What should I do?

I received a major revision from IEEE Transactions, however one reviewer left no comments. Earlier this already happened to me and the reviewer had left the comments in “Comments to Editors” section. ...
7 votes
6 answers
3k views

Is there any other chance for looking to the paper after rejection?

I got a rejection after minor revisions although I handled all requirements. I got comments from two reviewers: Reviewer #1: Good work. Like the paper. Reviewer #2: I like these kinds of quantitative ...
0 votes
1 answer
213 views

What should I do when the review process takes longer than expected? [duplicate]

First case: my paper got minor revisions and is "under review" since 27/10. Is it normal to take all this time for minor revisions? Can I ask the editor to remind the reviewers or can I ask ...
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54 votes
3 answers
7k views

Masters' advisor uses my work without citing it - Journal decided to intervene

About a month ago, I read a new article published by my previous advisor and three other researchers in a top journal. I noticed that part of it uses part of my master's thesis, only written as if ...
3 votes
1 answer
99 views

Is it normal that an editor keep the paper for more than six months without sending the paper out for full refereeing

I submitted a paper to a journal X of maths which is one of the best journals in a field Y. After more than six months I sent the handling editor a polite reminder email, in which I requested to ...
3 votes
1 answer
619 views

Preprint got published on Authorea without sending it to review (desk rejection). Is this how it is supposed to happen?

I just submitted a manuscript to a journal that uses the ScholarOne Submission system. There was the option to agree that the manuscript will be published as a preprint on Authorea. It says: New! ...
2 votes
1 answer
140 views

Who should I message for the status of a paper?

I need to check the status of my paper. Should I message the Editor-in-Chief or the Journals Editorial Office (JEO)? While Editor-in-Chief who sent to me the comments of the reviewers. Will it be a ...
1 vote
2 answers
183 views

Who is supposed to message in this situation? [duplicate]

I need to inquire about the expected date for the final decision as I sent the minor revisions since one month . should I message Editor-in-Chief or Journals Editorial Office (JEO). what is the time ...
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7 votes
3 answers
3k views

Withdrawing a manuscript after reviews - acknowledging reviewers in new submission

My coauthors and I have submitted a paper to a fairly prestigious journal. We have received favorable reviews and were in the process of incorporating the reviewer's suggestions into the final ...
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0 votes
0 answers
88 views

what should i do in this situation , please? [duplicate]

I got minor revisions for my paper and sent it by 20/9 , in 23/9 I got change in the status to be "with the editor" then I got change in the date in 5/10 and the status is "with the ...
0 votes
0 answers
58 views

Is it okay to send a mail to journal's editor for the review's status after four months of submission? [duplicate]

I am a middle-year Ph.d. student in mathematics. I submitted my first paper to a peer-reviewed journal exactly four months ago. For your information, it is a subject journal, not a general math ...
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2 votes
3 answers
467 views

How to ask politely the editor to urge the reviewers to finish the reviews in the best short time

I want to respectfully ask the editor to finish the review of my paper in the shortest time possible, because I got an early deadline to defend my thesis. Here are some details on the review process ...
5 votes
2 answers
2k views

How to react when the editor responds to a withdrawal by asking for the LaTeX file?

I submitted a manuscript to a journal, but due to an issue with that I asked the Editor-in-Chief and Associate Editor to withdraw the manuscript from further consideration. The response of the Editor-...
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8 votes
2 answers
1k views

The reviews are completed but the editor does not send the final decision and I am in a hurry

I have submitted a paper and both reviewers stated that the work is very well-written, novel, very well-done etc., and asked only some very easy questions. After I sent the revised version, on the ...
0 votes
1 answer
137 views

Is it possible to become an editor of a reputable journal without a medical/postgraduate research degree?

I am a final year medical student and an early-career researcher. I do not hold any medical/postgrad research degree yet (except for a Bachelor of Medical Science). Despite not having any formal ...
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7 votes
3 answers
2k views

How long should one wait before submitting to another journal after a mistake in the decision-letter was made by the first journal?

I have received a decision letter with a rejection. The letter contained two reports recommending publication and two reports, with negative comments, which have nothing to do with the manuscript, and ...
  • 2,288
6 votes
2 answers
377 views

How to contact the editor about a possible mistake in the decision letter?

I have received the decision on a manuscript that I have submitted. The editor in chief decided to reject the paper stating that the reviewers are advising against the publication of the manuscript. ...
  • 2,288
18 votes
4 answers
6k views

Is it normal that the editor says "the referee report is for editor's eye only so I cannot share it with you"?

I recently receive an editorial letter that is unwilling to share referee reports. The letter explicitly mentions the existence of such report but the editor don't want to send it to me. Is not ...
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3 votes
3 answers
461 views

Can I submit a manuscript without following the recommendation of the journal regarding the use of their template? [closed]

In a Springer journal, one of the items in Authors Guidelines is : Manuscripts should be submitted in LaTeX. We recommend using Springer Nature’s LaTeX template. However, I have already typed the ...
  • 2,288
3 votes
2 answers
286 views

Journal editor requesting I update article citation

I was recently contacted by a journal editor where they effectively requested that I update my citation database. They said that they came across one of my pre-prints where I reference another pre-...
5 votes
1 answer
955 views

Is it common to not have comments when reviewing a revision of a paper?

After reviewing a journal paper, I typically receive the revision of the paper to review. This is expected, but most often, my comments are addressed by the authors, and I have no further comments. I ...
  • 1,064
43 votes
3 answers
6k views

How to tell reviewers that I can't update my results

I spent a lot of time during my post-doc doing a big-data analysis using cloud credits paid for by a grant. I got the research conducted, written up, and submitted to a journal. The modeling I did ...
  • 1,023
7 votes
3 answers
3k views

Editors, having a initial idea about the final decision from the first look at the paper?

The first type of review a manuscript gets when submitted is the internal review done by the editor, who is in general an expert in the field. Given their expertise, can an editor have an initial ...
  • 2,288
0 votes
1 answer
145 views

When do I get the notification for the final acceptance? [duplicate]

Does the paper that was accepted by the editor and transferred to the reviewers not mean that the paper got the final acceptance? Or can the reviewers still reject the paper?
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1 vote
3 answers
522 views

Mathematical manuscript flaws between major revision and reject

For mathematical manuscripts, what makes the editor opt for a rejection rather than major revisions and vice-versa? Usually, the editor determines the gravity of the mistakes within the manuscript. If ...
  • 2,288
0 votes
0 answers
61 views

Can the editor be the referee at the same time? [duplicate]

According to what I know, the standard procedure of reviewing an article is the editor to skim the article first, then find the referee(s), then the referees review the article, write the report, and ...
  • 1,391
0 votes
2 answers
138 views

Associate editors status and its effect on peer-review invitations getting accepted

Associate Editors (AEs) are experts in their research fields and some of them are widely well-known to the research community. However, sometimes AEs' peer-review invitations are faced with refusal ...
  • 2,288
27 votes
3 answers
5k views

Is it good courtesy to reply and express gratitude to an editor's long letter of rejection?

I think the editor's generic decision letter will be about one page or less. However, I received an editor's decision letter that is longer than two pages, single-space, with small fonts and small ...
  • 4,122
2 votes
2 answers
346 views

What do you do if you are being 'ghosted' by the Chief Editor of a journal?

My situation/timeline is this: Submit paper ~ 9 months ago 6 months in peer-review, at which point I sent 2-3 unanswered emails after 4-6 months asking if any update No acknowledgement of those ...
  • 330
2 votes
1 answer
950 views

Should I avoid sending a thank-you note to the editor, after a paper is accepted?

Many journals use EditFlow to handle submissions, referee reports, etc. The standard acceptance email you get from EditFlow, upon acceptance of an article, is sent to you, and cc'd to the editor ...
user avatar
0 votes
0 answers
74 views

What are the reasons that keep manuscript status as 'manuscript submitted' over five months? [duplicate]

I submitted a manuscript to a journal five months ago. And the status has remained 'manuscript submitted' since then. I wrote two letters to politely ask EIC about my manuscript but there's no ...

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