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I had submitted a manuscript to an SCIE indexed journal 1 month ago. I had selected an Associate Editor for my manuscript.

The journal website said that if my manuscript is not deemed fit for peer review then I will be informed and it will be rejected.

To my utter surprise the paper showed the status "Under Review" from Day 1. I dont understand how can an Editor so quickly find reviewers.

Till date after 1 month it is still showing the status "Under Review".

Should I send an email asking the Associate Editor regarding the status of my journal or is it too early to enquire about it?

I am in a fix.However I dont know how can a Paper be sent to "Under Review "so quickly.

Any comments on this will be helpful.

Learnmore
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  • @AnonymousPhysicist;How does that question become a duplicate of mine – Learnmore Jun 27 '19 at 03:42
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    You seem to think it's special that your paper was under review quickly, but I think this is a normal occurrence. – Anonymous Physicist Jun 27 '19 at 03:45
  • @AnonymousPhysicist;thats fine but as in the linked question, I am not asking about the workflow of a journal – Learnmore Jun 27 '19 at 03:47
  • @AnonymousPhysicist; also in the question you have linked it is wriiten that it takes a couple of days to a few weeks for a paper to be sent to peer review – Learnmore Jun 27 '19 at 03:48
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    A bad answer to a question does not justify a duplicate question. One day is not meaningfully different from a couple of days. Questions about the time something takes at a journal are definitely about journal workflow. I won't discuss this any further. – Anonymous Physicist Jun 27 '19 at 03:49

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Remember the status 'under review' doesn't just start displaying when a reviewer accepts the invitation. It could also show up when a reviewer is invited. It's easy to invite a reviewer - if I know who to invite I can do it in two minutes - so it's not surprising that your status is "Under Review" from day 1.

Even if the status updates only when a reviewer accepts the invitation, it's quite possible a reviewer accepts the invitation in one day. Scanning the paper briefly, deciding if it's interesting + within my area of specialization, and figuring out if I have the time to do it can be done in under half an hour. Of course not all reviewers will decide on the invitation in one day, and many regularly take a week, but it's not out of the ordinary for reviewers to accept an invitation in one day.

As for whether or not to ask for a status update, that's going to be field-dependent. In physics (which is the field I'm most familiar with), one month is a bit early, but you can do it. In other fields where average review times are longer, it would be preferable to wait longer.

Allure
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  • Thank you for the answer but can you say what can be a suitable time frame to mail the Associate Editor to whom the paper is assigned,my field is Mathematics – Learnmore Jun 27 '19 at 03:33
  • And one more question,do editors provide as much time as the reviewers want to review a paper or there is some time that is assigned to them – Learnmore Jun 27 '19 at 03:34
  • I don't know about typical review times in mathematics; maybe someone else will. As for review deadlines, yes they typically exist, although they're usually not very strict (because if a reviewer misses the deadline, the editor can't just acquire another review instantly; a new reviewer will need a fresh deadline). – Allure Jun 27 '19 at 03:36
  • So what is your opinion? Should I wait for another 1 month or write to the Editor straightaway?Do you think that my manuscript is making progress? – Learnmore Jun 27 '19 at 03:38
  • Like I said, I don't know. – Allure Jun 27 '19 at 03:39
  • @Learnmore Ask your advisor. – Bryan Krause Jun 27 '19 at 18:07