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I have a manuscript under review at Nature Scientific Reports. The editorial system shows eleven reviewers invited but only one has accepted. Is this a problem? Is it normal?

user45664
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    I consider inviting 11 reviewers for one paper to be a problem. – Thomas Dec 13 '20 at 19:34
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    @Buzz How and where would that answer the present question? – lighthouse keeper Dec 13 '20 at 20:50
  • The answer will depend on your field, the journal, the particular article and the timing.. Anecdotally, I'm not accepting any more reviews this year because I feel like I reviewed enough this year. – lighthouse keeper Dec 13 '20 at 20:52
  • Why would it be a problem? it is normal. Also, it is good idea to use a 'shot gun' approach when acquiring reviewers -- it is much faster to get the minimum number of reviewers (reviews) required by a journal. – Prof. Santa Claus Dec 13 '20 at 21:03
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    As @Thomas's comment suggests, an editor sending "invitations" to 11 people is ... spam. That is, a "shot-gun approach" is ... spam. Let's not abuse each other... – paul garrett Dec 15 '20 at 20:19

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I think it really depends on the field. Having published a lot of work in Systems Biology intersect biology, comp sci, math, modelling, ... I found it really hard to get reviewers for our papers. And once you have reviewers they often evaluate the paper very one sided (e.g. the math is trivial, no new concept in comp bio, limited biological novelty, ...). So yes, it is a problem, but you are asking the wrong question: I think you want to know what is the cause of it and can it be fixed?

Mario Niepel
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I would add to the other answers here that during COVID, journals – and tenure review committees as well as other bodies that rely on 'voluntary' service - have struggled with peer reviewers beyond the norm. Many academics are feeling a bit overwhelmed with remote teaching, the virus, and other disruptions, and speaking both as a journal editor and somebody who holds mid-level administrative positions, this is pretty widespread at least in North America right now.

canadian_scholar
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Yes, it indicates a problem:

  • It could be that your paper is uninteresting, such that most people don't really want to spend the time to review it.
  • Or it could mean that the editor is "missing" and identifying people who aren't in the same field as your manuscript.

There's nothing to do except wait, though.

Allure
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