All- wondering if anyone has advice in this situation that I've fortunately not been in before. We submitted a manuscript to a (well respected) journal back in August, came back with minor revisions and very positive comments from reviewers in November. We turned this around in less than 3 weeks because that was the journal's preference. After not hearing back in February (manuscript status was changed to "approaching reviewers" briefly and then under review again in the interim), I sent an email to the editor, who indicated it has their "constant attention" and that securing reviewers has gotten increasingly difficult (this, I understand). Now the reviews have been in for the past week and still waiting editorial decision. Would you poke again? Would you pull it if it comes back with a second round of reviews? I am not willing to wait another 3-4 months. I need this paper for performance reviews and grant applications.
Communicating w/ journal editors
- Thread starter Kadhir
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I give at least 2 weeks after review returns before poking - over the span of one week the editor could be at a conference or otherwise out of town. Particular right now - editorial duties are understandably low priority for many faculty. Whether or not you consider it an overreaction, people are trying to figure out how to move all classes to an online format mid-semester, Columbia's recent decision to literally shut down all non-treatment human subjects research, etc.
As for whether to pull it back, personal decision. I probably wouldn't unless the reviews were objectively unreasonable. Unlikely I could resubmit and get it in somewhere else in the time it would take me to forge ahead. Usually second reviews won't go back out to reviewers unless there is something controversial. At present, it sounds like the journal is above the mean on their turnaround time, but sadly not by any means an extreme outlier for psychology. Depends what types of journals you submit to though - some fields have faster turnaround times than other.
As for whether to pull it back, personal decision. I probably wouldn't unless the reviews were objectively unreasonable. Unlikely I could resubmit and get it in somewhere else in the time it would take me to forge ahead. Usually second reviews won't go back out to reviewers unless there is something controversial. At present, it sounds like the journal is above the mean on their turnaround time, but sadly not by any means an extreme outlier for psychology. Depends what types of journals you submit to though - some fields have faster turnaround times than other.
Thanks! Yea, in my initial poke I made sure I was respectful and expressed my appreciation for their editorial efforts. Just frustrating, and in line with my catastrophizing MO I fear a major revision from new reviewers, in which case, I think I might actually pass. When I get to that bridge, I guess.
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deleted343839
Do you think that resubmitting to a different journal will fit within that time frame? If not, then stay the course. It's frustrating but what are your other options, really?
I don't see a good reason to pull out of the current journal since the timeline you're describing seems pretty typical. But if you do withdraw the paper, and if it would benefit you in some way to just get the work out there and available to download, consider publishing on a pre-print server.
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I haven't heard of this. Would you mind elaborating?
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deleted343839
Sure. A preprint is a manuscript that is made available online before undergoing formal peer review. Among other things, this can allow an author to receive and incorporate informal feedback and discussion before (or during) submission to a peer-reviewed journal. Most of the large journal publishers (think Elsevier, Wiley, Nature) now have explicit preprint policies.
Preprint servers are (mostly free) repositories for these papers. There are several out there, but one is specific to psychology (and endorsed by APA): https://psyarxiv.com
Another interesting article on preprints in science (more general): The Second Wave of Preprint Servers: How Can Publishers Keep Afloat?
Preprint servers are (mostly free) repositories for these papers. There are several out there, but one is specific to psychology (and endorsed by APA): https://psyarxiv.com
Another interesting article on preprints in science (more general): The Second Wave of Preprint Servers: How Can Publishers Keep Afloat?
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Oh man, I didn't know this was a thing! Thanks for the explanation!
Thanks for the additional suggestion. I've never gone the pre-print route but I know it's increasing in popularity.
The paper was accepted. The journal turnaround is too long for the field, but I'll admit to my brattiness. And then, you know, a global thing happens and you realize how you are p>.99, so I didn't end up pushing any further. Worked out.
