Question Description:
Dear Editor,
Recently, the status of my revised manuscript in a Springer journal changed as follows:
09 Nov: Submitted to the Journal
11 Nov: under review
03 Dec: under review
05 Dec: Required reviews completed
11 Dec: Decision in process
12 Dec: With Editor.
Please what means ''with editor''. Does it mean that the manuscript will be sent again for another round of review because of unsatisfactory previous reviews or that the Editor is on the way to give a final decision to this manuscript? I'm looking forward to hearing from you. Thank you in advance.
Answer:
It is difficult to be sure, but I think there is a higher possibility that the paper will be sent for an additional review. Sometimes this is done if one or more of the reviews are unsatisfactory or if the reviewers have conflicting opinions. If the editor had taken the decision, and was in the process of communicating the decision to you, the status should ideally have remained the same or changed to “decision complete.” The next status change will give you a clearer picture.