Final outcome of articles rejected after revision at Obstetrics & Gynecology: An investigation

Abstract

Not all manuscripts are published following revision, which potentially wastes the time of editors, reviewers, and authors. To investigate the reasons for final rejection and whether these articles were finally published, we evaluated submissions to Obstetrics & Gynecology from January 2013 to December 2017. We found that, of 8,119 manuscripts submitted, 1,650 (20.3%) were invited for revision, of which 121 or 7.3% were ultimately rejected or withdrawn from publication after an invitation for revision. In multivariable analyses, manuscripts rejected after an invitation for revision were more likely to be original research and to have higher‐than‐average reviewer quality scores compared to those accepted after revision. Primary reasons for revision included data interpretation and analytical methods. Reasons for rejection after revision were generally modifiable, but over a third would have required a change to the original study design. Most rejected manuscripts following revision were published in another MEDLINE‐indexed obstetrics and gynaecology journal but usually with a lower impact factor than Obstetrics & Gynecology.