A 'Decision in Process' notification shortly after submission usually means that the manuscript is being desk-rejected. Even if the publication rejects your work, you can hunt for a match and submit it to another journal. You might wait for Elsevier's response for the time being. If they reject it as well, then you have learned something from the experience.
A 'Decision in Process' notification some time after submission means that your manuscript is being reviewed by one or more reviewers. This is a good sign - hopefully meaning that your paper is interesting enough to merit review!
If however, you do not hear anything further from the publisher within a reasonable period of time, it would be best to assume that your work has been rejected.
In this case, you should take note of the reasons why your paper was rejected so that you can try to fix the problems that led to its failure.
Sometimes authors are tempted to resubmit their papers without changing a thing just to get into the system. This practice can be detrimental to your career because often these papers are again rejected.
Thus, it is important to understand that a decision in process does not necessarily mean that your work has been accepted. It may just mean that there is some work to be done before it can be published.
When a journal shows "decision in progress," it signifies that the editorial board is in the process of making a final decision on your manuscript. There is no set time range for this; it will depend on the journal and the field. Generally, journals want to make sure that accepted manuscripts are published in time for their annual meetings or late-breaking work sessions.
Journals may request any additional information they need from you during this stage, so be sure to follow up with any requests promptly.
If your manuscript is accepted, you will be sent an email confirming the decision and including details about how to publish your article with us.
If your manuscript isn't accepted, you will receive an email letting you know this fact along with the reason why it wasn't accepted.
Sometimes editors change their minds about accepting a manuscript. If this happens, they will usually notify you by email. If your email address is associated with your profile on Publons, we will send you an email alerting you to the new decision.
Publons also sends an email notification when a journal accepts or rejects a manuscript. You can view your acceptance notifications here: https://my.publons.com/notifications.
Manuscripts that are accepted by multiple journals receive several rounds of revisions before they are published.
"Decision pending" indicates that the decision is still pending. They haven't made a decision yet. There is no secret code for cracking the submission tracker. Things often take considerably longer than we anticipate. Sometimes things get submitted again after being rejected.
"Decision in progress" indicates that all of the reviews have been received and that all that remains is for the editor to make a decision. Three weeks is a long time for this. If you want something done fast, don't use Scribner's.
In response to your question, "Decision in Process" normally implies that the associate editor (AE) has reviewed the peer review comments, made a decision on the manuscript based on the comments, and then informed the Editor-in-Chief of their decision (EiC). The AE may consult with other members of the editorial board as needed.
However, "decision" can also imply that the EiC has made the final call on the manuscript's acceptance or rejection. For example, if the EiC rejects a manuscript immediately after reviewing it, they could say, "I've made my decision: the manuscript is rejected." Or, if they want to give the author an opportunity to revise their work before making the final call, they might say something like, "I've made my decision; however, I'd like you to look over these revisions and let me know if they're acceptable." In most cases, the EiC will communicate their decision directly to the author via email.
As another example, if the AE asks for more time to make a decision, they would likely do so in order to review some additional materials or speak with other people about the manuscript. They would be able to explain their decision further when they next contact the EiC.
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