Guide

Most review articles take 3–12 weeks of focused work, with scoping, reading, drafting, and revisions setting the pace.

Writing time depends on type: narrative pieces can take 1–4 weeks; full evidence syntheses often run 12–18 months.

Most teams need 6–18 months to complete a systematic review, with larger scopes and small teams pushing timelines past two years.

A focused literature review often needs 3–6 weeks; thesis-level work takes 3–6 months, while systematic reviews run 6–18 months.

Most teams finish a scoping review in about 6–12 months; rapid projects take 2–4 months, and complex ones can stretch to 12–20 months.

Peer review usually runs 1–3 months to first decision, with full publication often taking 3–6 months depending on field and journal.

Most full systematic reviews take 12–18 months from protocol to submission, with staged milestones and defined roles.

Literature review timelines vary by scope; plan 2–6 weeks for classes and 3–6+ months for theses or formal evidence syntheses.

A well-run scoping review usually needs 6–12 months from protocol to submission, depending on scope, team size, and search complexity.

PNAS peer review often reaches a first decision in ~4–7 weeks, with accepted papers commonly publishing within about six months.