Open Access Pub · For reviewers
For Reviewers
Judge the work on its own design, and report what the manuscript does and does not support
- Review model
- Single-blind by default
- Double-blind
- Available on request
- Reviewers per manuscript
- Normally at least two
- Manuscripts
- Confidential
Reviewing for the journal
What the journal asks of a review
A review for the Journal of Farming answers one question in detail: does the manuscript support what it claims, and is it reported well enough for a reader to judge where the result applies?
Single-blind by default; double-blind review is available on request. You will be told which model applies before you accept.
Assess the work on its own terms. Field trials, station experiments, surveys, modeling studies, economic analyses and reviews each carry their own standards, and a manuscript should not be held to a design it did not set out to use.
- Relevance
- Does the work address a farming system, and does it belong in this journal?
- Method
- Is the design suited to the question, with the replication, controls and conditions reported?
- Analysis
- Are the statistics appropriate, and are the claimed differences supported?
- Interpretation
- Do the conclusions stay inside the evidence, and are limits stated?
- Reporting
- Are site, season, treatments, measurements and data availability complete?
- Integrity
- Any sign of duplication, undeclared conflict or ethical omission.
Before, during and after
How to handle the manuscript
01
Before you accept
Accept only where you have the subject expertise and no conflict of interest. Declare any association with the authors, the funder or the work, and decline where it would affect your judgment.
02
While you hold it
The manuscript is confidential. Do not share it, discuss it outside the review, or use its unpublished content. For double-blind manuscripts, reviewers must not attempt to identify the authors.
03
Using AI tools
Reviewers must obtain journal permission before using AI to assist with a review. Any permitted use must be disclosed, and confidential manuscript content must not be uploaded where confidentiality cannot be assured.
04
Writing the review
Separate what is required from what is advisable, point to the place in the manuscript you mean, and give reasons. Direct, specific and courteous comments are more useful to the authors and to the editor than a verdict.
05
After you submit it
After submitting the review, reviewers should securely delete downloaded manuscript files and must not retain or use unpublished material.
What your review is used for
The decision
Manuscripts that proceed to external peer review are normally evaluated by at least two independent subject-matter experts.
Editorial decisions are based on scope, scientific quality, methodological rigor, ethical compliance, reporting quality, and relevance to the journal. The handling editor weighs the reviews against the manuscript and takes the decision; a review is advice, not a vote.
A reviewer's own manuscripts are handled independently, under the same criteria as every other submission.
Editor duties are set out on For Editors, and the policies behind both pages on Editorial Policies.
Journal of Farming · ISSN 3070-2232
Published by Open Access Pub
To offer to review, write to [email protected] with your subject areas.