Publication Ethics

At Agricultural Research Reports, we strongly uphold publication ethics. A peer-reviewed article, once published, is a key component in curating a coherent and respectable knowledge network. It directly reflects the quality of work of the authors and their respective institutions. The scientific method is embodied in the form of peer-reviewed articles.

Agricultural Research Reports is dedicated to excellence in scholarly publishing and adheres to COPE guidelines, following COPE’s "Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing." We recommend that reviewers follow COPE’s "Ethical Guidelines for Peer Reviewers." For ethically acceptable editing, our editors adhere to COPE’s "Guidelines for Ethical Editing" and "Editing Peer Review." Additionally, we follow COPE guidance on "Editorial Board Participation" for the advice and participation of editorial advisory board members.

COPE Links:

  • "Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing": [Link]

  • "Ethical Guidelines for Peer Reviewers": [Link]

  • "Guidelines for Ethical Editing": [Link]

  • "Editing Peer Reviews": [Link]

  • "Editorial Board Participation": [Link]

It is essential to agree upon standards of expected ethical behaviour for all parties involved in the act of publishing: the author, the journal editor, the peer reviewer, and the publisher.

Publication Decisions The editor of Agricultural Research Reports is responsible for deciding which of the submitted articles will be published. The editor may be guided by the policies of the journal's editorial board and constrained by legal requirements regarding copyright infringement and plagiarism. The editor may confer with other editors or reviewers in making this decision.

Fair Play An editor will evaluate manuscripts for their intellectual content without regard to the authors' race, gender, sexual orientation, religious belief, ethnic origin, citizenship, or political philosophy.

Confidentiality The editor and editorial staff of Agricultural Research Reports will not disclose any information about a submitted manuscript to anyone other than the corresponding author, reviewers, potential reviewers, other editorial advisers, and the publisher, as appropriate.

Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest All authors, reviewers, editors, editorial advisory board members, and the publisher are required to declare any conflicts of interest. All complaints related to conflicts of interest are addressed in light of the COPE guidelines by the Complaint Redressal & Appellate Committee. Agricultural Research Reports entertains such complaints before, during, and after the publication of the article. [COPE link]

Data Sharing & Reproducibility Agricultural Research Reports encourages authors to share raw data where possible. We also encourage authors to use reporting guidelines, register clinical trials, and adhere to standard ethical practices in their discipline. The journal follows COPE guidance on data sharing and reproducibility, available [here].

Ethical Oversight Agricultural Research Reports' policy on ethical oversight includes, but is not limited to, policies on consent to publication, research involving vulnerable populations, the ethical conduct of research using animals and human subjects, handling confidential data, and ethical business/marketing practices. The journal ensures that the research described in articles follows standard ethical practices and COPE guidelines, available [here].

Intellectual Property Agricultural Research Reports has clearly defined policies on intellectual property, including copyright and publication licenses. The journal accepts pre-prints for publication after a proper peer review process. Agricultural Research Reports does not allow plagiarized results for publication, permitting a similarity of less than 20% for parts of the manuscript other than results. The journal follows COPE guidance on intellectual property policies, available [here].

Post-Production Discussion & Corrections Agricultural Research Reports is open to and accepts discussions and critiques of articles published in the journal. We are open to correspondence regarding correction, revision, and retraction of articles after publication, if justified. The journal follows COPE guidance on post-production discussion, available [here].

Duties of Reviewers

  • Contribution to Editorial Decisions: Peer review assists the editor in making editorial decisions and may also help the author improve the paper through editorial communication.

  • Promptness: Any selected referee who feels unqualified to review a manuscript or knows that timely review will be impossible should notify the editor and excuse themselves from the review process.

  • Confidentiality: Manuscripts received for review must be treated as confidential documents and not shown to or discussed with others except as authorized by the editor.

  • Standards of Objectivity: Reviews should be conducted objectively. Personal criticism of the author is inappropriate. Referees should express their views clearly with supporting arguments.

  • Acknowledgement of Sources: Reviewers should identify relevant published work not cited by the authors. Any substantial similarity or overlap between the manuscript and other published papers should be reported.

  • Disclosure and Conflict of Interest: Privileged information or ideas obtained through peer review must be kept confidential and not used for personal advantage.

Author’s Liabilities

  • Corresponding Author’s Responsibilities: The corresponding author is responsible for managing communication with the journal and ensuring all co-authors agree to the submission.

  • Confidential Process: Authors must treat communications with the journal as confidential.

  • Reporting Standards: Authors should present accurate and replicable research.

  • Data Access and Retention: Authors must retain and share raw data upon request.

  • Originality and Plagiarism: Authors must ensure originality and proper citation.

  • Multiple Publications: Submitting identical research to multiple journals is unethical.

  • Acknowledgment of Sources: Proper acknowledgment is mandatory.

  • Authorship Criteria: Only significant contributors should be listed as authors.

  • Hazards: Any hazards involved in the study must be clearly stated.

  • Disclosure of Conflicts of Interest: Financial and non-financial conflicts must be disclosed.

Complaints & Appeals: All complaints are handled by the Complaint Redressal & Appellate Committee following COPE guidelines. The committee comprises:

  • Editor-In-Chief

  • Managing Editor

  • Two relevant members from the Editorial Advisory Board

  • One relevant external advisory board member

The committee aims to resolve complaints within four weeks of receipt.

Agricultural Research Reports remains committed to upholding the highest ethical standards in scholarly publishing.