The Irish Journal of Agricultural and Food Research (IJAFR) supports the ethical principles set out by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).
All journal stakeholders and authors are required to observe high standards with respect to publication ethics as set out by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE).
Aims and scope
The Irish Journal of Agricultural and Food Research is a peer reviewed open access scientific journal published by Compuscript on behalf of Teagasc (Agriculture and Food Development Authority, Ireland). Manuscripts on any aspect of research of direct relevance to Irish agriculture and food production, including plant and animal sciences, food science, agri-environmental science, soils, engineering, buildings, economics and sociology, will be considered for publication. The work must demonstrate novelty and relevance to the field of research. Papers published or offered for publication elsewhere will not be considered, but the publication of an abstract does not preclude the publication of the full paper in this journal.
Types of papers
The IJAFR publishes a number of types of papers:
Original research papers – These are original articles reporting cutting-edge research of international relevance that has clear implications for the agri-food sector. The IJAFR recognises the importance of original and high-quality research that is of particular relevance to Ireland and encourages papers that report such research. Papers should not exceed 8,000 words (abstract, introduction, materials and methods, results and discussion, but excluding tables, figures and references).
Research notes – these are original articles reporting original research from limited investigations which will not be included in a full-length paper. Research notes should not exceed 2,500 words (including abstract, introduction, materials and methods, results and discussion, tables and illustrations, but excluding tables, figures and references).
Review papers – Relevant and appropriate critical review papers will be considered. It is recommended to contact the Senior Editor in advance of preparing a review, giving the author(s) name(s), and an outline and justification for the review. These should be no longer than 10,000 to 12,000 words.
Perspective papers – Contributions up to 8,000 words in length that present research-based work that informs policy. Submissions on a wide range of subjects relating to policy directions, decision-making and implementation of policies relevant to the agri-food sector are welcomed. We also welcome papers that develop dialogue between the research community and, for example, decision-makers in agri-business, government and NGOs. Contributors should avoid articles that focus on methodology. The focus of these articles should be on informing and improving policy, rather than simply critiques of policy decisions, and any opinions should be supported by a clear evidence base. Articles should be set within a broad policy context and relate to the wider issues around constrained decision making. Authors are advised to discuss the proposed topic with the Senior Editor in advance of submitting a perspective paper.
Submission of manuscripts
Submission of a manuscript is understood to imply that the article is original and is not being considered for publication elsewhere. All submissions must be accompanied by a cover letter to the editor, justifying why their paper should be considered for publication. The main body of the text is submitted in a Microsoft Word document. Tables and Figures should be submitted as separate documents. All submissions to the IJAFR must be made through our online submission system. Our online submission system (https://www.editorialmanager.com/ijafr/default.aspx) can be accessed through the journal website (http://www.TBC.TBC). The journal does not have article processing charges (APCs) nor article submission charges.
Copyright
All authors retain copyright. The non-commercial use of each article will be governed by the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/). The corresponding author grants the journal the exclusive license to commercial use of the article, by signing the License to Publish. Upon acceptance of the manuscript, authors will be contacted and asked to provide a signed copy of the licence.
Conflicts of interest
All authors are requested to disclose any actual or potential conflict of interest including any financial, personal or other relationships with other people or organizations within three years of beginning the submitted work that could inappropriately influence, or be perceived to influence, their work.
All authors are required to complete a standard conflict of interests/competing interests form. This form will be sent to all authors of accepted papers at the end of the peer review process. This should be returned together with your revised manuscript. Conflict of interests/competing interests can be defined as factors which could influence the judgment of an author, reviewer or editors, and may be personal, commercial, political, academic, or financial in nature. Put simply, they are interests which, if revealed later, would make a reasonable reader feel misled or deceived.
Reviewers are also required to declare competing interests and in most cases these reviewers with competing interests will not be asked to proceed with the review.
Statements of competing interests are included in the online versions of research articles.
For additional guidance and information on the topic of conflict of interests and competing interests please refer to the ICMJE recommendations on author responsibility and COPE’s “Responsible research publication: international standards for authors” document.
For more detailed information on our Conflict of Interest Policy please click here.