About the Journal
Focus and Scope
The journal aims to publish manuscripts directly related to the context of agriculture.
Peer Review Process
In the submission process, initially, the system sends an e-mail to the correspondent author, acknowledging the submission of the manuscript and generating a protocol number. This editorial review process can only begin if the manuscript follows all the established norms. Otherwise, papers may be returned for corrections.
Papers in accordance with the Instructions to Authors section will be submitted to similarity detection software and analyzed by the Editorial Board, which will decide if the editorial process will continue or not, considering the following: i) specific adequacy to the scope of the journal; ii) novelty and clarity in title, objectives and conclusions (evaluation of potential impact or interest that the study may arouse in the scientific community); iii) methodological robustness (assessment of the adequacy of the research design and data analysis); iv) evidence of results supporting the conclusions; and v) quality of textual composition. Manuscripts that do not adhere to the editorial policy will be returned to authors, even before going through a technical-scientific analysis. Papers refused due to textual composition structure can be re-structured and submitted again.
Papers approved by the Editorial Board will have their scientific value assessed by two or three peer reviewers specialized in the subject, here named ad hoc consultants or referees. Authors' identities will not be revealed to peer reviewers and vice versa. These referees are chosen by the Editor or the Editorial Board, among recognized researchers in the specific area of each paper, preferably those not affiliated with the authors' institutions.
After analyzing the manuscript, each referee can choose one of the following options: i) Recommended with mandatory changes/corrections; ii) Recommended; or iii) Not recommended. In his/her report, or in the manuscript itself, the reviewer has total freedom to suggest changes, corrections, omit or add text and sections, to point out ambiguous, redundant, incoherent descriptions, inappropriate use of terminology or to request more detailed explanations. The PAT Editorial Board always encourages its reviewers to provide constructive criticism, concerning the analyzed papers. Thus, reviewers are requested to maintain a respectful tone in their observations, criticisms and suggestions. They are also requested, with respect to authors and their unpublished scientific discoveries, to give a feedback within three weeks, or other deadline accorded with the Editors.
In order to preserve credibility and, at the same time, avoid any embarrassment, the PAT Editorial Board requests that referees, before beginning their analysis of a manuscript, consider the possibility of a conflict of interest. This may include, for example, a regular research collaboration with the possible authors (e.g.: publications), an adviser/advisee relationship; a commercial interest in the publication; family ties; involvement in the study; or any impediment to an unbiased evaluation. In this case, the referee is requested to return the manuscript to the Editor immediately, expressing the impossibility of analyzing it.
The decision of accepting or not a paper for publishing is based, fundamentally, on the recommendations made by the peer reviewer system. Complete copies of all reports, with the referees' identities omitted, will be sent to the correspondent authors. If the manuscript is submitted to only two referees, and one is favorable to publish it, while the other is not, then a third reviewer is invited to analyze it. If the majority of the reports are not favorable, the paper will be archived.
If there is a predominance of favorable reports, the decision is for publishing the paper. However, that will only happen provided the editorial or technical recommendations be accepted or properly justified. A manuscript is rarely accepted without recommendations for improvement. Thus, it is important to authors to understand that requests for changes, nearly always, can improve the quality of their work, and that this kind of request is usual in high quality periodicals. For that reason, they should not take referees' comments, or even editors' corrections, personally. But if they disagree with any of them, they should prepare a written justification, scientifically based, to be sent to the Editor, along with the revised version. That will happen within the deadline agreed with the editors, otherwise, the paper will be archived. If there is any kind of justification, it will be analyzed by editors, which may send them to the respective referees.
After the analysis of the revised version, if the editorial and content suggestions have been properly incorporated or contested, the paper is definitely accepted for publishing and enters the editorial phase. Otherwise, it will be returned to authors for a new revision, and may be archived, if the proposed changes are not fully met or properly justified within the stipulated period. Once more, the PAT Editorial Board assures authors the right to disagree with the suggestions presented. However, justifications without a solid technical and scientific basis will be rejected.
In the journal editorial process, the Editor may carry out small changes in the authors' texts to speed up the publication process. However, before making them available on-line, a copy is sent to authors, for proofreading. In this phase, major changes can no longer be incorporated. It is, thus, recommended that authors carefully read their texts, highlighting errors and corrections to be made.
Publication Ethics
The PAT journal supports and follows the principles and standards recommended by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), available here.
Publication Frequency
In 2019, PAT became a continuous-flow journal, published in one annual volume, without numbering, leaving the quartely periodicity of the last years. In the current format, the articles are published in each volume throughout the year as soon as they are ready, individually, without the need to close numbers or issues.
Open Access Policy
Our editorial policy is based on the premise that the PAT journal results from essentially public efforts and resources. Therefore, the Editorial Board understands that the scientific knowledge stored in its issues belongs to the humankind, which has the right to share it and benefit from it, now and in the future. Not spreading it freely would represent a great waste of human effort and money. For this reason, the PAT Editorial Board not only authorizes, but also encourages the reproduction of articles published by the journal, as long as the source is cited. The license adopted by the journal is CC-by.
Indexing
Pesquisa Agropecuária Tropical is indexed in the following bibliographic bases: Emerging Sources Citation Index (Web of Science); SciELO; Scopus; BIOSIS Previews; Biological Abstracts; CAB Abstracts; FSTA - Food Science and Technology Abstracts; AGRIS - International Information System for the Agricultural Science and Technology (FAO); Redalyc; DOAJ - Directory of Open Access Journals; RoMEO; Scirus - for Scientific Information Only; Open J-Gate; Open Archives Harvester2; Latindex; OAIster; Elsevier; Ebsco Publishing; AGROBASE - Base de Dados da Agricultura Brasileira (MAPA, Brasil); Portal Periódicos (Capes, MEC); Scholar Google; and Sumarios.Org.
Types of Article
The types of manuscript that can be submitted to the PAT journal are: Research Article (must feature an effective contribution to the advancement of science, technology and/or innovation, supported by hypotheses and methods with legitimate theoretical and practical support, followed by in-depth analysis and synthesis in the light of explicit empirical evidence, supporting original scientific conclusions), Review Article (must cover gaps in the systematization of knowledge that deserve updated, original and mature bibliographic analysis and synthesis) and Scientific Note (must present, unequivocally, knowledge, products or unpublished processes that require publication priority, given that they deal with an emergency topic and/or that justify precedence of authorship and intellectual protection).
Submission Languages
Manuscripts may be written in Portuguese or English, but will only be published in English. The final version of the manuscript must be reviewed by an English language specialist (preferably a native speaker). This process must be carried out by the authors, without any onus for the journal.
