Instructions for Reviewers

The Journal of Animal and Feed Sciences publishes original papers, reviews and, occasionally, short papers on basic and applied research in the fields of animal physiology, physiology of nutrition, animal feeding, feed technology, food preservation, breeding and genetics. Also papers specialized in molecular and cell biology, the emerging area of genetics and on the influence of animal husbandry on the environment and vice versa are published. Submitted manuscripts should provide new facts or confirmatory data. A review paper should be considered for publication only if it contributes new knowledge or a synthesis of the most important developments in the subject area, and is not summary of research done by one scientific team or research done within one project. Publication of a preliminary report or part of the data presented at scientific meetings or conferences should be noted in a title page footnote.

The submitted manuscript undergoes peer review process which is based on Double Blind Reviews i.e. the reviewers (usually 2) and the author are anonymous to each other, so all names and other personal data of the authors are deleted before sending to reviewer. Referees also remain anonymous – the authors receive no information about the referees reviewing their articles.

A review should be prepared in English and submitted by JAFS Editorial System (http://www.editorialsystem.com/JAFS). The reviewers are asked to complete a review form with special space for additional comments. There is also a possibility to attach separate files with comments (or article with marked amendments).

Firstly an invitation is sent to reviewer that should be accepted within 7 days. When the invitation is accepted, within 21 days the reviewer should prepare and submit the review in JAFS Editorial System. If a referee requires more time to prepare the reliable review, the information should be sent to editorial office instantly. The remaining e-mails are sent to reviewer 5 days and one day before the final deadline.

Referees are asked to prepare a detailed, reliable and clear review evaluating the content of the article. The insufficient level of English, making the paper difficult to understand should be reported by a referee, nevertheless it should not be a main factor to reject the paper.

During the review submission the referee is asked to answer the following questions in the review form:

1. Is the contribution new and original? Does it expand existing knowledge?
2. Are the methods appropriate to achieve the objective of the study?
3. Are the interpretations and conclusions sound, proven by the data, and consistent with the objectives?
4. Does the title of this manuscript clearly reflect its content?
5. Is the abstract sufficiently informative, especially when read in isolation?
6. Are the key words sufficiently informative?
7. Is the formulation of the objectives adequate and does it conform to the subject matter?
8. Are the illustrations and tables all necessary and complete?
9. Are the results evaluated statistically and described properly?
10. Is the discussion of the results carried out correctly with the use the current literature?
11. Are all of the references necessary and in agreement with the guidelines for authors?
12. Is the spelling correct and the style of the language proper?
13. Can you suggest changes or brief additions (word, phrases) that will increase the value of this manuscript?

If the answers to points 1, 2 and/or 3 are negative, and if the scientific meaning of the manuscript is poor, the reviewer should not hesitate to reject the paper. If the answer to point 12 is negative, reviewer does not need to revise language style.
Making a final decision reviewer should choose from:

a. Accept in present form
b. Accept after minor changes suggested by reviewer
c. Accept after major changes
d. Reject

The reviewer should be prepared that, the manuscript corrected by authors will be sent to them for revision (several revisions are possible). In such case the reviewer is asked to submit comments concerning publication of the article within 21 days through JAFS Editorial System.

If you would like to become a Reviewer for Journal of Animal and Feed Sciences please contact our office and send us your CV with the list of papers published in journals from JCR list only. We would be grateful for your cooperation.