Peer Review Process

Peer Review Process

Our goal is to provide a timely review of your research by highly qualified reviewers. Articles submitted to AAD will first be screened by the Editor in Chief to ensure manuscripts align with the aims and scope of the journal and then an Editorial Assistant to verify compliance with submission guidelines. After initial triage, manuscripts will be assigned to a Senior Editor or Editor to review the scientific and technical merits. If deemed acceptable, each article will then go through a rigorous double-blind peer review process guided by criteria outlined in the submission guidelines. Based on reviews, articles will be returned to the authors with the following possible decisions: Accept, Minor Revisions Required, Major Revisions Required, or Reject. We strive to have reviews completed within two weeks and to publish immediately once final edits of accepted manuscripts are submitted. 

Reviewers are asked to provide an objective assessment of the merits of the research using AAD’s review rubric. As a part of the review, reviewers are asked to point out any relevant publications that were not cited by the authors, but reviewers should avoid recommending excessive self-citation or journal self-citation. Reviewers are also asked to disclose if they have a conflict of interest on any manuscript they are asked to review.

We expect all reviews to be conducted in a professional and courteous manner. Any reviewers not abiding by this policy will be removed from our reviewer database. 

Publication Decision-Making Process

The Editor in Chief is ultimately responsible for all final editorial decisions, including acceptance, revision, rejection, corrections, expressions of concern, and retractions when necessary. After considering the peer-review reports and conducting an independent editorial assessment, a decision of acceptance, revision, or rejection is communicated to the authors. The Editor in Chief may delegate the publication decision authority to a Senior Editor or Editor on the manuscripts they are assigned to manage. However, the Editor in Chief retains ultimate responsibility for the integrity of the journal’s editorial process and may review or modify a decision when an ethical concern, conflict of interest, appeal, serious procedural issue, or failure to complete publication requirements arises. Acceptance is not final until all required revisions, ethical obligations, and post-acceptance production requirements have been satisfactorily completed. The publisher (Advancements in Agricultural Development, Inc.) has no involvement in editorial decisions related to manuscript acceptance or rejection.