Author Guidelines

Journal of Agricultural Systems and Technology Management

Manuscript Preparation and Submission Guidelines

(Revised June 2024)

The Journal of Agricultural Systems and Technology Management has adopted formatting guidelines to improve consistency across platforms and manuscript development among our authors. Authors should follow these guidelines before submitting manuscripts for review, as manuscripts that deviate from these guidelines will not be reviewed.

Preparing your manuscript for submission using the APA 7^th Edition (APA7)

Authors are expected to prepare manuscripts using the guidelines outlined in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, Seventh Edition (APA7). Authors should refer to chapter two of the publication manual and prepare their manuscript based on the elements described therein. The following are general formatting guidelines to follow:

1. Manuscripts must be prepared using the Times New Roman typeface in 12-point font
2. Set margins to one
3. Special characters, such as Greek letters and mathematical symbols, should be applied using the special character function of your word-processing
4. Single space between all lines of text, tables, and after titles, headings, quotations, references, and figure captions. You may use a 10-point font within the body of tables if this improves readability. Follow the guidelines for table and figure preparation in APA7.
5. Indent the first line of every paragraph ½ Use the tab function to accomplish this.
6. Do not indent the abstract, block quotes, titles, headings, table titles and notes, or figure captions.
7. Manuscript submitted for publication must not exceed 12 pages in The title page and references are excluded from this page limit.
8. Headings must conform to the guidelines in
9. Insert page numbers in the header of each page, including the title Right justify the page number in the header. Begin with the number 1. Please see example papers in APA7 for guidance.
10. Use personal pronouns to avoid ambiguity. Avoid passive voice. Use “We” or “I” when referring to yourself and your co-authors. Section 4.16 of APA7 explains this

Formatting Tables and Figures

Prepare tables and figures according to the guidelines in section seven of APA7. Tables MUST be prepared using the “Table” function in Microsoft Word.

Assembling the Components of the Manuscript

Please follow the guidelines in section two of APA7. Specifically, assemble your manuscript as follows:

• Page 1 – The Title It is not considered to be part of the manuscript page limit. Insert a title page for your manuscript that includes:
  • The title of the manuscript. Try to limit this to 12 words or less if The title should be centered at the top of the page. Capitalize the major words in the title.
  • The running head is part of the header and appears on every manuscript page. It should consist of no more than 50 characters in all caps and be left justified in the header. The running head will be left justified, and the page number will be right justified on the same line in the header.
  • Author byline and institutional Do not include professional degrees or job titles.
  • An author note that explains data sharing, IRB approval number, conflicts of interest, and/or funding for research associated with this manuscript. Include the contact information for the corresponding author
    • Examples include acknowledgment of grant funding or financial support, an acknowledgment that the manuscript is based on data from a previously published report, or an explanation of any perceived conflicts of interest.
    • Section 7 of APA7 provides detailed information about the author’s note.
  • Page 2 - The Abstract, Keywords List, and Manuscript Text
    • The abstract should be a summary of the article and must be no longer than 250 words. The abstract is considered part of the 12-page limit on the
      • Section 3 of APA7 provides advice on how to prepare the abstract.
      • Your keywords must be from the title or Do not include research methodology as a keyword.
    • The manuscript text starts on page 2, immediately following the keywords.
      • Tables and figures are to be placed appropriately with the text.
      • APA7 recommends that tables be placed at the end of the manuscript. However, the JASTM requires they be placed at or near the location discussed in the manuscript text. This is helpful for reviewers who prefer to read the manuscript on a computer.
    • References
      • Manuscript references start on a separate
      • Prepare references according to APA7
      • References are single-spaced
      • Include DOI numbers in the references where
    • Appendices
      • Appendices must be placed at the end of the manuscript, after the references, with each appendix starting on a new page.

Submission

The manuscript should be submitted as a Word file (.doc, .docx, or .rtf).

Ethical Standards – Implications for Your Manuscript

The following are special considerations regarding ethical standards of research and publication.

• The manuscript should be prepared for blind Information identifying the author(s) and/or university should be omitted and replaced with [brackets].
• Authors MUST report effect sizes when reporting statistical significance for quantitative data analyses.
• If the manuscript is accepted for publication, all authors will be asked to certify that it is original research not previously published. Authors will be asked to certify that they have written permission to use copyrighted materials and that they have complied with the regulations on the use of human subjects in research at their home institution. Authors must also reveal whether portions of the manuscript have been published previously.
• If the manuscript utilized AI, this should be acknowledged in the author’s note. An example phrase could be: We acknowledge the use of AI technologies in both the research process and the development of this manuscript.

JASTM Dual Publication Policy and Retraction Procedure

The Journal of Agricultural Systems and Technology Management promotes the profession by facilitating and disseminating research, trends, developments, and innovations. To accomplish this, the Journal insists that researchers and authors:

• Present findings based on actual research
• Take credit and responsibility for the research they
• Publish original data and research

The journal editor, in consultation with the JASTM Editing-Managing Board, will consider retracting a publication for the following reasons:

• There is evidence of
• There is evidence of dual or redundant The findings have previously been published without proper cross-referencing, permission, or justification.
• There is clear evidence that the research findings are unreliable because of misconduct or honest

The journal editor will consider publishing a letter of concern if inconclusive evidence of research or publication misconduct by the authors is received. The journal editor will consider publishing a letter of correction if a small portion of a publication proves to be misleading, or because of honest error, or because the author list is incorrect.

Retractions, letters of concern, and letters of correction will be published in the Journal of Agricultural Systems and Technology Management as soon as possible by the journal editor. Retracted articles are removed from the online Journal. Letters of concern and correction are appended to online journal articles. Articles may be retracted by their author(s) or journal editor. Authors who wish to appeal a retraction, letter of concern, or letter of correction may appeal directly to the editor, who will be the sole and final arbiter of the appeal. By submitting a manuscript for review for publication in the Journal of Agricultural Systems and Technology Management, all of the manuscript’s authors agree to the provisions outlined in this document. The Journal does not consider papers presented at a research conference and then published in the Journal to be redundant publications.