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American Journal of Potato Research

The Official Journal of the Potato Association of America

Publishing model:

Submission guidelines

Contents

Instructions to Authors

GENERAL

The American Journal of Potato Research (AJPR) invites submission of articles covering a wide range of subject matter, from basic to applied, dealing with any aspect of potato science. Articles are peer reviewed before publication by scientists with expertise in the subject area.

A.The corresponding author will be asked to sign the

Copyright Transfer form upon submission via

Online Submission system. By signing the form, the corresponding author agrees that:

(1) the manuscript is authors' original research

(2) the manuscript has not been published elsewhere

(3) if accepted by AJPR, author will not publish it again elsewhere

(4) all coauthors are aware of, and agree with publication in AJPR

(5) the publication becomes property of AJPR

POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

Manuscripts must be written in proper English (see the section on editorial policy). The abstract of full-length articles will be printed in Spanish as well as in English.

The corresponding author is fully responsible for all aspects of the manuscript, including its overall integrity, proper submission, revisions and related costs.

Scope:

The AJPR publishes reports of basic and applied research on potato (Solanum spp.). There are three general categories of publication: (1) full-length articles describing original scientific research in the form of a regular publication; (2) short communications concisely describing poignant and timely research results in four or fewer journal pages; (3) review papers, book reviews and symposium proceedings.

Review Process:

Professional peer review is administered and evaluated by the senior editor assigned to the manuscript by the editor-in-chief. Authors are encouraged to suggest a list of potential reviewers.

Journal Cover Photograph:

AJPR prints a cover photo on each bi-monthly issue. Authors are invited to submit a visual related to their manuscript as a candidate for the journal cover.

Advertisements:

Suitable paid advertisements for products of interest to potato researchers and related to the potato industry or profession may be published. Contact Springer for information:

Advertising

Springer

233 Spring St.

New York, NY 10013

USA

TEL: (212) 620-8405

FAX: (212) 647-1898

E-MAIL: advertising@springer.com

Submission of Manuscripts

  • • To expedite reviews and publication of your manuscript please follow these steps: A wide range of submission file formats is supported, including Word, TIFF, GIF, JPEG, EPS, LaTeX2E, TeX, Postscript, PICT, Excel, Tar, Zip and PowerPoint. PDF is not an acceptable file format.

    • Prepare your manuscript with single line spacing; use a normal, plain font (e.g. 10-point Times Roman) for text; and use the automatic page numbering function to number the pages. Do not use the field functions. Use tab stops or other commands for indents – not the space bar. Use the equation editor or MathType for equations. Note: If you use Word 2007, do not create equations with the default equation editor, but use MathType instead. Save your file in two formats: doc and rtf. Do not submit docx files.

    • We highly recommend that you conduct your own thorough pre-review with the help of colleagues familiar with the subject who will check the scientific content, presentation and conclusions, and skilled proofreaders who will catch typos and non-compliance with AJPR style.

Authors should submit their manuscripts online. Electronic submission substantially reduces the editorial processing and reviewing times and shortens overall publication times. Please connect directly to the site and upload all of your manuscript files following the instructions given on the screen.

http://ajpr.edmgr.com

ETHICAL STANDARDS

Please include at the end of the acknowledgements a declaration that the experiments comply with the current laws of the country in which they were performed.

LEGAL REQUIREMENTS

Submission of a manuscript implies: that the work described has not been published before; that it is not under consideration for publication anywhere else; that its publication has been approved by all co-authors, if any, as well as by the responsible authorities - tacitly or explicitly - at the institute where the work has been carried out. The publisher or the Association will not be held legally responsible should there be any claims for compensation.

PERMISSIONS

Authors wishing to include figures, tables, or text passages that have already been published elsewhere are required to obtain permission from the copyright owner(s) and to include evidence that such permission has been granted when submitting their papers. Any material received without such evidence will be assumed to originate from the authors.

More specific details about AJPR requirements follow in the writing style section.

Authors who wish to republish (in a separate journal or publication) figures, tables, or text passages from their contributions to AJPR should contact Springer’s Rights and Permissions department at the following e-mail address: permissions.dordrecht@springer.com

http://ajpr.edmgr.com

WRITING STYLE AND FORMAT OF MANUSCRIPTS

In writing for the AJPR, authors are advised to refer to recent issues’ papers as models. Specific instructions follow.

Organization of Regular Full-Length Manuscripts:

Regular full-length papers should include the following elements in the order that they are described.

Title Page. Exercise care in composing a brief but descriptive title. On the title page, include the title(s), full name(s) (including first and middle initials), and the present address(es) of the author(s). Place an asterisk after the name of the corresponding author, and then a footnote "*Corresponding author."

The title page should include:

- The name(s) of the author(s)

- A concise and informative title

- The affiliation(s) and address(es) of the author(s)

The e-mail address, telephone and fax numbers of the corresponding author

Provide the corresponding author’s telephone number, fax number, and email address with the footnote. Other footnotes to be listed are:

  • • additional key words (up to six words not found in the title),

    • disclaimers,

    • suggested running head (not to exceed 25 characters and spaces), and

    • a footnote may also be included for “Accepted for publication __________.”

Footnotes on the title page are not given reference symbols. Footnotes to the text are numbered consecutively; those to tables should be indicated by superscript lower-case letters (or asterisks for significance values and other statistical data).

Abstract. Please provide an abstract of 100 to 150 words. Briefly, state the problem that the research addresses, summarize the nature of the research approach, provide an overview of the results and indicate the significance and/or impact of the results. Avoid abbreviations, diagrams, and references in the abstract. Because the abstract will be published by many abstracting services, it must be complete and understandable without references to the text of your paper.

Introduction. The introduction should supply enough background information to allow the reader to understand and evaluate the results and significance of the present study without referring to previous publications or papers on the topic. Consequently, the introduction should define the nature of the problem, provide an understanding of the relevant literature, describe the author’s hypothesis and rationale for the present study, and state the purpose of the research. Present only the most recent and relevant references rather than an exhaustive review of the topic.

Materials and Methods. Include information on the identity of materials and methods that may affect the results. Clearly indicate the number of times that each experiment was repeated and the number of sample replicates used within each experimental repeat. The reader should be able to understand the methods used without reference to previous publications. New methods should be described in detail and sources of unusual chemicals, equipment, microbial and virus strains, insects involved, etc. should be identified. When large numbers of microbial strains or cultivars are used, a table identifying the sources and/or the properties of each should be included. For pesticide names, first use should include the chemical and common name and the formulation when the active ingredient is not used in a pure form. Subsequent references to pesticides need only to use the common name.

Results. Include only results of the experiments. Present representative rather than repetitive data. Reserve extensive interpretation of the results for the Discussion section. Present the results as concisely as possible in the text, table(s) and figure(s). Number the tables and figures in the order in which they are cited in the text, and be sure that all figures and tables included in the paper are cited. However, do not reiterate in the text data that is presented in figures.

Discussion. This section should interpret the results. The significance and impact of the results should be clearly described for the reader in context of other published related work. Evidence for each conclusion should be summarized. In a few papers, it may be more appropriate to combine the Results and Discussion sections.

Subheadings. Authors are encouraged to arrange the above sections into logical subsections headed with appropriate titles. Please use no more than three levels of displayed headings.

Acknowledgments. In this section you may identify and thank people or organizations/grant program who contributed to the research.

References. The list of References should only include works that are cited in the text and that have been published or accepted for publication. Personal communications and unpublished works should only be mentioned in the text.

Cite references in the text by name and year in parentheses. Some examples:

  • • Negotiation research spans many disciplines (Thompson 1990).

    • This result was later contradicted (Becker and Seligman 1996).

    This effect has been widely studied (Abbott 1991; Barakat et al. 1995; Kelso and Smith 1998; Medvec et al. 1993).

    Citations should be deemed retrievable by the readership now and in the future. Manuscripts that are in press may be used as citations, but the author must be able to provide proof of acceptance if requested by the journal staff. Arrange the citations in alphabetical order by first author followed in chronological order by the other authors in the same order. Use the following formats:

Journal article

Alber, J., D.C. O’Connell, and S. Kowal. 2002. Personal perspective in TV interviews. Pragmatics 12: 257–271.

• Article by DOI

Suleiman, C., D.C. O’Connell, and S. Kowal. 2002. ‘If you and I, if we, in this later day, lose that sacred fire...’: Perspective in political interviews. Journal of Psycholinguistic Research. doi: 10.1023/A:1015592129296.

• Book

Cameron, D. 1985. Feminism and linguistic theory. New York: St. Martin's Press.

• Book chapter

Cameron, D. 1997. Theoretical debates in feminist linguistics: Questions of sex and gender. In Gender and discourse, ed. Ruth Wodak, 99-119. London: Sage Publications.

• Online document

Frisch, M. 2007. Does a low-entropy constraint prevent us from influencing the past? PhilSci archive. http://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/archive/00003390. Accessed 26 June 2007.

Organization and Criteria for Short Communications Manuscripts

Submit these manuscripts in the same way as a full-length manuscript. Short Communications receive the same peer review and are subject to the same time frame for publication as full-length papers. This type of publication is intended to highlight specific research findings and cannot be used to report preliminary and/or incomplete results. The maximum length is four (4) journal pages.

Organization for Variety Release Manuscripts:

Content & Organization for Variety Release Manuscripts

[Rev 2/5/08]

All new potato varieties originating in the Americas should be described in AJPR. to provide a consistent source of reference. The format of variety release manuscripts is similar to that for full-length manuscripts including the requirement for peer review prior to acceptance for publication. However, variety releases also have their own unique organization which should include the following elements:

Title Page. Follow the instructions for a full-length manuscript. The title should include the variety name plus descriptive information about the variety.

Abstract. Follow the instructions for a full-length manuscript. Include a summary of essential characteristics of the variety. Include brief statements summarizing how the variety is distinct from existing potato varieties.

Introduction. Provide a history of the development of the proposed variety, including but not limited to:

  • • Originating program/institution and cooperating agencies contributing to the release.

    • Clonal designation used during evaluation.

    • The meaning or origin of the variety name or trademarked name.

    • A clear statement of the intended use and importance of the new variety relative to industry standard varieties.

    • The meaning or origin of the variety name or trademarked name.

    • A clear statement of the intended use and importance of the new variety relative to industry standard varieties.

    • Pedigree. Parentage should be given with female parent always listed first (left to right in text and top to bottom in the pedigree figure). The pedigree should be given through four generations, although it is not necessary to include the parentage of named and described varieties that appear in the pedigree, as long as release documents for such varieties are cited. Authors may include reasons for the choice of parents, and also may discuss ancestral contributions to characteristics unique to the variety.

Varietal Description. The detailed description of the variety should be written using comparisons to existing varieties most similar to the new variety or most likely to be replaced by the new variety. The authors may take into consideration the need for plant varietal protection (PVP) or plant breeders rights (PBR) and should also consider the need of certification agencies to identify the variety in field or storage. Color pictures of tuber, vine, leaf, flower, and light sprout are required components of the manuscript.

Special attention should be given to the description of those traits which best identify the variety and to those performance qualities most pertinent to the anticipated use of the variety. All information should be as precise and scientifically accurate as the characteristic permits with subjective descriptors such as “fairly” or “somewhat better” being avoided.

Complex data sets from multiple-site variety trials over years make standard statistical analyses difficult to conduct and report for new variety releases. Therefore, means of data for yield, specific gravity and other descriptors over years and locations are acceptable to report. However, statistical analyses are required for any unique or superior characteristics highlighted in the release document as distinguishing the new variety from previously released varieties. Results should show statistically significant differences between the new variety in comparisons with standard varieties currently used by industry in order to substantiate claims of superiority and/or distinctness.

This description will be a permanent record of the variety. Varietal descriptions are used in potato disciplines ranging from basic to applied research, and complete varietal descriptions will aid in decisions to adopt this technology for commercialization or research purposes. Complete descriptions should be given for the following:

Botanical Descriptors.

  • • Plant vine & foliage characteristics--i.e., plant type, height, growth habit, and maturity; stem, leaf and leaflet characteristics; characteristics of the inflorescence and fertility.

    • Tuber characteristics--i.e., tuber skin and flesh color(s), characteristics of tuber shape, size and number per plant; eye distribution, and depth or prominence; tuber dormancy relative to most closely associated industry standard variety; light sprout characteristics.

Agronomic Descriptors

  • • Agronomic performance--i.e., Total and U.S. No. 1 yield (or percent U.S. No. 1 yield), specific gravity, and tuber size distribution relative to industry standard over years and locations with data on external and internal tuber defects such as hollow heart/brown center, second growth, shatter and blackspot bruise.

    • Tuber Qualities--Culinary, processing, and storage attributes

    • Reaction of plant & tuber to diseases and pests--i.e., resistances /susceptibilities. Ratings of standard varieties for comparison need to be included when describing disease/pest response of the new variety, thereby providing the reader with a reference. Methods used in screening and assigning disease/pest response need to be included either as a citation or succinctly in the text of the manuscript for reference by the reader. Particular attention should be given to those diseases for which atypical or symptomless expressions are encountered, especially ring rot and Potato virus Y.

Agronomic Production & Storage Management Practices--i.e., recommended production and storage practices, and plant or tuber sensitivities to agricultural chemicals.

Tuber Chemistries--e.g., Concentrations and descriptions where applicable of glycoalkaloids, vitamins, proteins, amino acids, starch, sugar, antioxidants, and phytonutrients.

Variety Identification: Authors may also include a protein profile or other fingerprinting technique that can be used for variety identification. The protocol used need to be cited or described in the manuscript to allow for its reproduction. Profiles for standard varieties most similar to the newly released variety should also be included.

Seed Availability--Contact information.

Plant Variety Protection--To be applied for?

Acknowledgments--Please refer to instructions for a full-length manuscript.

Literature Cited. Please follow the instructions for a full-length manuscript. Cite all pertinent literature, including release documents of other varieties listed in the manuscript as per instructions for a full-length manuscript. An aspect of variety releases that differs from a full-length manuscript is the use of reports detailing agronomic and processing performance and disease and pest response. Useful data concerning the new variety is detailed in such reports; however, such reports are generally not submitted for formal publication and therefore would be discounted as an acceptable reference under the guidelines given in the full-length manuscript. However, due to their contribution of data useful in determining the worth of a breeding clone for release as a variety, reports of this nature can be cited in the variety release document. Citations may be a URL (if posted on the internet) with the corresponding date at which authors were able to access data at that website, i.e., verified January 11, 2008. In addition to the URL, the contact person with telephone and e-mail information should also be listed for reference if a hard copy of the report is desired, or if internet access to reports changes with time.

All new potato varieties originating in the Americas should be described in AJPR. Cultivar release manuscripts are similar to other manuscripts and require peer review.

Refer to recent past cultivar publications or Contact the Cultivar Descriptions Senior Editor for current guidelines.

SYNTAX, OTHER CONVENTIONS AND SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS

Scientific and Taxonomic Names

Taxonomic names should be used for all references to microorganisms, plant species and insects the first time it is used in the text, and thereafter abbreviated. The first use of a cultivar name should be preceded by the abbreviation cv or the by the word cultivar. Alternatively, use single quotes around cultivar names the first time the names are introduced in the abstract and text.

Chemical Nomenclature

Follow Chemical Abstracts and its indexes for chemical names. The chemical name of pesticides should be used.

Standard Abbreviations

Abbreviations should be defined at first mention and used consistently thereafter. Standard chemical symbols may be used in the text where desirable in the interests of conciseness. Long chemical names and other cumbersome terms that have widely accepted abbreviations may be used in the text (e.g., DNA, ATP). Other abbreviations, including those that may not be familiar to the readership, must be defined in the Abbreviations footnote listed on the Title page.

Units of Measure

Use of standard metric units for reporting length, weight, volume, area, pressure, force, etc. and SI units is required throughout the manuscript. Parts per million (ppm) or parts per billion (ppb) should be avoided and may only be used when that is the common measure for the science in that field. Instead express concentrations as micrograms per gram (µg g-1) or micrograms per milliliter (µg mL-1) for solutions, and microliters per liter (µL L-1) or nanoliters per liter (µL L-1) for gases. Units of temperature are presented as follows: 37 C or 324 K. If needed for clarity and reader understanding, common units of measure may be included parenthetically immediately after the standard metric unit.

• Use exponential notations instead of multiple slashes; for example use "µmol g-¹mim-¹." Do not use "µmol/g/min."

• Numbers up to nine should be spelled out in the text except when referring to measurements. Numbers higher than nine are to be represented as numerals except at the beginning of a sentence. Use the preposition "to" between numerals (do not use a dash): e.g., "5 to 10 min" or "18 to 20 C." See the CBE Style Manual, most recent edition, Bethesda, MD, for more detailed information about reporting numbers. Also contained in this source is information on the appropriate SI units to be used for reporting illumination, energy, frequency, pressure, and other physical terms. Always report numerical data in the applicable SI units.

Statistical Information

Indicate the number of replications for each experimental treatment and the number of times individual experiments were repeated. It is recommended that your submission is accompanied by evidence that the analysis was reviewed by a professional statistician. You may also provide details of calculations or analytic protocol on a separate page for the benefit of reviewers and editors (especially if the analysis is unusual or very complicated). Unless an analytical method or calculation is widely understood, do not just state its name/acronym (or the formula). Instead, describe in words what the procedure or formula accomplishes, and explain why that particular procedure was chosen over other options.

SPECIFIC FORMAT RECOMMENDATIONS FOR TABLES

Tables

• All tables are to be numbered using Arabic numerals.

• Tables should always be cited in text in consecutive numerical order.

• For each table, please supply a table heading. The table title should explain clearly and concisely the components of the table.

• Identify any previously published material by giving the original source in the form of a reference at the end of the table heading.

Footnotes to tables should be indicated by superscript lower-case letters (or asterisks for significance values and other statistical data) and included beneath the table body.

Vertical rules/lines should not be used within a table. Explanatory footnotes should be concise. Do not imply greater accuracy in the data than is justified. Round numbers to the nearest "significant figure." Do not use dashes in a column. Use a “0” where appropriate; insert an asterisk or some other symbol if no measurement was made or no reading obtained, and then explain the symbol in a footnote. Some designation of statistical significance is generally required for tabular data, but details of the experimental design and statistical calculations should not be included in the footnotes, but rather be included in the Materials and Methods section.

SPECIFIC FORMAT RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FIGURES

Figures

• All figures are to be numbered using Arabic numerals.

• Figure parts should be denoted by lowercase letters.

• Figures should always be cited in text in consecutive numerical order.

• For each figure, please supply a figure caption.

• Identify all elements found in the figure in the caption.

• Identify any previously published material by giving the original source in the form of a reference at the end of the caption.

Electronic Figure Submission

  • Supply all figures electronically.
  • Indicate what graphics program was used to create the artwork.
  • For vector graphics, the preferred format is EPS; for halftones, please use TIFF format. MS Office files are also acceptable.
  • Vector graphics containing fonts must have the fonts embedded in the files.
  • Name your figure files with "Fig" and the figure number, e.g., Fig1.eps.

Line Art

  • Definition: Black and white graphic with no shading.
  • Do not use faint lines and/or lettering and check that all lines and lettering within the figures are legible at final size.
  • All lines should be at least 0.1 mm (0.3 pt) wide.
  • Line drawings should have a minimum resolution of 1200 dpi.
  • Vector graphics containing fonts must have the fonts embedded in the files.

Halftone Art

  • Definition: Photographs, drawings, or paintings with fine shading, etc.
  • If any magnification is used in the photographs, indicate this by using scale bars within the figures themselves.
  • Halftones should have a minimum resolution of 300 dpi.

Color Art

  • Color art is free of charge for online publication.
  • If black and white will be shown in the print version, make sure that the main information will still be visible. Many colors are not distinguishable from one another when converted to black and white. A simple way to check this is to make a xerographic copy to see if the necessary distinctions between the different colors are still apparent.
  • If the figures will be printed in black and white, do not refer to color in the captions.
  • Color illustrations should be submitted as RGB (8 bits per channel).

If Electronic supplementary material (ESM) is submitted, it will be published as received from the author in the online version only.

ESM may consist of

• information that cannot be printed: animations, video clips, sound recordings

• information that is more convenient in electronic form: sequences, spectral data, etc.

• large original data, e.g. additional tables, illustrations, etc.

• If supplying any ESM, the text must make specific mention of the material as a citation, similar to that of figures and tables (e.g., ". . . as shown in Animation 3.").

For details on formats and other information, please follow the hyperlink to the specific instructions for electronic supplementary material on the right.

Ethical Responsibilities of Authors

This journal is committed to upholding the integrity of the scientific record. As a member of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) the journal will follow the COPE guidelines on how to deal with potential acts of misconduct.

Authors should refrain from misrepresenting research results which could damage the trust in the journal, the professionalism of scientific authorship, and ultimately the entire scientific endeavour. Maintaining integrity of the research and its presentation is helped by following the rules of good scientific practice, which include*:

  • The manuscript should not be submitted to more than one journal for simultaneous consideration.
  • The submitted work should be original and should not have been published elsewhere in any form or language (partially or in full), unless the new work concerns an expansion of previous work. (Please provide transparency on the re-use of material to avoid the concerns about text-recycling (‘self-plagiarism’).
  • A single study should not be split up into several parts to increase the quantity of submissions and submitted to various journals or to one journal over time (i.e. ‘salami-slicing/publishing’).
  • Concurrent or secondary publication is sometimes justifiable, provided certain conditions are met. Examples include: translations or a manuscript that is intended for a different group of readers.
  • Results should be presented clearly, honestly, and without fabrication, falsification or inappropriate data manipulation (including image based manipulation). Authors should adhere to discipline-specific rules for acquiring, selecting and processing data.
  • No data, text, or theories by others are presented as if they were the author’s own (‘plagiarism’). Proper acknowledgements to other works must be given (this includes material that is closely copied (near verbatim), summarized and/or paraphrased), quotation marks (to indicate words taken from another source) are used for verbatim copying of material, and permissions secured for material that is copyrighted.

Important note: the journal may use software to screen for plagiarism.

  • Authors should make sure they have permissions for the use of software, questionnaires/(web) surveys and scales in their studies (if appropriate).
  • Research articles and non-research articles (e.g. Opinion, Review, and Commentary articles) must cite appropriate and relevant literature in support of the claims made. Excessive and inappropriate self-citation or coordinated efforts among several authors to collectively self-cite is strongly discouraged.
  • Authors should avoid untrue statements about an entity (who can be an individual person or a company) or descriptions of their behavior or actions that could potentially be seen as personal attacks or allegations about that person.
  • Research that may be misapplied to pose a threat to public health or national security should be clearly identified in the manuscript (e.g. dual use of research). Examples include creation of harmful consequences of biological agents or toxins, disruption of immunity of vaccines, unusual hazards in the use of chemicals, weaponization of research/technology (amongst others).
  • Authors are strongly advised to ensure the author group, the Corresponding Author, and the order of authors are all correct at submission. Adding and/or deleting authors during the revision stages is generally not permitted, but in some cases may be warranted. Reasons for changes in authorship should be explained in detail. Please note that changes to authorship cannot be made after acceptance of a manuscript.

*All of the above are guidelines and authors need to make sure to respect third parties rights such as copyright and/or moral rights.

Upon request authors should be prepared to send relevant documentation or data in order to verify the validity of the results presented. This could be in the form of raw data, samples, records, etc. Sensitive information in the form of confidential or proprietary data is excluded.

If there is suspicion of misbehavior or alleged fraud the Journal and/or Publisher will carry out an investigation following COPE guidelines. If, after investigation, there are valid concerns, the author(s) concerned will be contacted under their given e-mail address and given an opportunity to address the issue. Depending on the situation, this may result in the Journal’s and/or Publisher’s implementation of the following measures, including, but not limited to:

  • If the manuscript is still under consideration, it may be rejected and returned to the author.
  • If the article has already been published online, depending on the nature and severity of the infraction:

    - an erratum/correction may be placed with the article

    - an expression of concern may be placed with the article

    - or in severe cases retraction of the article may occur.

The reason will be given in the published erratum/correction, expression of concern or retraction note. Please note that retraction means that the article is maintained on the platform, watermarked “retracted” and the explanation for the retraction is provided in a note linked to the watermarked article.

  • The author’s institution may be informed
  • A notice of suspected transgression of ethical standards in the peer review system may be included as part of the author’s and article’s bibliographic record.

Fundamental errors

Authors have an obligation to correct mistakes once they discover a significant error or inaccuracy in their published article. The author(s) is/are requested to contact the journal and explain in what sense the error is impacting the article. A decision on how to correct the literature will depend on the nature of the error. This may be a correction or retraction. The retraction note should provide transparency which parts of the article are impacted by the error.

Suggesting / excluding reviewers

Authors are welcome to suggest suitable reviewers and/or request the exclusion of certain individuals when they submit their manuscripts. When suggesting reviewers, authors should make sure they are totally independent and not connected to the work in any way. It is strongly recommended to suggest a mix of reviewers from different countries and different institutions. When suggesting reviewers, the Corresponding Author must provide an institutional email address for each suggested reviewer, or, if this is not possible to include other means of verifying the identity such as a link to a personal homepage, a link to the publication record or a researcher or author ID in the submission letter. Please note that the Journal may not use the suggestions, but suggestions are appreciated and may help facilitate the peer review process.

Authorship principles

These guidelines describe authorship principles and good authorship practices to which prospective authors should adhere to.

Authorship clarified

The Journal and Publisher assume all authors agreed with the content and that all gave explicit consent to submit and that they obtained consent from the responsible authorities at the institute/organization where the work has been carried out, before the work is submitted.

The Publisher does not prescribe the kinds of contributions that warrant authorship. It is recommended that authors adhere to the guidelines for authorship that are applicable in their specific research field. In absence of specific guidelines it is recommended to adhere to the following guidelines*:

All authors whose names appear on the submission

1) made substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data; or the creation of new software used in the work;

2) drafted the work or revised it critically for important intellectual content;

3) approved the version to be published; and

4) agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.

* Based on/adapted from:

ICMJE, Defining the Role of Authors and Contributors,

Transparency in authors’ contributions and responsibilities to promote integrity in scientific publication, McNutt at all, PNAS February 27, 2018

Disclosures and declarations

All authors are requested to include information regarding sources of funding, financial or non-financial interests, study-specific approval by the appropriate ethics committee for research involving humans and/or animals, informed consent if the research involved human participants, and a statement on welfare of animals if the research involved animals (as appropriate).

The decision whether such information should be included is not only dependent on the scope of the journal, but also the scope of the article. Work submitted for publication may have implications for public health or general welfare and in those cases it is the responsibility of all authors to include the appropriate disclosures and declarations.

Data transparency

All authors are requested to make sure that all data and materials as well as software application or custom code support their published claims and comply with field standards. Please note that journals may have individual policies on (sharing) research data in concordance with disciplinary norms and expectations.

Role of the Corresponding Author

One author is assigned as Corresponding Author and acts on behalf of all co-authors and ensures that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately addressed.

The Corresponding Author is responsible for the following requirements:

  • ensuring that all listed authors have approved the manuscript before submission, including the names and order of authors;
  • managing all communication between the Journal and all co-authors, before and after publication;*
  • providing transparency on re-use of material and mention any unpublished material (for example manuscripts in press) included in the manuscript in a cover letter to the Editor;
  • making sure disclosures, declarations and transparency on data statements from all authors are included in the manuscript as appropriate (see above).

* The requirement of managing all communication between the journal and all co-authors during submission and proofing may be delegated to a Contact or Submitting Author. In this case please make sure the Corresponding Author is clearly indicated in the manuscript.

Author contributions

In absence of specific instructions and in research fields where it is possible to describe discrete efforts, the Publisher recommends authors to include contribution statements in the work that specifies the contribution of every author in order to promote transparency. These contributions should be listed at the separate title page.

Examples of such statement(s) are shown below:

• Free text:

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by [full name], [full name] and [full name]. The first draft of the manuscript was written by [full name] and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Example: CRediT taxonomy:

• Conceptualization: [full name], …; Methodology: [full name], …; Formal analysis and investigation: [full name], …; Writing - original draft preparation: [full name, …]; Writing - review and editing: [full name], …; Funding acquisition: [full name], …; Resources: [full name], …; Supervision: [full name],….

For review articles where discrete statements are less applicable a statement should be included who had the idea for the article, who performed the literature search and data analysis, and who drafted and/or critically revised the work.

For articles that are based primarily on the student’s dissertation or thesis, it is recommended that the student is usually listed as principal author:

A Graduate Student’s Guide to Determining Authorship Credit and Authorship Order, APA Science Student Council 2006

Affiliation

The primary affiliation for each author should be the institution where the majority of their work was done. If an author has subsequently moved, the current address may additionally be stated. Addresses will not be updated or changed after publication of the article.

Changes to authorship

Authors are strongly advised to ensure the correct author group, the Corresponding Author, and the order of authors at submission. Changes of authorship by adding or deleting authors, and/or changes in Corresponding Author, and/or changes in the sequence of authors are not accepted after acceptance of a manuscript.

  • Please note that author names will be published exactly as they appear on the accepted submission!

Please make sure that the names of all authors are present and correctly spelled, and that addresses and affiliations are current.

Adding and/or deleting authors at revision stage are generally not permitted, but in some cases it may be warranted. Reasons for these changes in authorship should be explained. Approval of the change during revision is at the discretion of the Editor-in-Chief. Please note that journals may have individual policies on adding and/or deleting authors during revision stage.

Author identification

Authors are recommended to use their ORCID ID when submitting an article for consideration or acquire an ORCID ID via the submission process.

Deceased or incapacitated authors

For cases in which a co-author dies or is incapacitated during the writing, submission, or peer-review process, and the co-authors feel it is appropriate to include the author, co-authors should obtain approval from a (legal) representative which could be a direct relative.

Authorship issues or disputes

In the case of an authorship dispute during peer review or after acceptance and publication, the Journal will not be in a position to investigate or adjudicate. Authors will be asked to resolve the dispute themselves. If they are unable the Journal reserves the right to withdraw a manuscript from the editorial process or in case of a published paper raise the issue with the authors’ institution(s) and abide by its guidelines.

Confidentiality

Authors should treat all communication with the Journal as confidential which includes correspondence with direct representatives from the Journal such as Editors-in-Chief and/or Handling Editors and reviewers’ reports unless explicit consent has been received to share information.

Compliance with Ethical Standards

To ensure objectivity and transparency in research and to ensure that accepted principles of ethical and professional conduct have been followed, authors should include information regarding sources of funding, potential conflicts of interest (financial or non-financial), informed consent if the research involved human participants, and a statement on welfare of animals if the research involved animals.

Authors should include the following statements (if applicable) in a separate section entitled “Compliance with Ethical Standards” when submitting a paper:

  • Disclosure of potential conflicts of interest
  • Research involving Human Participants and/or Animals
  • Informed consent

Please note that standards could vary slightly per journal dependent on their peer review policies (i.e. single or double blind peer review) as well as per journal subject discipline. Before submitting your article check the instructions following this section carefully.

The corresponding author should be prepared to collect documentation of compliance with ethical standards and send if requested during peer review or after publication.

The Editors reserve the right to reject manuscripts that do not comply with the above-mentioned guidelines. The author will be held responsible for false statements or failure to fulfill the above-mentioned guidelines.

Competing Interests

Authors are requested to disclose interests that are directly or indirectly related to the work submitted for publication. Interests within the last 3 years of beginning the work (conducting the research and preparing the work for submission) should be reported. Interests outside the 3-year time frame must be disclosed if they could reasonably be perceived as influencing the submitted work. Disclosure of interests provides a complete and transparent process and helps readers form their own judgments of potential bias. This is not meant to imply that a financial relationship with an organization that sponsored the research or compensation received for consultancy work is inappropriate.

Editorial Board Members and Editors are required to declare any competing interests and may be excluded from the peer review process if a competing interest exists. In addition, they should exclude themselves from handling manuscripts in cases where there is a competing interest. This may include – but is not limited to – having previously published with one or more of the authors, and sharing the same institution as one or more of the authors. Where an Editor or Editorial Board Member is on the author list they must declare this in the competing interests section on the submitted manuscript. If they are an author or have any other competing interest regarding a specific manuscript, another Editor or member of the Editorial Board will be assigned to assume responsibility for overseeing peer review. These submissions are subject to the exact same review process as any other manuscript. Editorial Board Members are welcome to submit papers to the journal. These submissions are not given any priority over other manuscripts, and Editorial Board Member status has no bearing on editorial consideration.

Interests that should be considered and disclosed but are not limited to the following:

Funding: Research grants from funding agencies (please give the research funder and the grant number) and/or research support (including salaries, equipment, supplies, reimbursement for attending symposia, and other expenses) by organizations that may gain or lose financially through publication of this manuscript.

Employment: Recent (while engaged in the research project), present or anticipated employment by any organization that may gain or lose financially through publication of this manuscript. This includes multiple affiliations (if applicable).

Financial interests: Stocks or shares in companies (including holdings of spouse and/or children) that may gain or lose financially through publication of this manuscript; consultation fees or other forms of remuneration from organizations that may gain or lose financially; patents or patent applications whose value may be affected by publication of this manuscript.

It is difficult to specify a threshold at which a financial interest becomes significant, any such figure is necessarily arbitrary, so one possible practical guideline is the following: "Any undeclared financial interest that could embarrass the author were it to become publicly known after the work was published."

Non-financial interests: In addition, authors are requested to disclose interests that go beyond financial interests that could impart bias on the work submitted for publication such as professional interests, personal relationships or personal beliefs (amongst others). Examples include, but are not limited to: position on editorial board, advisory board or board of directors or other type of management relationships; writing and/or consulting for educational purposes; expert witness; mentoring relations; and so forth.

Primary research articles require a disclosure statement. Review articles present an expert synthesis of evidence and may be treated as an authoritative work on a subject. Review articles therefore require a disclosure statement.Other article types such as editorials, book reviews, comments (amongst others) may, dependent on their content, require a disclosure statement. If you are unclear whether your article type requires a disclosure statement, please contact the Editor-in-Chief.

Please note that, in addition to the above requirements, funding information (given that funding is a potential competing interest (as mentioned above)) needs to be disclosed upon submission of the manuscript in the peer review system. This information will automatically be added to the Record of CrossMark, however it is not added to the manuscript itself. Under ‘summary of requirements’ (see below) funding information should be included in the ‘Declarations’ section.

Summary of requirements

The above should be summarized in a statement and placed in a ‘Declarations’ section before the reference list under a heading of ‘Funding’ and/or ‘Competing interests’. Other declarations include Ethics approval, Consent, Data, Material and/or Code availability and Authors’ contribution statements.

Please see the various examples of wording below and revise/customize the sample statements according to your own needs.

When all authors have the same (or no) conflicts and/or funding it is sufficient to use one blanket statement.

Examples of statements to be used when funding has been received:

  • Partial financial support was received from [...]
  • The research leading to these results received funding from […] under Grant Agreement No[…].
  • This study was funded by […]
  • This work was supported by […] (Grant numbers […] and […]

Examples of statements to be used when there is no funding:

  • The authors did not receive support from any organization for the submitted work.
  • No funding was received to assist with the preparation of this manuscript.
  • No funding was received for conducting this study.
  • No funds, grants, or other support was received.

Examples of statements to be used when there are interests to declare:

  • Financial interests: Author A has received research support from Company A. Author B has received a speaker honorarium from Company Wand owns stock in Company X. Author C is consultant to company Y.

    Non-financial interests: Author C is an unpaid member of committee Z.

  • Financial interests: The authors declare they have no financial interests.

    Non-financial interests: Author A is on the board of directors of Y and receives no compensation as member of the board of directors.

  • Financial interests: Author A received a speaking fee from Y for Z. Author B receives a salary from association X. X where s/he is the Executive Director.

    Non-financial interests: none.

  • Financial interests: Author A and B declare they have no financial interests. Author C has received speaker and consultant honoraria from Company M and Company N. Dr. C has received speaker honorarium and research funding from Company M and Company O. Author D has received travel support from Company O.

    Non-financial interests: Author D has served on advisory boards for Company M, Company N and Company O.

Examples of statements to be used when authors have nothing to declare:

  • The authors have no relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose.
  • The authors have no competing interests to declare that are relevant to the content of this article.
  • All authors certify that they have no affiliations with or involvement in any organization or entity with any financial interest or non-financial interest in the subject matter or materials discussed in this manuscript.
  • The authors have no financial or proprietary interests in any material discussed in this article.

Authors are responsible for correctness of the statements provided in the manuscript. See also Authorship Principles. The Editor-in-Chief reserves the right to reject submissions that do not meet the guidelines described in this section.

Research Data Policy

This journal operates a type 1 research data policy. The journal encourages authors, where possible and applicable, to deposit data that support the findings of their research in a public repository. Authors and editors who do not have a preferred repository should consult Springer Nature’s list of repositories and research data policy.

List of Repositories

Research Data Policy

General repositories - for all types of research data - such as figshare and Dryad may also be used.

Datasets that are assigned digital object identifiers (DOIs) by a data repository may be cited in the reference list. Data citations should include the minimum information recommended by DataCite: authors, title, publisher (repository name), identifier.

DataCite

If the journal that you’re submitting to uses double-blind peer review and you are providing reviewers with access to your data (for example via a repository link, supplementary information or data on request), it is strongly suggested that the authorship in the data is also blinded. There are data repositories that can assist with this and/or will create a link to mask the authorship of your data.

Authors who need help understanding our data sharing policies, help finding a suitable data repository, or help organising and sharing research data can access our Author Support portal for additional guidance.

Open Choice

Open Choice allows you to publish open access in more than 1850 Springer Nature journals, making your research more visible and accessible immediately on publication.

Article processing charges (APCs) vary by journal – view the full list

Benefits:

  • Increased researcher engagement: Open Choice enables access by anyone with an internet connection, immediately on publication.
  • Higher visibility and impact: In Springer hybrid journals, OA articles are accessed 4 times more often on average, and cited 1.7 more times on average*.

  • Easy compliance with funder and institutional mandates: Many funders require open access publishing, and some take compliance into account when assessing future grant applications.

It is easy to find funding to support open access – please see our funding and support pages for more information.

*) Within the first three years of publication. Springer Nature hybrid journal OA impact analysis, 2018.

Open Choice

Funding and Support pages

Copyright and license term – CC BY

Open Choice articles do not require transfer of copyright as the copyright remains with the author. In opting for open access, the author(s) agree to publish the article under the Creative Commons Attribution License.

Find more about the license agreement

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Chinese (中文)

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如果在结构精巧的稿件中用精心组织的英语展示您的作品,就能最大限度地让编辑和审稿人理解并公正评估您的作品。许多研究人员发现,获得一些独立支持有助于他们以尽可能美好的方式展示他们的成果。Springer Nature Author Services 的专家可帮助您准备稿件,具体包括润色英语表述、添加有见地的注释、为稿件排版、设计图表、翻译等。

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Japanese (日本語)

発表に備えて、論文を改善するにはどうすればよいでしょうか?

内容が適切に組み立てられ、質の高い英語で書かれた論文を投稿すれば、編集者や査読者が論文を理解し、公正に評価するための最善の機会となります。多くの研究者は、個別のサポートを受けることで、研究結果を可能な限り最高の形で発表できると思っています。Springer Nature Author Servicesのエキスパートが、英文の編集、建設的な提言、論文の書式、図の調整、翻訳など、論文の作成をサポートいたします。

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Korean (한국어)

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Open access publishing

To find out more about publishing your work Open Access in American Journal of Potato Research, including information on fees, funding and licenses, visit our Open access publishing page.

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