EDITORIAL POLICIES

Communicate with respect 

We assert that trust and quality publishing products and services can only be established via relationships founded on mutual respect within the communities we serve. Our personnel are required to conduct themselves with professionalism and respect at all times when interacting with authors, reviewers, and readers. Similarly, we anticipate the same norms of conduct from the academic community and the public in their engagements with our personnel. Aggressive behavior, harassment, bullying, or discrimination towards Sparker Research staff is intolerable. We retain the authority to report significant cases to employers or local authorities, if necessary, and may decline to engage or conduct business with persons who consistently or egregiously breach this policy.

Authorship principles

Authorship definition 

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

Authorship clarified 

Advances in Agriculture and Sustainability presumes that all authors concur with the content, provided explicit authorization for submission, and secured approval from the relevant authorities at the institution or organization where the study was conducted before submission.

The Publisher does not stipulate the types of contributions that justify authorship. Authors are advised to comply with the authorship guidelines pertinent to their respective research domains. In the absence of explicit directives, it is advisable to follow the ensuing recommendations:

All authors listed on the submission:

1. Made significant contributions to the conception or design of the work; the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data; or the development of new software utilized in the work;
2. Drafted the work or critically revised it for substantial intellectual content;
3. Approved the version for publication;
4. Agreed to be accountable for all facets of the work, ensuring that inquiries regarding the accuracy or integrity of any component are thoroughly investigated and resolved.

Advances in Agriculture and sustainability promote collaboration with local colleagues involved in the research and anticipate their designation as co-authors upon meeting all specified authorship standards. Individuals who fail to satisfy all authorship criteria should be enumerated in the Acknowledgements section.

Disclosures and declarations 

All authors must provide details about funding sources, any financial or non-financial interests, study-specific approval from the relevant ethics committee for research involving humans and/or animals, informed consent for studies with human participants, and a statement regarding animal welfare for research involving animals, as applicable.
The inclusion of such information is contingent not just upon the journal's scope but also the article's scope. Manuscripts submitted for publication that may impact public health or general welfare require all authors to provide the necessary disclosures and declarations.

Data transparency 

All authors are required to ensure that all data, materials, software applications, and custom code substantiate their published claims and adhere to field standards. Journals may possess distinct policies on the sharing of research data in alignment with disciplinary standards and expectations. Kindly see the Instructions for Authors of the journal to which you are submitting for detailed guidelines.

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 mentioning 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 

Please check the Instructions for Authors of the journal to which you are submitting for detailed guidance on contribution statements. Advances in Agriculture and Sustainability promote transparency through the publication of author contribution statements. Authors must include a statement of responsibility in the paper, including review articles, detailing each author's participation. The degree of detail differs; certain disciplines generate papers that consist of distinct contributions clearly defined, while others function as collaborative endeavors across all phases. Author contribution statements are incorporated in the published manuscript. This editorial elaborates on the policy in further depth. The journal permits the designation of one group of co-authors as having contributed equally to the work and another group as having jointly supervised it. Additional equal contributions are most accurately articulated in author contribution statements.

Affiliation 

The principal affiliation for each author should be the institution where the majority of their work was conducted. If an author has relocated, the current address may also be provided. Addresses will remain unaltered following the article's release.

Changes to authorship 

Authors are strongly urged to verify the accuracy of the author group, the Corresponding Author, and the sequence of authors upon submission. Any modifications to the author list post-submission, including alterations in the sequence of authors or the removal or inclusion of authors, require the consent of all authors. Modifications to authorship, including the addition or removal of authors, alterations to the Corresponding Author, or changes in the order of authors, are prohibited following the acceptance of a submission.  Author names will be published precisely as they are presented in the accepted submission. Ensure that all writers' names are included and accurately spelled, and that their addresses and affiliations are up to date.

Generally, the addition or deletion of authors during the revision stage is prohibited; however, exceptions may be justified under certain circumstances. The rationale for these alterations in authorship should be elucidated. The Editor-in-Chief has the power to approve changes during the review process. Journals may possess distinct procedures regarding the addition and removal of authors during the editing stage.

Author identification 

Authors are strongly recommended to use their ORCID ID when submitting an article for consideration.

Competing interests

Advances in Agriculture and Sustainability (AAS) requires all authors, reviewers, and editors to disclose any financial or non-financial competing interests that could influence the publication process. Authors must declare any potential conflicts at the time of submission or state that no competing interests exist. Reviewers and editors must recuse themselves from handling manuscripts where a conflict of interest may compromise objectivity. All competing interests are managed in accordance with international ethical publishing standards.

Summary of requirements 

The above should be summarized in a statement and included in a section entitled “Declarations” before the reference list. Other declarations include Funding, Conflicts of interest/competing interests, Ethics approval, Consent, Data and/or Code availability, and Authors’ contribution statements.

Ethical responsibilities of authors

Authors submitting to Advances in Agriculture and Sustainability (AAS) must ensure that their work is original, accurate, and ethically conducted. Manuscripts must not be under consideration elsewhere, and all sources, funding, and contributions must be properly acknowledged. Authors are responsible for appropriate authorship, disclosure of conflicts of interest, compliance with ethical standards, and timely cooperation with the peer review process. Any ethical misconduct may result in rejection, correction, or retraction of the manuscript.

Citations

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 self-citation, coordinated efforts among several authors to collectively self-cite, gratuitous and unnecessary citation of articles published in the journal to which the paper has been submitted, and any other form of citation manipulation are inappropriate.

Citation manipulation will result in the article being rejected, and may be reported to the authors’ institutions. Similarly, any attempts by peer reviewers or editors to encourage such practices should be reported by authors to the publisher.

Authors should consider the following guidelines when preparing their manuscript:

• Any statement in the manuscript that relies on external sources of information (i.e., not the authors' own new ideas or findings or general knowledge) should use a citation.
• Authors should avoid citing derivations of original work. For example, they should cite the original work rather than a review article that cites an original work.
• Authors should ensure that their citations are accurate (i.e., they should ensure the citation supports the statement made in their manuscript and should not misrepresent another work by citing it if it does not support the point the authors wish to make).
• Authors should not cite sources that they have not read.
• Authors should not preferentially cite their own or their friends’, peers’, or institution’s publications.
• Authors should avoid citing work solely from one country.
• Authors should not use an excessive number of citations to support one point.
• Ideally, authors should cite sources that have undergone peer review where possible.
• Authors should not cite advertisements or advertorial material.

Appeals and complaints

Authors may appeal editorial decisions or submit complaints by contacting the editorial office. All appeals are handled fairly and transparently.

Artificial intelligence (AI)

Advances in Agriculture and Sustainability (AAS) acknowledges the increasing significance of artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities in research and academic writing. Authors may utilize AI-assisted tools for language editing, grammatical verification, or enhancing clarity; nevertheless, AI tools must not be credited as authors and cannot assume responsibility for the manuscript's content.

Authors have complete responsibility for the originality, accuracy, integrity, and ethical adherence of their work, encompassing any content produced or aided by AI techniques. The application of AI must not lead to plagiarism, data fabrication, falsification, or misrepresentation of findings. Authors should transparently disclose the utilization of AI tools in the development of their work where applicable. The journal retains the authority to assess submissions for improper or unethical utilization of AI and to implement editorial measures in alignment with its publication ethics principles.

Peer review policy 

Advances in Agriculture and Sustainability (AAS) applies a double-blind peer review process to ensure the quality, validity, and academic integrity of all published content. In this process, the identities of both authors and reviewers are kept confidential to promote objective and unbiased evaluation.

All submitted manuscripts are first assessed by the editorial office for relevance to the journal’s scope and compliance with submission requirements. Manuscripts that pass this initial screening are reviewed by at least two independent experts in the relevant field. Reviewers evaluate submissions based on originality, scientific rigor, methodological soundness, clarity of presentation, and contribution to knowledge. Based on reviewers’ recommendations, the editor makes one of the following decisions: acceptance, revision, or rejection. Authors are expected to respond to reviewers’ comments in a timely and constructive manner. The journal adheres to ethical review practices and manages the peer review process in accordance with internationally recognized publishing standards.

Data Sharing & Open Access Policy

AAS is a fully open-access journal. All published articles are freely accessible without subscription or access fees. Authors are encouraged to make underlying research data available through recognized data repositories, where appropriate, to enhance transparency and reproducibility.

Copyright Notice

Copyright remains with the authors. By publishing in AAS, authors grant the journal the right of first publication. Articles are published under an open‑access license specified in the Copyright & Licensing section.

Archiving Policy

To ensure long-term digital preservation, all published content is archived using recognized digital archiving systems compatible with OJS (e.g., PKP PN and institutional repositories).

Ethics and Disclosures

Advances in Agriculture and Sustainability (AAS) is dedicated to maintaining the utmost standards of ethical research and publication. All authors must guarantee that their research adheres to pertinent ethical standards and regulatory mandates. All use of human subjects, animals, or sensitive data must be executed ethically and with necessary approval.

Authors must identify all funding sources, institutional affiliations, and any potential conflicts of interest that may affect the research or its interpretation. Transparency in ethical approval, data integrity, and disclosure is crucial for preserving trust in the academic record. Noncompliance with ethical norms or disclosure obligations may lead to editorial measures, including rejection, modification, or retraction of the manuscript.