Instruction to Authors

Overview

The Annals of Tropical Research (ATR) publishes original, innovative, and original research papers, review articles, research notes, case reports, conference proceedings, perspectives, editorials, and letters to the editor. The printed and online versions of the ATR are published semi-annually in June and December. With ATR’s Online First feature, the final revised electronic version of accepted articles will be available ahead of print while being assigned for an upcoming issue and can be cited using the article’s unique Digital Object Identifier (DOI). ATR Online First allows authors to publish their work quickly, thus significantly reducing the publication time, and provides an avenue for articles to be available to ATR’s subscribers and the public earlier for greater exposure and citation opportunities.

ATR is an open-access journal that does not charge article processing/handling fees. It supports the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) initiative in publication ethics, best practices, and the promotion of the integrity of scholarly research.

Peer-review Process

When a paper is submitted, the Editor-in-Chief makes an initial assessment of the fitness of the submitted manuscript to the scope of ATR and the soundness of its research objectives and methodology. Although rare, it is possible for an exceptional manuscript or an invited paper to be accepted at this stage by the Editorial Board. On the other hand, a manuscript may be rejected for the following reasons:

  1. The paper’s focus does not fall under the scope of the ATR;
  2. The research has a faulty study design;
  3. The research is unethical (i.e., it did not follow the ethical standards in the field), and
  4. The paper lacks originality, novelty, or significance.

Once the manuscript is assessed and deemed sufficiently robust or scientifically sound, it is then assigned to an associate editor with expertise that aligns closely with the manuscript’s specific disciplinary focus. This associate editor oversees the review process and collaborates with two additional reviewers who have relevant specializations in the field.

The review process operates under a double-blind format, ensuring that both authors and reviewers remain anonymous to one another. This confidentiality is designed to foster impartiality and encourage constructive feedback.

Typically, ATR allocates three weeks for reviewers to evaluate the manuscript thoroughly. During this time, they are expected to examine the paper in detail, assess its methodology, results, and implications, and subsequently provide a comprehensive report along with a recommendation regarding acceptance or rejection.

The manuscript may be published without revisions if it has been assessed as an excellent paper, meeting all necessary criteria for publication. Alternatively, it may be accepted with minor revisions, indicating that some adjustments are needed but are not extensive, or with major revisions if significant changes are required, followed by a further review after the revisions are made. Lastly, if the manuscript does not meet the required standards, it will be rejected, indicating that its current form is unsuitable for publication.

Authors are given two to four weeks to revise the manuscript, depending on the peer-review results. After the final revision by the authors, the associate editor endorses the manuscript to the Editor-in-Chief for final disposition of the paper. Failure to submit the revision within the allotted time may result in the rejection of the manuscript, which can be submitted as a new manuscript.

Selected Guidelines for Different Studies

ATR recommends that authors prepare their manuscripts following these guidelines, whenever applicable:

  1. Materials Design Analysis Reporting Framework (MDAR)
  2. Nature Reporting Life Sciences Research (NPG Reporting Checklist)
  3. Animal Research: Reporting of In Vivo Experiments (ARRIVE)
  4. Minimum Information for Biological and Biomedical Investigations (MIBBI)
  5. Strengthening the Reporting of Genetic Association Studies (STREGA)
  6. Strengthening the reporting of observational studies in epidemiology (STROBE)
  7. Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA)
  8. Case Reports Guidelines (CARE)
  9. Standards for Reporting Qualitative Research (SRQR)
  10. Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trails (CONSORT)

Manuscript Structure

Manuscripts must be written in English and formatted double-spaced on one side of A4-sized paper (21 cm x 29.7 cm) with standard margins (2.54 cm). Use Arial font at 12 points and include continuous line numbering. All pages, including tables and figures, should have a page number in the bottom center of the paper.

The original research article should be no longer than 7,000 words; research notes are limited to 2,000 words; case reports should not exceed 1,500 words; and perspectives and letters to the editor must be capped at 1,000 words. The word count includes the abstract, keywords, tables, footnotes, references, and supplementary materials. All manuscripts must adhere to the ATR house style. Manuscripts that deviate from the ATR house style will be sent back to the author.

The first page should include the article type, manuscript title, authors’ names, authors’ affiliations, email address of the corresponding author, and ORCID iD.

The second page of the manuscript must include only the Title, Abstract, and Keywords. The abstract should concisely summarize the paper’s scope, objectives, methods, key findings, and conclusions and should be no longer than 300 words. Following the abstract, a list of 4 to 6 keywords should be provided.

The main content of the manuscript should begin on the third page. It needs to be organized into the following sections: Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, Discussion, and Conclusion (along with Recommendations or Implications if relevant). Each section can be broken down into sub-sections, with a maximum of three levels for these subsections. The Results and Discussion sections can be merged if the manuscript is a Short Communication, a qualitative study, or the merged format best fits the paper.

The end of the manuscript must include sections for Acknowledgment, Author Contributions, Funding Sources, Availability of Data and Materials, Ethical Considerations, Competing Interests, and References.

References

All references mentioned in the manuscript should be listed in the reference section of the manuscript. Authors are encouraged to use reference manager software such as Zotero, Endnote, or Mendeley and conform with the APA 7th edition citation and referencing style, with published articles starting Volume 47, Year 2025. Authors are likewise encouraged to use current literature (not more than 10 years) unless these are vital to the study. The authors may refer to the examples below (lifted from the APA 7th Common Reference Example Guide) https://apastyle.apa.org/instructional-aids/reference-examples.pdf. For more information and guidance, please refer to this link:  https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/references/examples

Journal Article (Section 10.1)

Edwards, A. A., Steacy, L. M., Siegelman, N., Rigobon, V. M., Kearns, D. M., Rueckl, J. G., & Compton, D. L. (2022). Unpacking the unique relationship between set for variability and word reading development: Examining word- and child-level predictors of performance. Journal of Educational Psychology, 114(6), 1242—. https://doi.org/10.1037/edu0000696

Authored Book (Section 10.2)

Kaufman, K. A., Glass, C. R., & Pineau, T. R. (2018). Mindful sport performance enhancement: Mental training for athletes and coaches. American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/0000048-000

Edited Book Chapter (Section 10.3)

Zeleke, W. A., Hughes, T. L., & Drozda, N. (2020). Homecollaboration to promote mind—body health. In C. Maykel & M. A. Bray (Eds.), Promoting mindhealth in schools: Interventions for mental health professionals (pp. 11—). American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/0000157-002

Dissertation From a Database (Section 10.6)

Horvath-Plyman, M. (2018). Social media and the college student journey: An examination of how social media use impacts social capital and affects college choice, access, and transition (Publication No. 10937367) [Doctoral dissertation, New York University]. ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global.

Preprint Article (Section 10.8)

Latimier, A., Peyre, H., & Ramus, F. (2020). A meta-analytic review of the benefit of spacing out retrieval practice episodes on retention. PsyArXiv. https://osf.io/preprints/psyarxiv/kzy7u/

Data Set (Section 10.9)

O’Donohue, W. (2017). Content analysis of undergraduate psychology textbooks (ICPSR 21600; Version V1) [Data set]. Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR36966.v1

Open Educational Resource (Section 10.16)

 Fagan, J. (2024, February 7). Nursing clinical brain. OER Commons. Retrieved June 2, 2024, from https://oercommons.org/authoring/53029-nursing-clinical-brain/view

Illustrations, Figures, and Tables

Figures should be of good quality and have thickness of lines and size of lettering and other symbols to allow reduction of their original dimensions up to 50%. They must not exceed the size of an A4 or a letter-sized bond paper; explanatory notes to tables should be indicated by superscript small letters; tables and figures should be on separate pages after the references. They should not be embedded in the text. In addition, they should be provided with concise captions (above for tables and below for figures) that adequately describe their contents. Photographs should be submitted as high-contrast glossy prints. Color plates may be included if color is necessary for clarity. Figures, tables, photographs, or text passages that have been previously published must obtain permission from the copyright owner(s). Evidence of permission must be submitted with the manuscript. Materials submitted without such evidence will be assumed to be those of the author/s.

Abbreviations and Units

Only SI units and abbreviations should be used. Normal and molar concentrations should be written in italics N and M, respectively. The following standard abbreviations should also be used: mg, g, kg, km, mm, cm, m, rpm, s (second), h (hour), min (minute), L (liter), mL, m-3, kg per ha or kg ha-1 (the minus index should always be used in tables and figures). Latin biological names should be italicized. These commonly used Latin words are not italicized: a priori, a posteriori, in vitro, in utero, in situ, ad libitum, per se, and viz.

Scientific Name

The common name of a species should be followed by the scientific name upon its first use in the abstract and text. The scientific name must be composed of genus, species, and authority only and enclosed in parentheses. For well-known species, however, scientific names may be omitted from article titles. The scientific name should be used only if no common name exists in English.

Statements and Declarations

  1. Acknowledgment: Provide any acknowledgments you would like to include in your manuscript. This may include individuals, institutions, or organizations that contributed to your research but are not listed as co-authors.
  2. Author Contributions: Refer to ICMJE. Indicate the initials of the author’s name, and his/her contribution, e.g., JDC designed the study and wrote the paper.
  3. Funding Source: List all funding sources supporting your manuscript’s work. This information is essential for transparency and compliance with publication standards.
  4. Availability of Data and Materials: Indicate if data and materials generated or analyzed during this study are included in this article and its supplementary files and/or available from the corresponding author upon request.
  5. Ethical Consideration:Please indicate approval from the ethics committee whenever applicable. Human research involving participants, materials, or data must adhere to the principles outlined in the Declaration of Helsinki and receive approval from an ethics committee. Research experiments involving vertebrates or regulated invertebrates must adhere to institutional, national, or international regulations and, where applicable, should be approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee.
  6. Competing Interest: Disclose any potential conflicts of interest related to the research, authorship, or publication of the manuscript. Even if there are no conflicts, please indicate that the authors declare no competing interests.