Publication Process
The Annals of Tropical Research (ATR) publishes original, innovative, and recent research papers, review articles, research notes, conference proceedings, editorials, and letters to the editor. The printed and online versions of the ATR are published bi-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’s 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 COPE‘s initiative in publication ethics, best practices, and the promotion of the integrity of scholarly research.
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:
- The paper’s focus does not fall under the scope of the ATR;
- The research has a faulty study design;
- The research is unethical (i.e., it did not follow the ethical standards in the field), and
- The paper lacks originality, novelty, or significance.
After being judged robust enough, the manuscript will be passed to an associate editor whose expertise aligns with the manuscript’s disciplinary sphere. The associate editor reviews the manuscript with two other reviewers with pertinent disciplinary specializations. The review process is double-blind, where both authors and reviewers are kept anonymous. Based on the recommendation of the reviewers, the paper may be published without revision (i.e., the paper is excellent), accepted with minor revision, accepted with major revision (review is required after revision), or rejected (i.e., the paper is not acceptable). Normally, ATR gives reviewers three weeks to review the paper, after which they are expected to submit a report and recommendation on whether to accept or reject it.
Authors are given four weeks to revise the manuscript based on the reviews. After the final revision by the authors, the associate editor endorses the manuscript to the Editor in Chief for final approval. 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.
Manuscript Structure
Manuscripts should be written in English and typed double-spaced on one side of letter size (21.59 cm x 27.94 cm) bond paper, with normal margins (2.54 cm), using Arial 12 points. All pages, including tables and figures, should be numbered consecutively in the top right corner. The research paper should not exceed 7,000 words; research notes, 2,000 words; letters, 1000. Abstract, keywords, tables, footnotes, references, and supplemental materials are included in the word count. All manuscripts must follow the ATR house style. Manuscripts that do not conform to the ATR house style will be returned to the author.
The first page should contain the title of the paper and the names of the authors. The title of the paper should not exceed 100 characters, including spaces. The organizational affiliation of the authors and the telephone and fax numbers and e-mail address of the corresponding author should be indicated as footnotes. All authors are highly encouraged to provide their ORCID iD when submitting a manuscript.
The second page of the manuscript should contain only the Title, Abstract, and Keywords. The abstract should briefly present the paper’s scope, major results, and conclusions and should not exceed 250 words. A list of 4 to 6 keywords should immediately follow the abstract. These words will be used for indexing, so do not include words that are in the title of the paper, as well as general words like “development.”
The main portion of the manuscript should start on the third page. It should be divided into the following sections: Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results and Discussion, Conclusion (and Recommendations or Implications if applicable). Each section may be subdivided into sub-sections. Limit subsections to three levels. Additional sections must include Acknowledgment, Author Contributions, Funding Source, Availability of Data and Materials, Ethical Consideration, Competing Interest, and References.
References
Only published papers should be cited as references, except for theses. References should be listed in sufficient detail so that they can be easily located. They should be cited in the text as follows: single author: Bacusmo (2016) or (Bacusmo 2016); two authors: Uy and Shaw (2008) or (Uy and Shaw 2008); three or more authors: Lombard et al (2002) or (Lombard et al 2002). The Latin abbreviations ‘et al’ are not italicized and ‘al’ is not followed by a period except when it ends a sentence.
References must be arranged alphabetically by the surname of the first author or organizational name or by the first word of the title if there is no author. Ignore the words ‘A,’ ‘An,’ and ‘The’ when alphabetizing by title. Two or more entries by the same author(s) are to be listed in chronological order, with the earliest first. Below is ATR’s reference style.
Journal Article
Pardales JR, Konko Y & Yamauchi A. 1992. Epidermal cell elongation in the growth zone of sorghum seminal roots exposed to high root zone temperature. Plant Science 81:143-146
Tulin EE and Ecleo ZT. 2007. Cytokine-mimetic properties of some Philippine food and medicinal plants. Journal of Medicinal Food 10(2):290-299
Books and Monographs
Marschner H. 1995. Mineral nutrition of higher plants (2nd edn). Academic Press, London Smith P. 2012. Cut to the the chase: Online video editing and the Wadsworth constant (3rd edn). E & K Publishing, Washington, DC
Book Chapter
Goltiano HY. 2007. The face of subsistence farming in the Philippines: Donio. In Conklin AR Jr and Stilwell TC World Food: Production and Use (pp2-16). John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey
Jahn R and Asio VB. 1998. Soils in the tropical forests of Leyte, Philippines:Weathering, characteristics, classification and site qualities. In Schulte A and Ruhiyat D (eds) Soils of Tropical Forest Ecosystems (pp26-29). Springer-Verlag, Berlin
Conference Proceedings
Pasa AE, Harrison S & Cedamon E. 2013. Payment for environmental services: global experience and relevance for Philippine watersheds. In Harrison S, Bosch A & Herbohn J (eds) Improving the outcomes of watershed rehabilitation in the Philippines: Proceedings from the Planning Workshop for the ACIAR Watershed Rehabilitation Project (ASEM/2010/050), Sabin Resort Hotel, Ormoc City, Leyte, the Philippines, 18-19 July 2012. University of Sunshine Coast, Queensland
Thesis/Dissertation
Bacusmo JL. 1986. Stability studies in sweetpotato (PhD dissertation). North Carolina State University, Raleigh, USA
Belonias BS. 1996. Developmental physiology of the pod seed of bush bean grown in open and partially shaded conditions (MS thesis). Visayas State University, Leyte. Philippines
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 or underlined. These commonly used Latin words are not italicized: a priori, a posteriori, in vitro, in utero, in situ, ad libitum, per se and viz, so as the abbreviations et al, eg, ie, etc and vs, which do not carry a period except when they end a sentence.
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.