Guidelines for reviewers

Dear Reviewers,
thank you for your interest in our journal. We would kindly request you to evaluate a manuscript and provide a constructive and honest feedback to authors on their paper via our editorial system https://www.editorialsystem.com/zeren. By accepting our invitation to review a paper, you are required to observe the principle of confidentiality and not to disclose any information concerning the manuscript to third parties before its publication.
Zagadnienia Ekonomiki Rolnej / Problems of Agricultural Economics uses the double-blind review system, according to which authors and reviewers are anonymous to each other. The names of the reviewers for respective issues are not made public. The list of cooperating reviewers is available on the website of the journal http://www.zer.waw.pl/List-of-reviewers,997.html

Before reviewing

Please bear the following in mind:

• Do you have time to review the manuscript?
  The review of a paper should be finished within 3-4 weeks. If you cannot meet the deadline, please contact the Executive Editor (renata.grochowska@ierigz.waw.pl) or the Managing Editor (marta.guzik@ierigz.waw.pl) as soon as possible.
• Does the manuscript you are going to review match your specialty fields?
  If the manuscript concerns a topic which does not sufficiently match your area of expertise, please contact the Executive Editor. You are welcome to suggest suitable alternate reviewer.
• Are there any potential conflicts of interests?
  It is essential to inform the Executive Editor or the Managing Editor about any conflict of interest, e.g. if you can guess who the author of the manuscript is, before reviewing the manuscript.
• Are there any misconducts?
  Should you know of any alleged research and/or publication misconduct, such as plagiarism, self-plagiarism, data falsification, misappropriation of ideas, impropriety of authorship, etc., please notify the Executive Editor or Managing Editor as soon as possible.

The review

When reviewing the research paper, attention should be paid to the following:

• Content quality
  Does the paper have scientific, practical, or educational value?
  Is the paper sufficiently interesting and novel?
  Does the article add any new findings to the current state of knowledge on the issue?
  Does the paper adhere to the journal’s standards?
  Is the paper in line with the aims and scope of the journal?
• Structure and clarity
  Title: Is the title consistent with the problem presented in the article?
  Abstract: Is the abstract between 150 and 250 words?
  Does the abstract include the aim of the paper, concise method description, key results and main conclusions?
  Keywords: Are the from 3 to 5 relevant keywords?
  Are the keywords precise? (General keywords, such as agriculture, Poland, etc., should be rejected.)
  Are the keywords full phrases? (Using acronyms and abbreviations is not recommended. For example, use World Trade Organization rather than WTO.)
  JEL codes: Are there from 3 to 5 relevant JEL codes?
  Introduction: Does it clearly define the aim of the article?
  Does it provide context, summarize research done so far, and include hypothesis(es)?
  Materials and methods:
  Was the research area and methodics properly explained?
  Were the sample selection criteria clearly explained and justified?
  Were the basic characteristics of the sample properly described?
  Is the sample size suitable and representative?
  Was the data collected regularly and comprehensively?
  Are the statistical methods relevant?
  Results:
  Are the results important?
  Is the data analysis appropriate?
  Are the statistics correct?
  Discussion and Conclusions:
  Is the interpretation of results clearly presented and properly supported by evidence?
  Are the conclusions significant and logically justified by presented evidence?
  Graphics:
  Are all the figures and tables adequate and necessary?
  Are they easy to interpret and understand?
  References:
  Are the bibliography items selected for the paper sufficient and relevant to the discussed problems?
  Does the reference list include all references cited in the paper?
  Does the reference list include any references which were not cited in the paper? (If yes, please delete them.)
  Is the reference list according to the APA style?
  Are all English titles capitalized, e.g. Food Trade and the Costs of Non-Adoption of Genetic Engineering instead of Food Trade and the Costs of Non-Adoption of Genetic Engineering ? (To capitalize the title you may use the tool “Capitalize My Title” https://capitalizemytitle.com/)
• Language
  Transparency of information: Is the language of the paper informative and concise?
  Writing style: Does the author use academic style and formal register?
  Terminology: Is the terminology consistent throughout the paper for better clarity?
• Length
  Is the research paper not shorter than 10 pages (20 thousand characters with spaces) and not longer than 20 pages of typescript (36-40 thousand characters with spaces) including figures, tables, and footnotes?
• Evaluation
  Please give your recommendations to:
  - accept the paper without any changes,
  - accept the paper upon minor changes suggested by the reviewers,
  - accept the paper upon major changes and re-review,
  - reject the paper.

Submission of reviewer‘s reports

All reviews should include detailed comments for the authors, particularly when rejection or major changes are recommended. The reviewers submit their reports via the editorial system. In order to review and evaluate the paper, please log as reviewer into your account by clicking on the following link https://www.editorialsystem.com/zeren. More detailed instructions concerning the editorial system are available here. Your full review (including your name and surname) will be visible to the Executive Editor, Subject Editor, and Managing Editor.