» Guidelines for Refereeing the Manuscripts Submitted to the Japanese Journal of Rural Economics

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Guidelines for Refereeing the Manuscripts Submitted to the Japanese Journal of Rural Economics

【Last revised on】
2015.03.27
Article 1. Purpose
These guidelines for refereeing the manuscripts (hereinafter referred to as the “Guidelines”) submitted to the Japanese Journal of Rural Economics (hereinafter referred to as the JJRE) are provided for the purpose of the determining whether a manuscript is acceptable for publication in the JJRE. This acceptability determination shall be made by the JJRE Editorial Committee.
Article 2. Manuscripts for Refereeing
The manuscripts to be refereed shall be for the category of Articles and Research Letters.
Article 3. Refereeing Process
  1. The JJRE Editorial Committee shall appoint 2 experts it deems appropriate to review the manuscripts submitted for the Articles or Research Letters and obtain reference information necessary to determine whether a manuscript is acceptable for publication in the JJRE. Manuscripts which exceed the maximum number of words or page length specified in the Notes to Authors for Submission to the JJRE, which do not conform to the prescribed format, or which are determined to contain inappropriate or poor quality contents or English, shall be rejected before refereeing.
  2. Articles may also include the manuscripts submitted in response to requests by the JJRE Editorial Committee.
Article 4. Refereeing of Manuscripts for Articles
  1. The JJRE Editorial Committee shall protect the anonymity of author(s) and reviewers. A reviewer shall in principle review the manuscript within 1 month. If the reviewer is unable to finish the initial review within the designated period, the JJRE Editorial Committee may, after consultation with the reviewer, cancel his/her appointment and appoint another reviewer. If two reviewers reach different opinions, one additional reviewer may be appointed. In such a case, the additional reviewer shall not be informed of the results of the previous reviews.
  2. Reviewers shall review a manuscript in accordance with the Refereeing Criteria specified in paragraph 8 later in this Article. Reviewers shall give each refereeing criterion a numerical score from 1 to 3 with a 3 being the highest and provide specific reasons for their refereed results.
  3. Reviewers and the JJRE Editorial Committee, after considering the reviewers’ refereeing , shall grade the manuscript according to the four levels specified below. For grading purposes, reviewers and the JJRE Editorial Committee shall state the overall results of refereeing in detail, including the reasons for the grade and comments, in addition to the grade awarded, A, B, C or D:
    A: Acceptable without revision,
    B: Acceptable subject to minor revision, but not a secondary review,
    C: Major revision and secondary review needed,
    D: Unacceptable.
    Overall Results of refereeing by the Reviewers and the JJRE Editorial Committee
  4. A manuscript, which receives a grade A, shall be given a score of “3” for all Refereeing Criteria specified in paragraph 8 of this Article.
  5. A manuscript, which receives a grade B or C, shall be given a score of “2” or “3” for all criteria in “1) Conditions for Revisions,” among the Refereeing Criteria specified in paragraph 8 later in this Article. The JJRE Editorial Committee shall prepare a referee report containing the grade and the overall results of refereeing by the reviewers and the JJRE Editorial Committee, send it to the author(s), and request him/her to revise the manuscript.
  6. If the manuscript is refereed as grade B or C, the author(s) may submit the manuscript revised according to the referee report prepared by the JJRE Editorial Committee, together with the list of revisions made to the originals to the JJRE Editorial Office (hereinafter referred to as the “Editorial Office”) for a secondary review by the JJRE Editorial Committee. The timeframe for submission of the revised manuscript and the list of revisions shall in principle be 1 month from the date of the issuance of the referee report. If the author(s) decides to withdraw the submission without requesting the secondary review, he/she shall notify the Editorial Office thereof in writing or by e-mail. Such notice of withdrawal shall be provided within 1 month from the date of issuance of the referee report.
  7. In the secondary review process, reviewers determine whether the revised manuscript addresses issues already pointed out by the reviewers. However, depending on the content of the revisions, if any new problem is found in relation to the unrevised portion of the manuscript, reviewers may further point out a new issue during the secondary review process, only in connection with such portion of the manuscript. During the secondary review process, reviewers are not in principle allowed to give a grade C. However, if a new issue is pointed out for the reasons specified above during the secondary review process, the reviewers may give a grade C expecting that a further revision is highly likely to enable the manuscript to earn grade A or B.
  8. Refereeing Criteria

    9. 1)Conditions for Revisions

    (1) The manuscript clearly explains the background and social and academic significance of the research subject, as well as the necessity of the research.
    Score: 3 2 1
    Reason for the score:
    (2) The research subject is based on an appropriate review of prior research, and is creative.
    Score: 3 2 1
    Reason for the score:
    (3) The structure in research subject, analytical methodologies, and findings of analysis as well as the logic of the manuscript are consistent.
    Score: 3 2 1
    Reason for the score:
    (4) The manuscript is based on an appropriate selection of theories, analytical methodologies and data, and explains the academic grounds and the contents in a persuasive way.
    Score: 3 2 1
    Reason for the score:
    (5) The value of the research is not reduced by presumptions or limitations imposed on the analysis. The manuscript clearly explains these points.
    Score: 3 2 1
    Reason for the score:
    (6) The analytical methodologies and/or the findings of analysis are found to be novel and creative.
    Score: 3 2 1
    Reason for the score:
    (7) The analysis goes beyond the mere introduction of new example cases. The findings of analysis are general in nature from the standpoint of the social sciences, and sufficiently demonstrate social and academic contributions to the insights obtained as a result of the research.
    Score: 3 2 1
    Reason for the score:
    (8) The terms necessary to understand the contents of the manuscript are sufficiently explained, and the tables and figures are appropriately used.
    Score: 3 2 1
    Reason for the score:

    2)Conditions for Acceptance

    (9) Titles and headings used in the manuscript and sections thereof are appropriate.
    Score: 3 2 1
    Reason for the score:
    (10) The executive summary precisely summarizes the contents, and key words have been adequately selected.
    Score: 3 2 1
    Reason for the score:
    (11) The whole manuscript is written in accordance with the Detailed Instructions for Submission to the JJRE.
    Score: 3 2 1
    Reason for the score:
Article 5. Refereeing of Research Letters
  1. The JJRE Editorial Committee shall protect the anonymity of reviewers. A reviewer shall not be informed of the name or affiliation of the author(s). A reviewer shall review the manuscript within 1 month in principle. If the reviewer is unable to finish the initial review within the designated period, the JJRE Editorial Committee may, after consultation with the reviewer, cancel his/her appointment.
  2. Reviewers shall review a manuscript in accordance with the Refereeing Criteria specified in paragraph 8 later in this Article. While the space restriction for the manuscripts for Research Letters is taken into consideration, the reviewers shall give each refereeing criterion a numerical score from 1 to 3 with a 3 being the highest and provide specific reasons for their refereed results.
  3. Reviewers and the JJRE Editorial Committee, after considering the reviewers’ refereeing, shall grade the manuscript according to the four levels specified below. For grading purposes, reviewers and the JJRE Editorial Committee shall state the overall results of refereeing in detail, including the comments and reasons for the grade A, B, C or D:
    A: Acceptable without revision,
    B: Acceptable subject to minor revision, but not a secondary review,
    C: Major revision and secondary review needed,
    D: Unacceptable.
    Overall results of refereeing of the Reviewers and the JJRE Editorial Committee
  4. A manuscript, which receives a grade A, shall be given a score 3 for all Refereeing Criteria specified in paragraph 8 later in this Article.
  5. A manuscript, which receives a grade B or C, shall be given a score 2 or 3 for all criteria in “1) Conditions for Revisions” among the Refereeing Criteria specified in paragraph 8 later in this Article. The JJRE Editorial Committee shall prepare a referee report containing the grade and the overall results of refereeing by the reviewers and the JJRE Editorial Committee, send it to the author(s), and request him/her to revise the manuscript.
  6. If the manuscript receives a grade B or C, the author(s) may submit the manuscript revised according to the referee report prepared by the JJRE Editorial Committee, together with the list of revisions made to the originals to the Editorial Office for a secondary review by the JJRE Editorial Committee. The timeframe for submission of the revised manuscript and the list of revisions shall in principle be 1 month from the date of the issuance of the referee report. If the author(s) decides to withdraw the submission, he/she shall notify the Editorial Office thereof in writing or by e-mail. Such notice of withdrawal shall be provided within 1 month from the date of issuance of the referee report.
  7. In the secondary review process, reviewers determine whether the revised manuscript addresses issues already pointed out. During the secondary review process, reviewers are not allowed to give a grade C.
  8. Refereeing Criteria

    9. 1)Conditions for Revisions

    (1) The manuscript clearly explains the background and social or academic significance of the research subject, as well as the necessity of the research.
    Score: 3 2 1
    Reason for the score:
    (2) TThe research subject is based on an appropriate review of prior research and is novel.
    Score: 3 2 1
    Reason for the score:
    (3) The structure in research subject, analytical methodologies, and findings of analysis as well as the logic of the manuscript are consistent.
    Score: 3 2 1
    Reason for the score:
    (4) The manuscript is based on an appropriate selection of theories, analytical methodologies and data.
    Score: 3 2 1
    Reason for the score:
    (5) The value of the research is not significantly reduced by presumptions or limitations imposed on the analysis. The manuscript clearly explains these points.
    Score: 3 2 1
    Reason for the score:
    (6) The analytical methodologies and/or the findings of analysis are found to be novel.
    Score: 3 2 1
    Reason for the score:
    (7) The analysis goes beyond the mere introduction of new example cases. The results of the analysis, which is general in nature from the standpoint of the social sciences, are derived from the application of an appropriate theory.
    Score: 3 2 1
    Reason for the score:
    (8) The terms necessary to understand the contents of the manuscript are sufficiently explained, and tables and figures are appropriately used.
    Score: 3 2 1
    Reason for the score:

    2)Conditions for Acceptance

    (9) Titles and headings used in the manuscript and sections thereof are appropriate.
    Score: 3 2 1
    Reason for the score:
    (10) The executive summary precisely summarizes the contents, and key words have been adequately selected.
    Score: 3 2 1
    Reason for the score:
    (11) The whole manuscript is written in accordance with the Detailed Instructions for Submission to the JJRE.
    Score: 3 2 1
    Reason for the score:
Article 6. Amendment
Amendments to these Guidelines shall be decided by the Editorial Committee, and shall be publicized on the Society’s website.
Supplementary Provision
These Guidelines shall take effect as of April 1, 2013.
Supplementary Provisions

  1. These Guidelines shall be applied to the manuscripts submitted to Articles and Research Letters on or after November 1, 2014.
  2. Regardless of the above paragraph, these instructions shall be applied to the English manuscripts accepted to the Journal of Rural Economics, Special Issue 2014 as Research Letters in the JJRE.
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