TJAS Editorial Policy Update: Minimum Standards for Manuscripts Prior to Peer Review

Posted on 2026-04-26

Editorial Policy Announcement

Thai Journal of Agricultural Science

Minimum Standards for Manuscripts Prior to Peer Review

The Thai Journal of Agricultural Science (TJAS) is committed to maintaining high standards of scientific quality, rigor, and relevance in agricultural and applied biosciences. As part of this commitment, all submitted manuscripts undergo a strict editorial screening process prior to peer review.

A substantial proportion of submissions are declined at this stage due to critical weaknesses in scientific design, analytical rigor, and manuscript preparation. To enhance transparency and support authors in preparing high-quality submissions, TJAS hereby outlines the minimum standards required for manuscripts to proceed to peer review.

 

1. Clear Scientific Contribution and Novelty

Manuscripts must demonstrate a clear advancement of knowledge. Studies that are purely descriptive, confirmatory, or lacking a defined research gap will not be considered.

 

2. Explicit Research Questions and Hypotheses

Submissions must present well-defined research questions, clearly stated objectives, and testable hypotheses. Manuscripts that rely solely on data analysis without a structured scientific framework are not suitable as Research Articles.

 

3. Robust Experimental Design

The study design must be appropriate and clearly described, including experimental units, sample size, controls, and management of confounding factors. Weak or poorly defined designs will not proceed to review.

 

4. Appropriate and Transparent Statistical Analysis

Statistical methods must be suitable for the study design and fully reported. This includes model specification, assumptions, measures of variability, and statistical significance. Inadequate or incorrect statistical analysis is a primary cause of rejection.

 

5. Depth of Results and Discussion

Results must be analytically interpreted, not merely described. The discussion should integrate the findings with the current literature, explain the underlying mechanisms, and address limitations and implications.

 

6. Alignment with TJAS Scope

Submissions must fall within the scope of agricultural and applied biosciences and demonstrate relevance to production systems, sustainability, or practical applications.

 

7. Ethical Compliance

All manuscripts must include appropriate ethical approvals and declarations. Any concerns related to ethics or publication integrity will result in immediate rejection.

 

8. Manuscript Completeness and Clarity

Manuscripts must be well-structured, coherent, and scientifically precise. The abstract should clearly summarize the problem, the research gap, the objectives, the methods, the key results, and the implications. Methods must be reproducible, and figures and tables must be clear and informative.

 

9. Practical and Applied Relevance

TJAS prioritizes research that contributes to real-world agricultural challenges. Manuscripts should clearly articulate their relevance to farmers, industry, or policy.

 

10. Data Quality and Reliability

Data must be credible, well-documented, and suitable for analysis. Studies based on incomplete or unverified data will not be considered.

 

Final Editorial Statement

Authors are strongly encouraged to critically evaluate their manuscripts prior to submission:

  • What is the clearly defined research gap?
  • What hypothesis is being tested?
  • Is the experimental design and statistical analysis robust?
  • Do the results provide meaningful scientific insight?
  • What is the practical significance of the study?

TJAS seeks to publish manuscripts that are scientifically rigorous, hypothesis-driven, analytically sound, and impactful for agricultural systems.

Manuscripts that do not meet these standards will be declined prior to peer review.

 

Editorial Office
Thai Journal of Agricultural Science (TJAS)