Additional Suggestions to Reviewers of Journal of Environmental Quality Manuscripts
The general purpose of your review is to assist the editorial board in evaluating the worthiness of this manuscript for publication, and to help the author(s) improve the manuscript. General comments concerning grammar, spelling, and content are wor thwhile. Your assistance in other ar eas is also invaluable. Please consider commenting on the following as well: Checklist (T) General Content ___ ___ 1. 2. Does the title of the paper clearly reflect its contents, and is it from 6 to 12 words in length? Is an abstract present? Is it from 200 to 250 words in length? (Abstr acting services often use only the first 250 words of an abstract, so it is vital to be precise.) Is the content of the manuscript worthwhile? If not to you, is there a segment of the journal' s readership that would find it worthwhile? (Sometimes our more experienced and established reviewers underestimate the value of manuscripts that might prove invaluable to those in new areas of environmental quality.) Do you feel that the author(s) attempted to review existing literature? Do you know of any references that authors might want to refer to and discuss? Are references listed according to the style manual? Are all references cited listed in the reference list and vice versa?
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Quality of Writ ing ___ 1. Clarity is vitally important. Whether or not you are an expert in the subject discussed, you should understand the paper' s content. Read each paragraph carefully. Is there likely to be confusion? If so, r equest that the author clarify. If you have some suggested revisions, these are usually appreciated by authors, but please don't feel obligated to rewrite the manuscript. Do the paragraphs flow smoothly? Is the manuscript readable? Can you make suggestions for improvement? (Suggest using active voice.) Is there unnecessary r epetition? Can you suggest deletion of sentences or phrases or words that add little to the paper? Are enough examples provided to assist readers in relating to the author' s ideas? Can you suggest some examples that the author might want to include in his or her revision? What parts of the manuscript do you really like? Let the author(s) know. We all need a pat on the back for what we do well! This is critically important, in that some authors may be a little shocked to note the quality standards we' d like to adhere to in the journal. (continued on back)
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Technical ___ ___ 1. 2. Is the paper technically accurate in terms of methods, procedur e, r eplications, statistics, etc.? Have all measurements been repor ted in SI units? (Corresponding metric units may be shown in parentheses after each SI unit. ) Are Latin names shown for all plant, insects, or pathogens when first used? Is nomenclature given for soils when first used? Is full chemical name given for pesticides when first used?
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Tables and Figures ___ 1. Are all the tables and figures really necessary? If so, are they understandable? If not, could you suggest another format? Would you suggest additional tabulated data? (Keep in mind that tabulated data are not mandatory.) Are figures (or photographs) of good enough quality for reproduction in the journal? Are the numbering and lettering large enough to withstand reduction? Are the figure captions typed on a separate page after the References, and are the tables typed double-spaced and placed after the figure captions?
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Additional Editorial Concerns ___ 1. Does the paper include the author/paper documentation? It includes all the authors' names and complete mailing addresses, and sponsoring organization. Use an asterisk in the author by-line to identify the corresponding author. Professional titles are not listed. Is there an abbreviations list? All abbreviations used in a paper (except chemicals, SI units, and commonly accepted abbr eviations), should be listed and defined in a separate, unnumbered footnote—typed after the Abstract—that will appear in the journal at the beginning of the paper. Is the entire paper typed double-spaced, including the references, tables, and figure captions? Is it on line-numbered paper?
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Thank you for your assistance!
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