Home /
Instruction
/ Guides for Authors
1 About Smart Agriculture
(1) Focus and Scope
Smart Agriculture is an international peer-reviewed open-access journal published with Chinese or English. It is administrated by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of the People's Republic of China and sponsored by the Institute of Agricultural Information of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences. The editor-in-chief is Zhao Chunjiang, Academician of Chinese Academy of Engineering.
International Standard Serial Number: ISSN 2096-8094
China Standard Serial Number: CN10-1681/S
Smart Agriculture aims at via focusing on the frontiers and hot spots of agricultural information technology, publishing and disseminating the latest research results, building a high-level academic exchange platform to leading the direction of academic research, serving the scientific decision-making of the industry, cultivating high-level innovative talents and facilitating development of agricultural engineering.
The major technical categories that the journal covers include, but not limited to: Important theoretical innovations and method application results in the fields of crop monitoring, agricultural sensors, agricultural information systems, agricultural Internet of Things, agricultural cloud computing, agricultural blockchain, intelligent equipment and control system, agricultural spatial information technology, intelligent analysis and mining of agricultural data, artificial intelligence, intelligent perception and recognition, agricultural management system, etc.
(2) Journal Sections
(3) Types of Papers
Review and research articles.
2 Criteria for Publication
Smart Agriculture is highly selective in the manuscripts it publishes， rejection rates are high. We will conduct academic misconduct detection on each manuscript through the academic misconduct detection system using AMLC of CNKI. Only manuscripts with a text copy ratio of less than 10% can enter the peer review process to reduce academic misconduct and jointly maintain scientific research integrity and academic fairness. To be considered for publication in Smart Agriculture, any given manuscript must be exceptional in the following ways:
3 Journal Manuscript Format
Smart Agriculture publishes original research articles of outstanding scientific significance. We will consider manuscripts of any length. We encourage the submission of substantial full-length bodies of work that report novel findings that might be based on a more limited range of experiments. The key criteria are that the work demonstrates clearly its novelty, its importance to a particular field as well as its interest to those outside that discipline, and conclusions that are justified by the study.
The writing style should be concise and accessible. Editors will make suggestions for how to achieve this, as well as suggestions for cuts or additions that could be made to the article to strengthen the argument. Our aim is to make the editorial process rigorous and consistent, but not intrusive or overbearing. Authors are encouraged to use their own voice and to decide how best to present their ideas, results, and conclusions.
Although we encourage submissions from around the globe, we require that manuscripts be submitted in Chinese or English.
4 Organization of the Manuscript
Most articles published in Smart Agriculture will be organized into the following sections: Title, authors, organizations/ affiliations, abstract, key words, introduction, materials and methods, results, discussion, conclusions, references, acknowledgments, tables and figure legends. Uniformity in format will facilitate the experience of readers and users of the journal. Page numbers are required for all sections (figures exempted). There are no specific length restrictions for the overall manuscript or individual sections. However, we urge authors to present and discuss their findings concisely. Please submit your manuscript with double spacing (a blank line under each line of text) for the convenience of the editors and any reviewers. Line number and page number are required.
(1) Title
The title should briefly identify the subject and indicate the purpose of the document, specific yet concise. The title should supply enough information for the reader to make a reliable decision on probable interest. It should be comprehensible to readers outside your field. A short informative title is preferred over a long obtuse one. In short, a good title is defined as the fewest words that adequately describe the paper contents, in which several main keywords should often included. Title should often not exceed ten substantive words excluding articles, prepositions, and conjunctions, except in unusual instances. Please also provide a brief “running head” of approximately 60 characters. Title should not contain “waste” words, which often appear right at the start of the title such as “Study on” “Investigation on” “Observation on” “A/An” “The”. Avoid special abbreviations, if possible. Titles should be presented in title case, meaning that the first letter of the first word of the title should be capitalized. Title page is needed. The title page should include a word count for text only and the full names, highest academic degrees, and affiliations of all authors. If an author's affiliation has changed since the work was done, the new affiliation also should be listed.
(2) Authors and Affiliations
Provide the first names, middle names, surnames, and affiliations—department, university or organization, city, state/province (if applicable), and country—for all authors. One of the authors should be designated as the corresponding author. It is the corresponding author's responsibility to ensure that the author lists, and the summary of the author contributions to the study are accurate and complete. For authors in China, the way of spelling their names should follow “Hanyu Pinyin Fang'an”. For authors from other countries and regions outside China, we respect and adopt their frequently-used spellings of names. Full names are recommended. If the article has been submitted on behalf of a consortium, all consortium members and affiliations should be listed after the Acknowledgments.
(3) Authorship Criteria
Each author should have participated sufficiently in the work to take public responsibility for appropriate portions of the content. One or more authors should take responsibility for the integrity of the work as a whole, from inception to published article. Authorship credit should be based only on (1) substantial contributions to conception and design, or acquisition of data, or analysis and interpretation of data; and (2) drafting the article or revising it critically for important intellectual content; and (3) final approval of the version to be submitted. Conditions 1, 2, and 3 must all be met.
Role of the Corresponding Author
The corresponding author (or coauthor designee) will serve on behalf of all coauthors as the primary correspondent with the editorial office during the submission and review process. If the manuscript is accepted, the corresponding author will review an edited typescript and proof, make decisions regarding release of information in the manuscript to the news media, government agencies, or both, and will be identified as the corresponding author in the published article. The corresponding author is responsible for ensuring that the “Acknowledgment” section of the manuscript is complete. “Acknowledgment” is the general term for the list of contributions, credits, and other information included at the end of the text of a manuscript but before the references.
Group Authorship
If authorship is attributed to a group (either solely or in addition to one or more individual authors), all members of the group must meet the full criteria and requirements for authorship as described above. If that is not the case, a group must designate one or more individuals as authors or members of a writing group who meet full authorship criteria and requirements. Other group members who are not authors may be listed in an Acknowledgment.
(4) Abstract
All the papers published in Smart Agriculture need to provide a long abstract in both Chinese and English. The Chinese abstract requires 400-500 words, while the English abstract requires 800-1000 words. In the review papers, the template of the Chinese abstract is: [目的/意义] [进展] [结论/展望] , the template of the English abstract is: [ Significance ][ Progress ][ Conclusions and Prospects ]; In the research papers, the template of the Chinese abstract is: [目的/意义] [方法] [结果和讨论] [结论], the template of the English abstract is: [ Objective ][ Methods ][ Results and Discussions ][ Conclusions ]. The abstract succinctly introduces the paper. It should mention the techniques used without going into methodological detail and the most important results. The abstract is conceptually divided into the following four sections: Background/Objective, Methodology, Results/Principal Findings, and Conclusions/Significance, however these headers do not appear in the published article. Please do not include literature citations or references to tables, figures, or equations in the abstract. Avoid specialist abbreviations. In context, a researcher preparing an abstract should think: This is what we studied. This is how we did it. This is what we learned. This is what it means. In detail, the abstract should include a hypothesis or rationale for the work, a brief description of the methods, a summary of the results, and a conclusion: The topic sentence states the purpose of the research: What was studied? What hypothesis was tested? A brief description of the methods should give the reader an idea of the general approach used by the researcher. The abstract should contain only enough about methodology to provide a context for the results. The results should include the major trends and the most important results of the study. Data may be given to emphasize the results; group size, p-values, etc., should not be included. Concise conclusions that can be drawn from the study complete the abstract.
(5) Keywords
A short list of keywords or phrases should be included immediately after the abstract for indexing purpose. In general, 3——8 keywords are recommended, and main keywords should be from the article title. Choose keywords that reflect the content of your article. Note that words in the title are not searchable as keywords unless they are also included in the keyword list.
(6) Article Notes
In published articles, the article notes appear as a footnote at the bottom of the first page. In your manuscript, use the article notes to:
Indicate received date and accepted date of the manuscript.
Details (project names and coded number) of the funding sources that have supported the work should be confined to the funding statement.
List the full names, AOC, CSAE, or other scholarly membership, professional titles, and professional affiliations and locations for the first and the corresponding authors.
List the contact information for the corresponding author, including the full mailing address, phone numbers, and e-mail address.
(7) Body of the Article
You will want to organize the main text in a manner that can be easily understood by the reader. Depending on the subject matter, this organization may be chronological, spatial, geo-graphical, or any other sequence that develops logically. Manuscripts may be written in either the first or third person. Clearly indicate subdivisions of the main body with headings and sub-headings, but do not use more than three levels of headings. Subheadings facilitate comprehension for all readers and provide a quick summary for the scanning reader. The following are typical headings in a journal article:
Introduction
The introduction should put the focus of the manuscript into a broader context. As you compose the introduction, think of readers who are not experts in this field. The introductory section of the text should include a brief statement of why the research was conducted. It should also define the problem and present objectives (including a description of the subject, scope, and purpose) along with a plan of development of the subject matter. Include a brief review of the key literature. If there are relevant controversies or disagreements in the field, they should be mentioned so that a non-expert reader can delve into these issues further. The introduction should conclude with a brief statement of the overall aim of the experiments and a comment about whether that aim was achieved.
Materials and Methods
This section should provide enough detail for reproduction of the findings. So, sufficient detail should be provided so that the work may be repeated. Do not give details of methods described in readily available sources. Instead, refer to the source and describe any modification. Protocols for new methods should be included, but well-established protocols may simply be referenced. Figures that illustrate test apparatus and tables of treatment parameters or equipment specifications are appropriate here.
Results and Discussion
If warranted, the results and discussion may be combined into one section, or may be divided into two separate sections. This section describes the solution to the problem stated in the introductory section. Use figures and tables to visually supplement the presentation of your results. The text must refer explicitly to all visuals, and you must interpret the visual elements to emphasize the evidence on which your conclusions are based. Do not omit important negative results. The results should provide details of all of the experiments that are required to support the conclusions of the paper. There is no specific word limit for this section, but details of experiments that detract from the focus of the article should not be included. The section may be divided into subsections, each with a concise subheading. The results section should be written in past tense. The discussion should spell out the major conclusions and interpretations of the work including some explanation on the significance of these conclusions. How do the conclusions affect the existing assumptions and models in the field? How can future research build on these observations? What are the key experiments that must be done? The discussion should be concise and tightly argued. In addition, relate your findings to previous findings by identifying how and why there are differences and where there is agreement. Speculation is encouraged, but it must be identified. Any controversies should also be presented clearly and fairly.
Conclusions
This is a summary of your results. In this section, state any conclusions that can be drawn from your data. You may also include suggestions for future research. The conclusion may be a subsection of the Results and Discussion section, or it may be a separate section. Data or statements cited in your conclusion must have been stated previously in the article. Do not introduce new information in the conclusion.
Acknowledgments
The “Acknowledgments” section is the general term for the list of contributions, credits, and other information included at the end of the text of a manuscript but before the references. People who contributed to the work, but do not fit the criteria for authors should be listed in the Acknowledgments, along with their contributions. Authors should obtain written permission that anyone named in the Acknowledgments agrees to being so named.
References
Smart Agriculture uses the GB Style, namely, the numbered citation (citation-sequence) method for citing and listing references. In the Vancouver Style, citations within the text of your essay/paper are identified by Arabic numbers in square brackets. This applies to references in text, tables and figures. e.g. [2] – this is the style used by the referencing software Endnote. The Vancouver System assigns a number to each reference as it is cited. Number references in the order they appear in the text; do not alphabetize. A number must be used even if the author(s) is named in the sentence/text. The author should number and list the references in Arabic numerals according to the citation order in the text. Put reference numbers in square brackets in superscript at the end of citation content or after the cited author’s name. For citation content which is part of the narration, the coding number and square brackets should be typeset normally. For example, “The structural and engineering design of the farm Robert meets agronomic needs[1,2]”. If references are cited directly in the text, they should be put together within the text, for example, “From references [1,3-8], we know that...” Multiple citations within a single set of brackets should be separated by commas. Where there are more than three sequential citations, they should be given as a range. For example: “...has been shown previously[1, 4-6, 10].” Make sure the parts of the manuscript are in the correct order for the relevant journal before ordering the citations. Authors are responsible for the accuracy and completeness of their references and for correct text citation. When the authors write the references, please ensure that the order in text is the same as in the references section and also ensure the spelling accuracy of the first author’s name. Do not list the same citation twice. When the authors list the references, abbreviated names of journals according to the journals list in PubMed. For all references, list all authors and/or editors up to three; if more than three, list the first three followed by “et al.” Note: Journal references should include the issue number in parentheses after the volume number. Because all references will be linked electronically as much as possible to the papers they cite, proper formatting of the references is crucial.
(8) Manuscript Style
Spelling
The Journal uses US spelling and authors should therefore follow the latest edition of the Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary.
Units
We strongly encourage the use of SI units. All measurements must be given in SI or SI-derived units. If you do not use these exclusively, please provide the SI value in parentheses after each value.
Abbreviations
Please keep abbreviations to a minimum, only where they ease the reader's task by reducing repetition of long, technical terms. Initially use the word in full, followed by the abbreviation in parentheses. Thereafter use the abbreviation only. Non-standard abbreviations should not be used unless they appear at least three times in the text.
Trade names
Chemical substances should be referred to by the generic name only. Trade names should not be used when it is not essential or ambiguous. If trade names are used, the name and location of the manufacturer must be given.
Scientific names
Upon its first use in the title, abstract, text, and materials and methods, the common name of a species should be followed by the scientific name (genus, species and authority) in parentheses. However, for well-known species, the scientific name may be omitted from the article title. If no common name exists in English, the scientific name should be used only.
Nomenclature
The use of standardized nomenclature in all fields of science and engineering is an essential step toward the integration and linking of scientific information reported in published literature. We will enforce the use of correct and established nomenclature wherever possible: Species names should be italicized (e.g., Homo sapiens). Genes, mutations, genotypes, and alleles should be indicated in italics. Use the recommended name by consulting the appropriate genetic nomenclature database, e.g., HUGO for human genes. It is sometimes advisable to indicate the synonyms for the gene the first time it appears in the text. The Recommended International Non-Proprietary Name (rINN) of drugs should be provided.
(9) Figures and Tables
Figures
All the images in the munascipt should obtain the authorization from the copyright owner. If the article is accepted for publication, the author will be asked to supply high-resolution, print-ready versions of the figures. Please ensure that the files conform to the following when preparing your figures for production. After acceptance, authors will also be asked to provide an attractive image to highlight their paper online. We recommend that figures be created using Adobe Photoshop. If you use Photoshop or similar software, send *.jpg or *.TIF files at full size and delete any blank space around the edges of each figure. Resolution of at least 300 dpi is needed for most figures, saved as *.JPG or *.TIF. Color figure files should be set up as CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow, black) and not as RGB (red, green, blue) so that the colors as they appear on screen will be a closer representation of how they will print in the Journal. If you use PowerPoint, send the original PowerPoint files. Use only basic PowerPoint fonts, do not draw lines that are less than .25 points thick. Use shaded or colored fills instead of pattern fills. Images imported into PowerPoint should have at least 600 dpi resolution. All illustrations (line drawings and photographs) are classified as figures. It is preferred that photos be grouped together into one or more plates. Figures should be cited in consecutive order in the text. Each figure should be labeled at the top of the page, indicating the name of the author (s), figure number and orientation. Line figures should be supplied as sharp, black and white graphs or diagrams, drawn professionally or with a computer graphics package. Lettering must be included and should be sized to 8 point size (Times New Roman and Overstriking) for line figures and photographs; figure numbers should be sized to be 9 point size (Times New Roman and Overstriking). Photographs should be supplied as sharp, glossy, black-and-white or color photographic prints and must be unmounted. Individual photographs forming a composite figure should be of equal contrast to facilitate printing, and should be accurately squared. Magnifications should be indicated using a scale bar on the illustration.
Figure Legends
The aim of the figure legend should be to describe the key messages of the figure, but the figure should also be discussed in the text. An enlarged version of the figure and its full legend will often be viewed in a separate window online, and it should be possible for a reader to understand the figure without switching back and forth between this window and the relevant parts of the text. Each legend should have a concise title of no more than 15 words. The legend itself should be concise and comprehensive, while still explaining all symbols and abbreviations. Avoid lengthy descriptions of methods.
Tables
All tables should have a concise title. Footnotes can be used to explain abbreviations. Citations should be indicated using the same style as outlined above. Tables occupying more than one printed page should be avoided, if possible. Larger tables can be published as online supporting information. Tables must be cell-based; do not use picture elements, text boxes, tabs, or returns in tables. Tables should not repeat the same contents of figures.
5 Submission
(1) Length
Research Articles;
8-12 pages plus references (suggested but not limited);
400-word English abstract and 300-word Chinese abstract;
Include a short academic bibliography of the author(s);
Provide 3-8 keywords.
(2) Format
Language: Only one language, Chinese or English. Submit in Word format only.
Abstract: Single-spaced with line number, Left justified
Main text: Single-spaced with line number, Full justified, 1-inch margins
References: Single-spaced, Sequential order, Avoid footnotes in listing references
(3) Content and order
Title
Author
Organization
Article Notes
Abstract
Key words
Main body of article
Acknowledgments
References
Appendix (if any)
6 Peer-Review & Editorial Process
Our aim is to provide all authors with an efficient, courteous, and constructive editorial process. To ensure the fairest and most objective decision-making, the editorial process is run as a partnership between the Smart Agriculture professional editors and the editorial board, which is comprised of leaders in all fields of agricultural, biological and food engineering.
(1) Peer Review Process
All manuscripts will be critically reviewed by the editor and invited referees within 4 weeks. All manuscripts submitted to Smart Agriculture are peer-reviewed according to the following procedure:
Initial review: A Division Editor evaluates all manuscripts sent his/her division to determine if submitted manuscripts are appropriate for consideration by Smart Agriculture. Manuscripts that do not meet the minimum criteria are returned to the authors within one week of receipt. This is in the best interest of the authors who could then decide to fix the problems or to submit the manuscript to a more appropriate venue, avoiding delay caused by a lengthy review process that would nonetheless lead to rejection.
Double-blind peer review: Manuscripts passing the initial review are assigned to an Associate Editor, who selects and invites reviewers based on their expertise in the particular field. A manuscript is reviewed by at least two reviewers. Reviewers are asked to evaluate the manuscript based on:
Material is original and timely;
Writing is clear;
Study methods are appropriate;
Data are valid;
Conclusions are reasonable and supported by the data;
Information is important;
Topic has general engineering interest and practical significance.
To facilitate timely publication, reviewers are asked to complete their reviews within 2 weeks. If the two reviewers have very different opinions on the manuscript, the Associate Editor or Division Editor's review will weigh in. After collecting the referees' reports, the Associate Editor makes a recommendation on the acceptability of the manuscript to the respective Division Editor.
Recommendation: Based on the reviewers' comments and the Associate Editor's recommendation, the Division Editor makes a final decision on the acceptability of the manuscript, and communicates to the authors the decision, along with reviewers' reports. The decision can be:
accept as is;
minor revision;
retrial after revision;
reject.
A revised manuscript should be re-submitted within four months of the decision. It will usually be returned to the original reviewers for evaluation.
A rejection decision is made typically because the manuscript does not meet the criteria outlined above, such as originality, importance to the field, cross-discipline interest, or sound methodology.
If the Division Editor and Associate Editor have conflicting opinions on a manuscript, they will seek consultation with the Editor in Chief who may make the final decision.
Honest and Polite: After each round of the review, review reports will be sent to the author(s) and all reviewers of the manuscript under consideration. It is important for a reviewer to be honest but not offensive when providing comments. Review reports with opinions expressed in a kind and constructive way will persuade the authors of the merit of the review more effectively.
Writing the Review: The purpose of the review is to provide the editors with an expert's opinions on the quality of the manuscript under consideration. A good review report should identify both the strengths and the weaknesses of the paper, and should also provide constructive and specific comments on how to improve the paper. If the reviewer believes that the paper is not suitable for publication in Smart Agriculture, the review report should provide brief but sufficient information that enables the author(s) to understand the reasons for the decision.
(2) Editorial Process
Upon acceptance, the manuscript enters our production system. Articles are typically published online within 8 weeks of formal acceptance, and usually before they are assembled into a complete issue. Publication may be further expedited when warranted.
Editing Accepted manuscripts are edited including literal modifying and English polishing in accordance with related criteria, norms and journal style, and returned to the author for approval. Authors are responsible for all statements made in their work, including changes made during editing and production that are authorized by the corresponding author.
Corrections Requests to publish corrections should be sent to the editorial office. Corrections are reviewed by editors and authors, published promptly, and linked online to the original article.
Reprints may be ordered when the edited typescript is sent for approval to the corresponding author. Reprints ship 3 weeks after publication.
EPrints Corresponding authors who provide an e-mail address for publication will receive an electronic link that provides free online accesses to the PDF view of their article.
7 Contact Information in China
Contact phone: +86-10-82109657
Address: No. 12 South Street of Zhongguancun, Haidian District, Beijing, 100081, China
Website: http://www.smartag.net.cn
Email: smartag@caas.cn
