Review Process

  1. BJA follows a double-blind peer review process.
  2. Upon receiving the manuscripts, the Editor-in-Chief and the Editorial Assistant, along with one or two other members from the Editorial Board will make a desktop review of the articles, and take out the initial screening of manuscripts.
  3. If the manuscript is found appropriate by the desktop review team, the Editorial Assistant in consultation with the members of the Editorial Board will assign relevant reviewers to initiate the review process.
  4. At least two relevant Reviewers are assigned per manuscript and the manuscripts are forwarded for review.
  5. Members of the BJA Editorial Board may be one of the Reviewers of the manuscript.
  6. Reviewers carry out the review of respective manuscripts assigned to them and forward their comments and decision to the BJA secretariat within a month.
  7. The BJA Editorial Board then convenes a 3-day review workshop where all reviewed manuscripts reviewed are discussed and deliberated in detail, and in full purview of the board members. Reviewers who are able to present themselves physically are also invited to the workshop to present their cases on their decisions.
  8. Reviewers who are not able to attend the review workshop are provided with the opportunity to present their decision virtually. In case, they are entirely unable to do so, prior communication is made to the Editor-in-Chief, following which the Editorial Assistant will present the review details to the members at the workshop on the Reviewers’ part.
  9. In case of contradictory recommendations or disagreement in decisions of the assigned Reviewers, advice of a third party/Reviewer will be sought. However, in case of inconclusive decision following the review process, the Editor-in-Chief will seek consensus in the form of majority decision from the board members, and conclude accordingly.
  10. Based on the recommendations of the Reviewers and the final decision arising out of the review workshop, if the manuscript is found appropriate for publication in BJA, the Editor-in-Chief will assign the Editorial Assistant to complete the editorial process. This will include addressing all comments and revisions as suggested by the reviewers and the Editorial Board.
  11. Upon receipt of the revised manuscripts from the authors, the Editorial Assistant and the Associate Editor cross-check them in detail if required and recommended revisions are duly incorporated.
  12. The manuscripts are then handed over to the Associate Editor who undertakes detailed revision which includes further fact-checking, confirming references, formatting reference style, correcting for language, copy-editing and final proof-reading before sending the manuscripts to the Editor-in-Chief for final approval for publication.
  13. All Editors and Reviewers are volunteers from the Department of Agriculture and outside from the scientific community who are experts in their thematic areas and are not paid.