On the 10th anniversary of animal, the journal undertook to review its publication policy in view of the rapid evolution in scientific publishing as well as in authors’ and readers’ expectations. This review was initiated by a survey in the animal community and involved all actors of the journal. The outcomes of the process are an updated simplified scope and a commitment towards Research Transparency and Reproducibility.
The scope was re-centered on animal production and management practices, which constitute the core identity of the journal. Two new subsections were created to highlight and recognize the increasing relevance of those topics in animal production. The first new subsection is dedicated to Health Management, which is critical to preventive medicine with its objectives of limiting the development of diseases and thus the recourse to curative medicine. It is at the interface between veterinary medicine and animal sciences, and nicely complements the initial remit of the journal. The second new subsection deals with Precision Livestock Farming, an emerging topic that aims to facilitate farm management by an improved monitoring of individual and grouped animals. This will allow better animal health and welfare, reduced negative impacts to the environment, and tailored management to meet production objectives. It is based on real-time sensing technologies and is animal-centered. The promotion of Precision Livestock Farming to a new separate subsection will accompany the development of research in this area.
The revised scope being now centered on all animal species that are in, or contribute knowledge to, animal production systems has led to the exclusion from the journal scope of biomedical research and animal models for biomedical research. This also means that pets, for example, are now excluded unless research on pets contributes to knowledge on animal production systems. As a result of these modifications, the name and the scope of individual sections have been modified.
A stronger guidance on standards of research in animal is now provided separately from the scope. The first standard focuses on the international relevance of research and its link to whole animal responses. Nuances have been introduced on what is required for disciplinary sections (hypothesis driven research, reference methods) from multi-disciplinary sections (holistic views, integrated multi-level approaches including social science ones). Research strategies to expand up-to-date concepts, knowledge or methods are encouraged. These standards represent the first scientific criteria used by the Editorial Board to review the submissions, and research characteristics discouraged by the journal are clearly stated.
Finally, the journal has initiated a move towards a greater Transparency and Reproducibility of Research, in order to promote high quality research. The journal decided to be active in alerting authors and readers of the most common pitfalls and provide guidance towards improving the reliability of published results. The first steps are targeted at expanding the information provided on Material and Methods in the Supplementary Material Section to overcome the problems created by setting limits to article length. Furthermore, results of quality control checks for critical methodologies are required. The journal will encourage any initiative taken by authors to improve the transparency and the reproducibility of their research and will expand its own policy for future years. The journal is a member of the Committee of Publication Ethics and invested time to improve its editorial practices according to ethics in publication. The single blind peer-review process of the journal and the evaluation criteria are detailed in the Instructions for Authors. Procedures to handle claims and appeals have been revised.
We would like to thank all those who contributed to this revision, including authors of Letters to the Editors, and we hope that our contributors will appreciate this move forward.
