---
name: agsy-topic-selection
description: Use when deciding whether a project fits Agricultural Systems (AgSy) and which article type to target. AgSy is a systems-science journal, so the test is a genuine systems question — interactions among components, across hierarchical levels (field → farm → landscape → region → food system), trade-offs, and emergent behavior — analyzed with integrated modelling, NOT a single-factor field trial. Helps frame the question; it does not collect data.
---

# Topic Selection & Fit (agsy-topic-selection)

Agricultural Systems publishes the **systems analysis of agricultural systems**. The bar is not "a new
result for crop X" — it is **"a systems question about interactions and trade-offs."** Use this skill to
pressure-test fit before you invest, and to keep a field trial from being mistaken for a systems paper.

## When to trigger

- Choosing among possible projects or framings for an AgSy submission
- A reviewer/colleague said the paper "is just a field trial" or "lacks a systems angle"
- Deciding between a **research paper** and a **short communication**
- Considering a **perspective** (forward-looking opinion) or a **comment** on a published paper

## The AgSy fit test

A strong AgSy paper usually clears all four:

1. **A real systems question.** The object is **interactions** — among components (crop–soil–livestock–
   economics), across hierarchical levels, between agriculture and other land uses, or with the
   natural/social/economic environment. If nothing interacts, it is not a systems paper.
2. **Whole-farm to food-system scope (preferred).** AgSy gives preference to **whole-farm and
   landscape-level** issues. A plot-level result needs to be scaled or embedded in a larger system.
3. **Integrated modelling and trade-offs.** Conceptual + empirical + **dynamic / bio-economic
   modelling**; the analysis surfaces **trade-offs and synergies**, not a single optimal number.
4. **Decision relevance.** The result informs a design, management, or policy choice (see
   `agsy-impact-and-implications`).

## Scale & system-boundary framing (state your system explicitly)

| If your work is at… | reach AgSy fit by… |
|---------------------|---------------------|
| Field / plot | scaling to the farm or showing the field-level interaction that matters to the system |
| Whole-farm | the journal's sweet spot — show component interactions and whole-farm trade-offs |
| Landscape / region | spatial interactions, land-use competition, aggregation/emergence across farms |
| Food system | linking production to value chains, food security, environment, and policy |

## Article-type choice

- **Research paper** — full systems study, **~8,000 words** (no hard cap; stay near it).
- **Short communication** — one crisp systems result, **~4,000 words**. Do not pad it into a paper.
- **Perspective** — a forward-looking argument about agricultural-systems science, **~2,000 words**,
  **rapid review** (see `agsy-review-process`).
- **Comment** — a focused response to a published AgSy paper, **~1,000 words**.

## Anti-patterns

- A single-factor field trial with no interactions, model, or trade-off (off-fit — send to an agronomy journal)
- "First time simulated in country X" as the whole contribution (descriptive, not a systems advance)
- A model demo with no agricultural-systems question or decision payoff
- Choosing research-paper length out of habit when a short communication would land harder

## Output format

```
【Question】one sentence (state the interaction / trade-off)
【System & boundary】components + hierarchical level(s) + scale
【Modelling approach】conceptual / empirical / dynamic / bio-economic
【Decision relevance】who acts differently if this is true
【Article type】Research paper / Short communication / Perspective / Comment / Review
【Fit verdict】strong / needs reframing / off-fit (why)
【Next】agsy-literature-positioning
```

## Supplementary resources

- [`../../resources/external_tools.md`](../../resources/external_tools.md) — systems models and data sources by scale
- [`../../resources/official-source-map.md`](../../resources/official-source-map.md) — AgSy aims, scope, and article types