Greener Journal of Biological Sciences

Submission of Manuscript:

 

Manuscripts should be submitted as an email attachment to our editorial e-mails: gjbs@acad.gjournals.org or manuscripts.igj@gmail.com. 

 

Submitted manuscripts should conform to the requirements of the journal; therefore, authors should endeavor to read our Editorial Policies, Ethics policies and Instructions for Authors before submitting a manuscript to our editorial office. Also make sure the following guidelines are met: 

 

1. Ensure that the work has not been published before (except in the form of an abstract or as part of a published lecture, review or thesis),

2. ensure that the manuscript is not currently being processed elsewhere,

3. ensure there is no breach of any copyright by submitting it for publication,

4. ensure that the submission and publication has been agreed by all co-authors and responsible authorities,

5.  ensure there is no default in ethical standard,

6. ensure the manuscript follows the prescription in our Instructions for Authors.

 

In addition, the accurate contact information of all authors (Surname, other names in full, affiliation, email for each author, and a phone number) should be available on the manuscript. Disclosure of conflicts of interest should also be available in the manuscript.

Acceptable file formats: Microsoft word (DOC, DOCX) or Rich text format (RTF).

Accepted Languages: English.

Suggested Reviewers: The authors may also suggest two to four reviewers for the manuscript (The editorial office may assign other reviewers). 

 

The Publication Process

 

Step 1. Acknowledgment of the submitted article and issue of manuscript number to the corresponding author (within 24- 48 hrs.).

Step 2. A quick check of the article follows, where an editorial member checks the paper against the Authors Guidelines, to ascertain the scientific knowledge the paper convenes. A plagiarism check is performed, and the paper is edited. (This step spans for 2 - 3 days).

Step 3. Revision by the author (if required), acceptance of the paper and payment is required to be paid promptly.

Step 4. Two or more international reviewers are invited to undertake the peer review of the paper, to provide a broader range scrutiny and evaluation for the paper. This is to equip the author with comments by experiences peers in the subject area; to improve the article where necessary. Thereafter, the author(s) will send a final copy of the paper for publication. The usefulness of reviewers’ comments to the revision of the paper is at the author’s discretion, and it not enforced by our editorial office, although it is strongly recommended that the authors address sensitive and accurate issues raised by the reviewers. We will deliver peer-review comments within 7 – 20 days.

Step 5. After receiving a final revised copy of the paper from the author, a proof copy is made and sent to the author within 1-3 working days for the author's final approval before publication.

Step 6. DOI is assigned, the article is published, the DOI is registered and indexing begins.  This step is completed in 3 days or at most, before end of that month.

Step 7. The Post-Review Process begins. The public is free to comment on the papers and more peer - reviewers are able to evaluate the paper. The author is free to send a revised paper to replace the original copy at any time either free of any charge or after a little charge (about 5 - 10 USD) depending of the level of changes needed to be made to the already published article.

Note: 

1. Papers are not rejected after they have been accepted in Step 3, although if ethical issues (in our ethics policy) are raised by the reviewers, it will be taken seriously and enforced by our editorial office before publication.

2. In general, the usefulness of reviewers’ comments to the revision of a paper is at the author’s discretion, and it not enforced by our editorial office, although it is strongly recommended that the authors address accurate and needful issues raised by the reviewers for correction. Authors should stick to quality.

3. Published paper will still undergo post-publication review that confirms the quality of each paper.

4. Each issue is in progress over a span of time, and other articles may be added to the ones that have already been published in that issue, before a new issue begins. 

5. Papers will not be retracted after they have been published, however, if we receive a substantial complain about the paper from the public (regarding infringements or illegal contents), the author’s attention will be drawn to it before any decision of retraction may be made. We have the right to retract a paper for such reasons and no refund will be issued.

 

Peer Review

All manuscripts submitted to our editorial office go through a peer-review process that ensures a manuscript is fit and presentable. We require that individuals who are highly competent and recognized in the particular field of the submitted paper review each manuscript. Our editorial office conducts a double blind pre-publication peer review process and an open post-publication peer review Process. Note that from November 2018, our editorial office will conduct an open pre-publication peer-review process, and the details of the process will be accessible online by the general public.

           

The Peer Review Process

Pre-publication Review: The editorial office team will contact two or more reviewers that have been identified as qualified and the reviewers that may have suggested by the authors. Once potential reviewers agree to read a manuscript, they are given a period to complete the review.

When the reviews are completed, the reviewers’ comments are sent to the author(s) for adequate revision. The corresponding author will submit a final version of the manuscript for publication.

Post-publication Review: Published papers are given a post review page that shows the post-review rundown of the article. It will show the post-review comments that have been provided by reviewers and the author's response/revision. The authors and editorial office will jointly solicit for reviewers that are qualified to provide post-review comments on the already published papers. This will provide additional boost to the paper's quality. Once potential reviewers agree to read a manuscript, they are given a convenient period to complete the review. Their review comments are openly available on the post review page for the authors and public to view. The authors can react to the comment, make revisions and submit a revised copy of the article to replace the original one. 

  

Article Types:

Four types of manuscripts can be submitted: Original research articles, review articles, short communication articles and technical reports.

  

Research articles:

Research articles should present innovative research that clearly addresses selected hypothesis or question. Papers should provide new techniques and insights in addressing the stated problems. It should not exceed 25 pages. However, articles must not be unnecessarily long. Research articles are peer-reviewed.

A Research article should be divided into the following sections (follow this arrangement):

Title page

Title in English

Additional title in another language (optional)

Abstract 

Additional Non-English abstract (optional)

Keywords

List of abbreviations (if any)

Introduction

Materials and Methods

Result and Discussion

Conclusions

Competing interests

Authors' contributions

Authors' Biography (Optional)

Acknowledgements

Endnotes

References

Tables and figures

Additional files

 

Review articles:

Review articles summarize current insights in a study area. It writes about other studies and does not report a novel study of its own. Reviews should present orderly and extensive coverage of established studies, assessments of advancements in specific areas or in technologies. Not more than to 25 pages, however articles must not be unnecessarily long.  Reviews articles are peer-reviewed.

A Review article should be divided into the following sections (follow this arrangement):

Title page

Title in English

Additional title in another language (optional)

Abstract 

Additional Non-English abstract (optional)

Keywords

List of abbreviations used (if any)

Introduction

Review

Conclusions

Competing interests

Authors' contributions

Authors' Biography (Optional)

Acknowledgements

Endnotes

References

Tables and figures

Additional files

 

Short Communications: Short communication is a brief and independent report usually highlighting a significant contribution to a study area. It is appropriate for recording the outcome of completed small investigations or presenting information of novel premises, methods or apparatus. They are not supposed to give preliminary results. Short communications are peer reviewed.

A short communication article should be divided into the following sections (follow this arrangement):

Title page

Title in English

Additional title in another language (optional)

Abstract in English (not more than 150 word)

Additional Non-English abstract (optional)

Keywords

List of abbreviations used (if any)

Introduction

Materials and Methods

Result and Discussion

Conclusions

Competing interests

Authors' contributions

Authors' Biography (Optional)

Acknowledgements

Endnotes

References

Tables and figures (two Tables or figures)

Additional files

  

Technical Report:

A technical report properly and entirely explains a technical work, why it was done, what results were attained and the implications of those results.

Read more on Technical Report: Source 1, Source 2. 

Technical report articles should follow the format below:

Title page

Title in English

Additional title in another language (optional)

Abstract 

Additional Non-English abstract (optional)Keywords

Keywords

List of abbreviations used (if any)

Introduction 

Background Theory 

Design / Theoretical Analysis

Procedure 

Results and Discussion 

Conclusion

Competing interests

Authors' contributions

Authors' Biography (Optional)

Acknowledgements

Endnotes

References

Tables and figures

Additional files

 

Title page

The title page should provide the title of the article, list the full names, institutional addresses and email addresses for all authors, indicate the corresponding author, indicate the type of manuscript,  Number of words and the subject area of the study. Abbreviations within the title should be avoided. Present addresses of authors should appear as a footnote.The Title should be a brief phrase describing the contents of the paper.

 

Abstract:

 

The abstract should be brief, informative and completely easy to understand. It should be 100 to 300 words in length and should be structured into separate sections:  Background; Methods; Results; Conclusions.

Abbreviations should be avoided and no citation should be included. The abstract of a short communication should not exceed 150 words

 

Non-English abstract:

An additional non-English language abstract can be added. The non-English abstract should be positioned beneath and after the English language abstract in the submitted manuscript file. It should not exceed 300 words. Please specify the added language of your abstract, for example you can title it in this manner  "Abstract in French".

 

Keywords: 3 to 10 key words that will provide indexing references should be listed.

 

Abbreviations:

A list of non-standard Abbreviations should be added. In general, non-standard abbreviations should be used only when the full term is very long and used often. Each abbreviation should be spelt out and introduced in parentheses the first time it is used in the text. Only recommended SI units should be used. Authors should use the solidus presentation (mg/ml). Standard abbreviations (such as ATP and DNA) need not be defined.

 

Introduction:

 

The introduction should briefly contain the aim of the research, the researches leading up to the study, the definition of the problem, applicable hypothesis or question, the important literature on the subject, and the proposed approach or solution. It should be easy to understand even by researchers without professional familiarity in that discipline.

                                   

Materials and methods:

It should describe the experimental design, the type of subjects or materials used and techniques. Clear details should be given in a way that the experiments can be replicated. For studies concerning human participants, a statement of approval and consent of participants should be included in the methods section. Generic drug names should be used and brand names should be included where necessary. Capitalize trade names and add the manufacturer's name and address.

 

Review:

This section is only valid for a review article. It should comprise the body of the article and can be broken into subsections.

 

Results:

This section should correctly describe the outcomes of the data analysis.

 

Discussion:

Should explain the findings suggested by the obtained results and indicate their importance to existing and future research.

The Results and Discussion sections can be combined and can include subheadings where appropriate.

                                                                                                          

 

Conclusions:

The conclusion section should briefly state the main conclusions of the work and indicate their significance and relevance.  This section can be merged with the discussion section. However, in such a situation, the discussion should stand separated from the result section.

 

Acknowledgments:

Persons and colleagues that contributed to the work, but, do not meet the criteria for authorship should be acknowledged. All financial supporters must be acknowledged. Consent and approval should be received from concerned persons or organizations before acknowledging them in the article.

                                  

Tables and Figures:

The author should paste all tables and figures in the manuscript file at the end of the manuscript before submission. GJBS will place the tables and figures in the manuscript appropriately. All tables and figures must be clearly cited within the manuscript.

 

Tables should be designed to be as simple as possible. Each table should be numbered uniformly with Arabic numerals in the order in which they are cited in the text. They should be given brief explanatory title placed at the top of the table. Footnotes are permitted and can be added below the table. Tables should not duplicate data contained in the text.  Each Column and row of a table clearly separated by making sure that the cell borders are indicated by black lines.  Tables should not be supplied as figures. Color and shading are not required.         

The figures (photographs, graph, drawings) must be numbered with Arabic numerals in the order in which they are cited in the text.

Figures should be prepared using high resolution in the formats - GIF, TIFF, JPEG, before pasting in the Microsoft Word manuscript file. The figure must include a short explanatory legend below it. Footnotes can also be added below the figure. Colored figures are allowed without charge.

Figures containing more than one image should be labeled as a, b, c, etc. (lower case) and a subtitle must be provided for each image (usually below the figure).

 

Video: We accept digitized videos using mpg, mp4 format.

 

Nucleotide and Aminoacid Sequences:

The accession numbers assigned in DDBJ, EMBL, GenBank, etc., should be provided in bracket when citing any nucleic acid sequences, protein sequences or atomic coordinates in the manuscript. Also include the corresponding database name to the accession number (Example: GenBank:U27860). A manuscript can be submitted even in the process of entering the sequence data in the respective databases. However, the accession numbers should be ready for inclusion in the manuscript before publication.

Addresses for some databases: GenBank, DDBJ, EMBL, PIR, PDB.

 

Endnotes:

Footnotes are not allowed. Endnotes are permitted but, should be not be used if avoidable. Authors should try to make all their citations in the text using the format below.

  

References:

Citation in the text: A reference should be cited in the text using the author’s last name (surname) followed by the date of the reference in parentheses. When there are two authors, the last names of the authors should be used followed by the date (year) in parentheses. When there are more than two authors, only the last name of the first author should be used, followed by ’et al‘. If a cited author has more than one work published the same year, the reference, both in the text and in the reference list, should be identified by a lower case letter (example: ‘a’ and ‘b’) after the date to differentiate the works.

Examples:

Atenaga (1998a,b), Mitruka and Rawnsley (1977), Bernham et al. (2001), (Stelwagen, 2001), (Kral and Suchy, 2000), (Alexander, 1998 a,b; Babalola, 1987,1989; Ogbeifun, 1995), (Danso et al., 1989)

The Reference list should be at the end of the paper in alphabetical order. Unpublished works cannot be included in the references, but, can be mentioned in the article text (e.g., K. Adesola, University of Lagos, Nigeria, observation). Journal names should be abbreviated according to Chemical Abstracts. Authors should ensure the accuracy of the references.

Examples:

Stelwagen K (2001). Effect of milking frequency on mammary functioning and shape of the lactation curve. J Dairy Sci 84: E204-E211

Kral I and Suchy P (2000). Haematological studies in adolescent breeding cocks. Acta Veterinaria Brno., 69: 189–194

 Mitruka BM and Rawnsley HM (1977). Clinical biochemical and hematological reference values in normal experimental animals. Masson Publ. Co. New York, 102-117.

Bernham FA, Zaake BT and Kachroo RK (2001). A study of variability of annual river flow of the Southern African Region.  Hydrol. Sci. J. 46 (4):513-524.

 

Proofs and Reprints:

A proof copy is a final version of a manuscript that is sent to the corresponding author for final approval before publication. GJBS has restrictions on author alterations in proof. Corrections are only permitted for realistic errors, copyediting errors, improvement in quality of figures. All necessary fees must be paid before a manuscript will be published.

A link to the full version of the published article will be sent to the corresponding author to download the PDF file.  Authors can also access the full text (in PDF) of the article online. GJBS does not provide authors with free reprints, reprints will be available after purchase.

 

Copyright:

 

Submission of a manuscript implies that the work described has not been published before and is not under consideration for publication elsewhere.

Authors retain copyright for any article published in this journal. The article may be reused according to the Creative Commons license.

 

Fees and Charges

Authors are required to pay a handling fee. More information on our fees and waiver policy can be found on our website.