AIMS AND SCOPES OF THE JOURNAL OF HEREDITY

The Journal features primary research in the following:

• Genomics and gene mapping
• Gene action, regulation and transmission
• Bioinformatics and computational genetics
• Molecular adaptation and selection
• Reproductive strategies and kinship analysis
• Quantitative genetics and Mendelian inheritance
• Molecular systematics and phylogenetics
• Population structure and phylogeography
• Conservation genetics and biodiversity

To be accepted for publication, a manuscript must make a significant contribution to one or more of these subject areas and be of general interest to the members of the American Genetic Association.

The Journal publishes
(1) Articles: important original research
(2) Brief Communications: short communications on current research, important preliminary findings or new techniques
(3) Computer Notes: short communications on new computer programs and applications
(4) Letters: responses to papers previously published in Journal of Heredity, as well as opinion, interpretation, and new information

The Journal also publishes, by invitation, Book Reviews, Review Articles, Perspectives and Symposium Articles

INSTRUCTIONS TO AUTHORS

Please read and follow these instructions carefully, doing so will ensure that the publication of your manuscript is as rapid and efficient as possible. The Publisher reserves the right to return manuscripts that are not prepared in accordance with these instructions.

Papers must be clearly written in English. Authors whose native language is not English should arrange to have their manuscripts written in idiomatic English before they are submitted for publication. Papers lacking proper English structure and usage will not be considered for publication and will be returned to the author without review. If you would like additional help with the quality of your written English, including grammar, spelling, and language usage, visit Oxford Journals Lanuage Services.

SUBMISSION OF MANUSCRIPTS

All material to be considered for publication in the Journal of Heredity should be submitted in electronic form via the journal's online submission system. Full instructions for online submission can be found here or via the online submission site. If for exceptional reasons you are unable to submit your manuscript via the online submission system, please contact the editorial office.

For typesetting purposes, electronic manuscripts must be in Word or rich-text format. TeX and LaTeX files are also acceptable, when accompanied by a PDF of the manuscript file. Electronic figure requirements are listed below.

COPYRIGHT

It is a condition of publication that authors assign exclusive copyright to the AGA. In assigning copyright, authors may use their own material in other publications, provided that the Journal is acknowledged as the original place of publication, and both the editor and Oxford University Press are notified in writing and in advance.

On acceptance, copyright forms should be returned immediately by fax to OUP, and a copy must be posted by airmail within 24 hours. If the form has not been received at OUP by the time the manuscript arrives, publication of the article will be delayed.

Work submitted for publication must be original, previously unpublished, and not under consideration for publication elsewhere. If previously published figures, tables or parts of text are to be included, he copyright-holder’s permission must have been obtained prior to submission.

PREPARATION OF THE MANUSCRIPT

General

Manuscripts should be prepared using a Word processing program, saved as a .doc (Word) or .rtf (rich-text format) file, and typed, double-spaced, with 1-inch margins on 8 1/2-by-11-inch paper. There is no page limit, but it is recommended that manuscripts not exceed 16 typewritten pages plus tables and illustrations. Long papers are subject to delays in reviewing and editorial consideration. Metric units should be used where applicable. Pages should be arranged and numbered consecutively in the following order: title page, abstract with 3–5 keywords, text, references, figure legends, and tables, with illustrations provided separately in either hard copy or electronic format. The title should concisely inform the reader of the subject of the paper and the organism to which it relates; it should contain no more than 75 characters. A subtitle can be used when greater length is unavoidable.

Title page

The title page (page 1) should contain the title of the article; the author’s first and last name(s) and affiliation(s) with complete addresses; e-mail addresses; phone/fax number; acknowledgments; and a running title.

Abstract

An abstract is required. It should consist of one paragraph of no more than 200 words that is complete without reference to the text. Authors should also supply 3–5 keywords. Acronyms and complex abbreviations should not be used. References to literature, figures, and tables should not be included.

Text

The text should be readable, clear, and concise. First-person active voice is preferable to the impersonal passive voice. Authors whose native language is not English should arrange to have their manuscripts written in idiomatic English before they are submitted for publication. Papers lacking proper English structure and usage will not be considered for publication and will be returned to the author without review. Standard nomenclature should be used in organisms for which formal rules have been established and published. For these, authors are referred to the CSE Manual for Authors, Editors, and Publishers: Scientific Style and Format (7th ed.). Unfamiliar or new terms, as well as abbreviations, acronyms, and symbols, should be defined at first mention. Italics should not be used for emphasis. Footnotes are undesirable and should be avoided; descriptive material should be parenthetically included in the text. All tables and figures must be referred to in the text.

References

References should be typed alphabetically on a separate page, double-spaced and unnumbered. They should be referred to in the text by the name(s) of the first author(s) and the year of publication in parentheses, e.g., (Able and Baker 1987b). Use the first author’s name and ‘‘et al.’’ Then there are more than two authors. The order for references within parentheses in the text should be alphabetical. For works by the same author(s) in the same year, append a lowercase a, b, c, etc., to the year of publication. The reference list should contain all authors’ names and conform to the following styles:

• Journal article
  Author AB, Author CD, Author EF, 1984. Title of article. J Hered. 60:128-132.
• Paper in a conference proceeding(s)
  Author AB, Author IJ, Author KL, 1985. Title of conference paper. In: Able ST, editor. Title of Symposium or Conference: subtitle; 2006 Jan 1-3, location of conference. City of publisher: Publisher. p. 100-112.
• Book
  Author GH, Author IJ, 1985a. Title of book. Rye (NY): Publisher's Name.
• Chapter in a book
  Author GH, Author IJ, 1985b. Title of a chapter: a subtitle. In: Able MN, Baker OP, editors. Title of book, 2nd ed. Philadelphia: Publisher's Name; p. 200-235.
• Thesis or dissertation
  Author MN, 1985. Title of thesis or dissertation [content designator]. Berkeley(CA): Name of University. 235 p.
• Internet sources
  Author CH. Date of publication. Title. [cited 2005 May 31]. Available from: http://www.jhered.oxfordjournals.org.

Only published references or references accepted for publication should be included in the reference list; such things as personal communications, unpublished aata, manuscripts in preparation, etc., should be incorporated in the text in parentheses and include the initials and surname of the source, e.g., (OP Able, personal communication). When citing Internet sources, please provide a complete URL address and the date on which the page was accessed or updated. Authors are responsible for the accuracy of their references.

Table legends and figure captions

Table legends and figure captions should be typed together on a separate page. They should define all symbols and abbreviations used in each figure.

Nucleotide and amino acid sequences

Newly reported nucleotide or amino acid sequences, and structural coordinates, mustbe submitted to appropriate public databases (e.g., GenBank; the EMBL Nucleotide Sequence Database ; DNA Database of Japan; the Protein Data Bank ; and Swiss-Prot. Accession numbers must be included in the final version of the manuscript.

Please note that unacceptable figures will delay publication. ‘‘Digital Expert’’ software is available free from The Sheridan Group. Please use this program to check that electronic figures are in a format suitable for publishing. If the figures are not suitable the Digital Expert will offer instructions for fixing the figures.

Please note that illustrations in color will be accepted only if the authors defray the cost (currently $600 per figure set in color) or by special permission of the Editor. We ask that you submit figures containing color only if you want them to be printed in color. Note also that authors should add 100% for any offprints including color reproduction.

PROOFS

All manuscripts will undergo some editorial modification so it is important to check proofs carefully. PDF page proofs will be sent to the corresponding author for checking via email. To avoid delays in publication, proofs should be checked and returned within 48 hours. Corrections should be returned by PDF annotation, e-mail, fax, or courier (FedEx or DHL) to the Production Editor. Extensive changes to the text may be charged to the author.

SUPPLEMENTARY DATA

All material to be considered as supplementary data must be submitted at the same time as the main manuscript for review. Please indicate clearly the material intended as Supplementary Material upon submission. Also ensure that the supplementary material is referred to in the main manuscript at an appropriate point in the text. It must be supplied to the production department with the article for publication, not at a later date. It cannot be altered or replaced after the paper has been accepted for publication.

Please note that supplementary material will not be copyedited, so ensure that it is clearly and succinctly presented, and that the style of terms conforms with the rest of the paper. Also ensure that the presentation will work on any Internet browser. A maximum of 5 files is acceptable to make up the supplementary material unit for an article. The maximum size per file should not exceed 2 MB.

PAGE CHARGES

A page charge of $60 per published page will be made for all papers. In cases in which research funds are not available to meet publication costs, the author should submit a statement to the editor at the time the paper is submitted specifying the reasons for lack of funds and requesting a waiver of the publication charge. No paper will be rejected because of the lack of funds, but publication may be delayed if charges are not paid. Authors will receive a form with their page proofs showing the page charge and reprint prices.

Page charges of one article per volume will be waived for authors who are members of the American Genetic Association. Cost of membership is currently $67. Authors who wish to join the Association will receive membership forms and a page charge discount offer with their article proofs.

OFFPRINTS

In addition to an AGA membership form, an offprint order form will accompany the proofs. Authors may purchase print and/or electronic offprints and journal copies at a discount (50%) using this form. Please see offprint forms for complete ordering and pricing information.

COVER CONSIDERATION

A full-color illustration is featured on the cover of each issue, the cost of which is borne by the journal. Authors whose photo is used on the cover receive a complimentary PDF of the typeset cover for printing and distribution. The cover is available to any contributor whose manuscript is accepted for publication, providing the photographic material is of high quality. For electronic submission of potential cover images, please send the image at 350 dpi CMYK as both a .jpg and a .tif or .eps file to the editorial office; the .jpg will be used for evaluation only.

PERMISSIONS FOR ILLUSTRATIONS AND FIGURES

Permission to reproduce copyright material, for print and online publication in perpetuity, must be cleared and if necessary paid for by the author; this includes applications and payments to DACS, ARS, and similar licensing agencies where appropriate. Evidence in writing that such permissions have been secured from the rights-holder must be made available to the editors. It is also the author's responsibility to include acknowledgements as stipulated by the particular institutions. Oxford Journals can offer information and documentation to assist authors in securing print and online permissions: please see the Guidelines for Authors section. Information on permissions contacts for a number of main galleries and museums can also be provided. Should you require copies of this, please contact the editorial office of the journal in question or the Oxford Journals Rights department.

FUNDING

Details of all funding sources for the work in question should be given in a separate section entitled 'Funding'. This should appear before the 'Acknowledgements' section.

The following rules should be followed:

• The sentence should begin: ‘This work was supported by …’
• The full official funding agency name should be given, i.e. ‘National Institutes of Health’, not ‘NIH’ (full RIN-approved list of UK funding agencies) Grant numbers should be given in brackets as follows: ‘[grant number xxxx]’
• Multiple grant numbers should be separated by a comma as follows: ‘[grant numbers xxxx, yyyy]’
• Agencies should be separated by a semi-colon (plus ‘and’ before the last funding agency)
• Where individuals need to be specified for certain sources of funding the following text should be added after the relevant agency or grant number 'to [author initials]'.

An example is given here: ‘This work was supported by the National Institutes of Health [AA123456 to C.S., BB765432 to M.H.]; and the Alcohol & Education Research Council [hfygr667789].’

AUTHOR SELF-ARCHIVING/PUBLIC ACCESS POLICY FROM JANUARY 2007

For information about this journal's policy, please visit our Author Self-Archiving policy page.

CONFLICT OF INTEREST

Oxford University Press requires declaration of any conflict of interest upon onlinesubmission. If the manuscript is published, conflict of interest information will be communicated in a statement in the published paper.

THE STEPHEN J. O'BRIEN AWARD

The Stephen J. O'Brien Award for the best student paper published in the Journal of Heredity the previous year will be awarded at the annual meeting of the AGA and will include a cash prize of $1,000. The award is intended to honor Dr. O'Brien's many years of exemplary service as Chief Editor of the Journal of Heredity. Papers are eligible for the 2008 award if the first author was a registered student at the time of manuscript submission and if the article is published in Volume 99 of the Journal of Heredity. Please note in your cover letter if your manuscript fits the criteria for the award.