Author Guidelines
AIMS AND SCOPE:
The journal is conceived as an academic and professional journal covering all fields within the Biomedical Sciences including the allied health fields. Articles from the Physical Sciences and humanities related to the Medical Sciences will also be considered. The African Journal of Biomedical Research publishes full-length papers, review articles intended to throw light on recent advances in areas within its scope, short communications, rapid communications and mini-reviews. The journal will also carry news on conferences, workshops and products. The guiding principle shall be consistency.
SUBMISSION OF MANUSCRIPTS: The submission of manuscripts to AJBR will be taken to imply that no similar article has been, or in the event of acceptance by the journal, will be published elsewhere.
Online Submission
From January, 2006, only electronic version of manuscripts will be accepted. All articles should be electronically submitted into the AJBR online submission and tracking portal at the following website: www.ajbrui.org
On-line manuscript submission: All manuscripts must be submitted on-line through the new Web site at http://www.ajbrui.net. First-time users: Please click the Register button from the upper menu and enter the requested information. On successful registration, you will be sent an e-mail indicating your user name and password. Print a copy of this information for future reference. Note: If you have received an e-mail from us with an assigned user ID and password, or if you are a repeat user, do not register again. Just log in. Once you have an assigned ID and password, you do not have to re-register, even if your status changes (that is, author, reviewer, or editor). Authors: Please click the log-in button from the menu at the top of the page and log in to the system as an Author. Submit your manuscript according to the author instructions. You will be able to track the progress of your manuscript through the system. If you experience any problems, please contact the Managing Editor at sbolaleye@yahoo.com
Submission as e-mail attachment: In case of difficulties in uploading manuscripts, authors may submit articles via e-mail to ajbrui@hotmail.com. This alternative submission mode implies that the uploading of such manuscripts will be done by the editorial office, without the authors enjoying certain privileges such as choosing their usernames and passwords.
ARRANGEMENT:
Where appropriate, papers should be arranged in the following order - Abstract, Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, Discussion, Acknowledgement, References.
Title Page: The first page should carry the title, full name(s) of author(s), institutional addresses and e-mail addresses of all author(s). The corresponding author and change of address should be indicated by a footnote.
Abstract: Each manuscript should begin with short abstract (not more than 250 words). This should be followed by a list of 4 - 6 keywords and a running title for abstracting and indexing purposes. Please minimize the use of abbreviations and do not cite references in the abstract
Figures and Photographs: All figures and photographs, which must be submitted in triplicate, will be reproduced in black and white. Colour reproduction is at the author’s expense. Titles and explanations of symbols in the legends for illustrations should be typed on separate pages. On the back of each illustration, the author(s) name(s), figure number and an arrow indicating the top must be highlighted. Figures should be referred to as Fig. 1, Fig. 2 e.t.c.
Illustrations should be designed such that all information is legible when scaled to a horizontal width of 600 pixels. Authors are advised to use either Arial or Helvetica fonts for text within figures. When submitting the electronic version, the following formats should be used for the preparation of figures: EPS (preferred format for diagrams), PDF (also especially suitable for diagrams), PNG (preferred format for photos or images), Microsoft Word (version 5 and above; figures must be A4 portrait, single page only), PowerPoint (figures must be a single page), TIFF, JPEG and BMP
Tables: Should be typed on separate sheets and should be given concise title. Their desired positions should be indicated in the margin of the manuscript. They should be referred to as Table 1, Table 2, and e.t.c.
References: Only essential references should be quoted. The Harvard system whereby author’s names and date of publication appear in the text will be used. Where there are joint authors, only the name of the first should be given in the text followed by et al. References to several works by the same author published in one year should be distinguished as 1997a, 1997b, e.t.c. The list of references must be alphabetically arranged on a separate page. A reference to an article in a periodical should include the full title of the article and the numbers of the first and last pages, the volume number and year of publication as given in the example below:
Nwankwo J. 0., Babaoye 0. T., Emerole G. 0. (1996): Inhibition of the Glucoronidation and N Deacetylation of Paracetamol by chloroquine pre-treatment in rats. Afr. J Med. Med. Sci. 25, 105 -110.
If a paper has been accepted for publication, the names and initials of all the authors and the journal should be given, followed by the word “in press” within circular brackets. For example:
Ogunlade S.O, Salawu S.A and Eyelade R.A (2002). Tumoral Cacinosis – Report of a case. Afr. I Biomed. Res. (in press)
References to books and monographs should include (a) names and initials of authors or editors, year of publication in parentheses; (b) title; (c) edition; (d) page referred to; (e) publisher (f) place of publication.
Acknowledgement: Authors are advised to acknowledge only those persons who have made substantial contribution to the study.
PUBLICATION AND PEER REVIEW PROCESSES
All submitted manuscripts are assessed initially by the managing editor for compliance with the journal’s style. An editorial assistant reads the manuscript, looks at the data, checks for relevant literature (whether cited in the manuscript or not) and finally and to determine their suitability for the review process. Only those manuscripts judged most likely to meet our editorial criteria are sent out for formal review. They will generally be reviewed by two experts with the aim of reaching a first decision as soon as possible. The Editorial Board of African Journal of Biomedical Research may ask authors to provide the contact details (including e-mail addresses) of at least four potential peer reviewers for their manuscript. These should be experts in their field of study, who will be able to provide an objective assessment of the manuscript. Such suggested peer reviewers should not have published with any of the authors of the manuscript within the past five years and should not be members of the same research institution. Members of the Editorial Board of the journal can be nominated. Suggested reviewers will be considered alongside potential reviewers identified by their publication record or recommended by Editorial Board members.
In cases where there is strong disagreement either among peer reviewers or between the authors and peer reviewers, advice is sought from a member of the journal's Editorial Board. The ultimate responsibility for any decision lies with the Editor-in-Chief.
Procedure after acceptance
The Authors should consider all the suggestions proposed by reviewers and the Editor, and carry out appropriate changes before submission of the ready-to-print version of their manuscript. The Editor retains the right to modify the style and length of a manuscript to make it conform to the editorial style of the journal. In any case, when major changes occur, the Authors will be consulted for their approval.
Article-processing charges
AJBR levies an article-processing and publication charge of per article accepted for publication. This charge is 50,000 Naira (Nigerian authors) or $250 (Outside Nigeria).
This amount is payable to
First Bank Nigeria Plc
Correspondent Bank Name: Standard Chartered Bank, New York (Swift Code: SCBLUS33)
Aba No: 026002561
Beneficiary Institution: First Bank of Nig Plc (Swift Code: FBNINGLA)
Account No. 3582-059979-001 (For Naira)
Proofs and reprints: Proofs will be sent to authors of accepted articles for the correction of printing errors only.
Editorial Notice: The African Journal of Biomedical Research is published in January, May and September for Ibadan Biomedical Communications Group, University of Ibadan, Nigeria on a page sponsorship basis.
