Bio-Research
Journal / Bio-Research / Submissions

 

Final submission check list:

Authors who plan to submit their manuscript to the journal need to ensure that they comply with the following items. Failure to adhere to these guidelines may lead to the immediate rejection of the manuscript.

• The paper to be submitted must be original, has not been published previously and should not be under consideration before another journal.
• The text should be in Microsoft word and double-spaced, using a 12- point font. Tables, figures and other illustrations should be placed at the appropriate points within the manuscript
• The manuscript text must meet the style and bibliographic requirements recommended by the journal, according to author guidelines

Author Guidelines

Publication of articles in the Journal of Biological Research and Biotechnology (Bio-Research) is similar to what is obtainable in other reputable scientific journals: involves several parties, each of which performs an essential role in achieving the aims and objectives of the journal. Thus, all players (author, the journal editor, the peer-reviewer, and the publisher) are expected to meet and uphold standard norms of ethical behaviour from submission to the publication stage, depending on the area of involvement.

The journal is committed to ensuring established standards of ethical behaviour at all stages of the publication process. The journal adheres to international best practices to ensure that these standards are maintained. Authors can consult resources from industry leaders such as Elsevier (publishing ethics resource kit available at www.elsevier.com/editors/publishing-ethics/perk), Committee on Publication Ethics ( available at http://publicationethics.org/resources/guidelines) and International Committee of Medical Editors (available at ) http://www.icmje.org/recommendations). Wiley’s Best Practice Guidelines on Research Integrity and Publishing Ethics is also a good resource for authors and can be found at https://authorservices.wiley.com/ethics-guidelines/index.html

Policy and Ethics
The author, must include a cover letter to any submission to the journal. The cover letter should state among other things, that the work in the manuscript was carried out in line with international best practices and rules regarding the use of animals and humans in clinical studies (where applicable), as well as other applicable national laws. Data in the manuscript should be obtained from studies conducted in the most acceptable ethical manner as recommended by the WHO (more information is available on the WHO website: who.int). Authors are encouraged to read these guidelines. The need to obtain appropriate (prior informed consent) in studies involving humans and animals cannot be over-emphasized. This responsibility lies squarely on the author(s) and not the journal.  Authors are required to mention this as part of their protocol by clearly describing how the study was carried out to meet these expectations. Manuscripts that do not adhere to these ethical guidelines will not be considered for publication in the Journal of Biological Research and Biotechnology.  

Conflict of interest, Author contributions and submission of names and contact email of three potential reviewers
It is compulsory for authors to disclose any actual or potential conflict of interest in all submissions to the Journal of Biological Research and Biotechnology. This includes any relationships such as financial, personal etc. with other entities or organizations that could inappropriately influence or be perceived to influence their research work. Conflict of Interest disclosure is required for all submitted manuscripts and will be published. It is the responsibility of the senior author/corresponding author to ensure that all co-authors adhere to this policy

Authors should clearly state their contribution(s) to the manuscript and submit the names and contact email addresses of three potential reviewers who can review the paper. The journal may or may not use any or all of these submitted reviewers.  The contribution of authors is not currently published along with accepted papers though this policy may change in the near future

Submission declaration, verification/peer review guidelines
Submission of a paper to the journal means that the work has neither been published previously nor is under consideration for publication elsewhere; that the publication in its entirety, is approved by all authors, and  by the responsible institution or authorities where the study was performed. The consideration, acceptance and publication of the paper in the Journal of Biological Research and Biotechnology means that it will not be published elsewhere in the same form, in any other language, including electronically, without the written consent of the copyright-holder- the Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Nigeria, Nsukka. The Editor may wish to verify the originality of submissions received by using any reliable originality detection service, such as turnitin.com or www.ithenticate.com. 

Each paper submitted to the journal will be first checked and reviewed by the Editorial Office staff. If the paper is considered to be appropriate and within the scope of the Journal of Biological Research and Biotechnology, the Editor-in-Chief may handle it or first assign it to an Editor with an expertise in the area. If the Editor-in-Chief or the Editor makes a determination that the paper is suitable for possible consideration for publication in the journal, it will then be sent to at least two external reviewers who are experts in the area covered in the paper. (using the journal’s database of experts in the field or other sources as the Editor may deem necessary). All received manuscripts undergo these processes except that the Editor-in-Chief my decide to exempt certain categories of submissions to the journal. This may include letters to the Editor, conference reports, Commentaries and certain Editorials

The journal uses a double-blind review process. The identities of authors are kept confidential to the reviewers, and the reviewers’ identities are also kept confidential to the author/s.  Reviewers are expected to maintain confidentially about the manuscripts that they review. Authors should receive initial decision on their manuscripts within one to two months after submission. This could extend to 3 months in rare circumstances. If revision of the manuscript is required, the authors must submit their revised manuscript not later than 3 weeks of the request. Papers not revised within this time may be treated as a new submission. The Editorial Board may require authors to revise their manuscript/s more than once if it will help to improve the quality of the paper.

Submission/Publication charges

The journal does not charge submission fee. However, author based in Nigeria are required to pay a publication fee of thirty thousand naira (#30,000.00) while authors outside Nigeria are required to pay $100 only. It is important to emphasize that authors are not required to pay publication charges until their paper is accepted and the payment invoice sent to them by the Journal. Publication charges will apply to all manuscripts submitted to the journal. Payment details will be provided to authors after acceptance of their manuscript. The Editor-in-Chief may in certain special circumstance decide to publish articles accepted but abandoned by the authors. 

Original Articles

Original manuscripts should describe original research works that represent new and significant contributions and advances to the field of biological sciences and biotechnology (Bio-Research). The article should contain sufficient details such that other researchers can reproduce/verify the work. Such articles should contain no more than 6000 words, 4-7 Figures and or Tables and no more than 40 references. References must be relevant and should capture recent papers in the subject area to help readers understand the findings and follow then trend in literature. The abstract should not be more than 300 words. Original manuscripts will be peer-reviewed by at least two reviewers appointed by the journal Editors.

Review Articles
Review articles should describe current, new developments, summarize progress, and analyze published works in the field, and it must fall within the scope of the journal. Such articles should contain no more than 8000 words, 4-8 Figures/Tables, and no more than 120 references. The abstract should not be more than 300 words. Review articles will be peer-reviewed by at least two reviewers appointed by the journal Editors. Review articles may or may not be invited.

Short Communications
These articles are brief reports of preliminary or limited results of original research, observations or case studies in the area of biological sciences and biotechnology. Total word count should not exceed 3000 words. The total number of Figures and Tables should not exceed 4, while the references should not be more than 30. The abstract should be no more than 300 words. Short Communications will be peer-reviewed by at least two reviewers appointed by the journal Editors.

Letters to the Editor
These letters should comment on articles previously published in the journal or any other matter of interest to the journal, provided that they fall within the scope of the journal. No Tables or Figures should be included and should have no more than 800 words in length, and no more than a maximum of 5 references. Letters to the Editor may not be peer-reviewed, but the Editor reserves the right to accept or reject such letters.

Case Reports
Case report articles contain reports of interest to the journal of Biological Research and Biotechnology provided they fall within the scope of the journal. They should contain no more than 1,500 words, 3-4 Tables/Figures and no more than 20 references. Case Reports are peer-reviewed.

Editorials
These are comments and views from recognized experts in the field on specific topics, and/or on articles published in the journal or related journal. Editorials may be solicited by the Editorial Team. They should contain no more than 2000 words in length. No abstract should be included, no more than 3 Tables/Figures and 10 references are allowed. Editorials may or may not be peer-reviewed. This decision lies with the journal Editors

Commentaries
Commentaries should contain opinions and/or views of recognized experts on a specific topic within the scope of the journal. They can address various issues of interest including issues that are controversial but within the scope of the journal. Commentaries should contain no more than 2,500 words in length. Abstract is not required and there should be no more than 3 Tables/Figures, and 10 references. Commentaries may or may not be peer-reviewed.

Conference Reports
These reports should focus on the key developments presented and discussed at conferences that addressed topics within the scope of the journal. Such reports should contain no more than 4,000 words, 5 Tables/Figures, and 25 references. Conference Reports will not be peer-reviewed.

Professional and Ethical Responsibilities of authors

The journal of Biological Research and Biotechnology adheres strictly to the principles and guidelines of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors’ (ICMJE) Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing and Publication of Scholarly Works in Medical Journals (available at http://icmje.org), as well as the criteria set by WHO.

Authorship of manuscripts
The senior/corresponding authors must ensure that only those persons who contributed directly to the intellectual content of the manuscript should be listed as authors. The surnames and addresses/affiliations of all authors, as well as the e-mail address of the corresponding author, should be clearly indicated on the title page. While two persons may be designated as co-corresponding authors, only one of them can correspond directly with the Editorial office on behalf of all authors, during the submission, peer review, and publication processes. ORCID numbers of all authors are required for every submission.

Support and Acknowledgement
All sources of outside support for the research work, including funding, grants, equipment and drugs, must be indicated in the Acknowledgement section. Any involvement of laboratory support staff, and other researchers, must also be clearly stated in the Acknowledgement statements. The journal is not responsible for any mistakes made in the listing of individuals who assisted during the study

Double Publication and Concurrent Submission
Duplicate submission implies submission of a manuscript to more than one different journal at the same time. All papers submitted to the Journal of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology should not have been previously published in, submitted for consideration to, or be under consideration for publication by any other journal. Any manuscript with over 20% level of similarity by the journal’s plagiarism check will not be considered for publication.

Ethical approval
All papers submitted to the Journal of Biological Research and Biotechnology should provide adequate information on Ethical approval where applicable. Studies involving laboratory animals or human beings must provide appropriate ethical approval. When reporting experiments on animals, authors have to state whether the institutional and/or national guidelines for the care and use of laboratory animals was followed in the study. Where plant materials are used in a study, voucher numbers or description of voucher sample deposit of the plant materials should be provided in the manuscript. Experiments involving human subjects must clearly include written consents of participants who may be patients or volunteers or both. If the participant is deceased or unable to provide informed consent, the participant’s next-of-kin, beneficiary or legal guardian should provide the required consent. Inclusion and Exclusion criteria for the choice of participants used in the study must also be clearly included in the manuscript. Authors should state if the procedures used in their study followed the ethical standards set forth by the Committee on Human experiments and with the 1975 Declaration of Helsinki (revised in 2008)

Manuscript Preparation Guidelines
Each manuscript to be submitted to the Journal of Biological Research and Biotechnology must be prepared and structured into the following sections:

• Title page
• Non-structured abstract
• Key-words
• Introduction
• Materials and Methods
• Results (results and discussion may be combined together)
• Discussion
• Conclusion
• Conflict of Interest
• Acknowledgements
• References

Structure and Presentation
The body of the manuscript should be written as concisely as possible, adhering to the world limit specified for the given manuscript category. Double-line spacing should be used throughout the manuscript, including in the references and figure legends.

The first page of the manuscript should set out:

• The title of the article (no more than 100 characters)
• The full names of all authors  and their ORCID numbers
• The affiliations of all authors. For each affiliation, include the name of the Department or Faculty (if any), the Institution, the City, the Province or State, and Country where the work was done. Link the authors to their designations using Superscript numbers ^{1,2,3, 4} and so on. Use section sign (§) to indicate the corresponding author.
• The names, e-mail addresses and official addresses/affiliations of three potential reviewers who in the authors’ opinion, could expertly review the paper. However, the Editors reserve the right to choose or not to choose any of the suggested reviewers. The reviewers suggested or nominated by the authors should not have published any article with any of the co-authors during the past five years, and should not at present work or collaborate with any of the co-authors of the submitted manuscript.
• The full name and e-mail address of the lead/corresponding author.

All portions of manuscripts submitted to the Journal of Biological Research and Biotechnology must be typed in double-line spacing with all pages numbered.

The Title of the paper:

This should be as brief as possible, describing the contents of the article. The ‘title page’ must include the authors’ full names and affiliations. The name of the corresponding author and e-mail address should be stated. Present addresses of authors where applicable should appear as footnote.

The abstract:

This should contain a detailed, easy-to-understand and informative summary of the paper. It should not be structured but should essentially include key aspects of the study background, Materials and Methods, Results and Conclusion. The entire Abstract should not be more than 300 words in length.

Key-words:

This should immediately follow the abstract and contain about 4-7 key-words that will provide indexing references for the paper.

Abbreviations:

Non-standard abbreviation should be explained the first time it is used in the text. Only the recommended SI Units should be used.

Introduction:

This should provide a clear statement of the research problem, the relevant background/literature on the study subject (especially new findings), and the proposed approach for solution. It should be understandable to researchers working in the same or related area of study.

Materials and Methods

This section must be clear and detailed enough to permit the repeat of experiments described in the study by other researchers in the same or related area. Only new procedures should be described in detail; while previously-published methodologies should only be cited and referenced. Important modifications of published procedure should be mentioned only briefly. The name of Manufacturers, city of make and country of make should be stated for key materials used in the study to allow for easy reference.

Results:

Results should be presented with clarity and precision and described in past tense when describing findings in the authors’ experiments. The findings should be precisely explained to allow easy understanding. Duplication of data (for example, in both Table and Figure is not necessary).

Discussion:

The discussion should interpret the findings in the context of the findings obtained in the experiments and in the previous studies on the subject.

Conclusion:

This is a brief summary of the key findings of the study in a few sentences. It should be presented after discussion.

Conflict of Interest

This bears statements on whether or not there is/are conflicts of interest within the authors and outsiders, and statements on competing interests if applicable.

Acknowledgements 

This section contains the names of people who have contributed in one way or the other to the successful completion of the manuscript, funds and grant providers, and so on. This should be as brief as possible. The journal takes no responsibility for any name listed on the acknowledgement

Figures and Tables 

This section should be simple and kept to a minimum. Tables should be typed single-spaced throughout, including headings and footnotes. Each Table should be numbered consecutively in Arabic numerals and supplied with a heading and a key/legend. Tables should be self-explanatory without reference to the text. Figure legends should be typed single-spaced in numerical order. Graphics should be prepared using applications capable of generating high resolution (GIF, TIFF, JPEG or PowerPoint) before transferring them in the Microsoft Word manuscript file. Tables should be prepared in Microsoft Word. Use Arabic numerals to designate figures and uppercase letters for their parts (e.g., Figure 1). Begin each legend with a title and include sufficient description so that the figure is understandable without reading the text of the manuscript. Information given in legends should not be repeated in the text. Insert Figures and Tables in the appropriate places of the manuscript or designate the right location and list all the figures and Tables at the end of the manuscript, whichever works better for the author.

References
A reference identified by means of an author’s name should be followed by the date (year) of the reference in parenthesis in the text. When there are more than two authors, only the first author’s name should be mentioned, followed by ‘et al’. If by any chance, an author cited has had two or more works published during the same year, the reference, both in the text and in the reference list, should be identified by a lower case letter like, ‘a’ and ‘b’ after the date, to distinguish the works. Examples: Nweze (2019), Okafor et al. (2015), (Afolabi, 2016), (Patterson, 2020), (Abubakar, 2018; Awoniyi, 2011a,b), (Shagari, 2010, 2017), (Izuogu et al., 2019). References should be listed at the end of the manuscript in alphabetical order. Full journal names must be used for all journals listed in the references section. Articles in preparation or articles submitted for publication, unpublished observations, personal communications, etc., should not be included in the references list, but should only be mentioned in the article text (e.g., Eze A, University of Nigeria, Nsukka Nigeria - personal communication). Authors are fully responsible for the accuracy of their references.

• Nweze, E.I. and Eke, I.E. (2018). Dermatophytes and dermatophytosis in eastern and southern parts of Africa. Medical Mycology.56(1):13-28. doi: 10.1093/mmy/myx025.
• Axcell , B., Kruger, L. and Allen, G. (1988). Some investigative studies with yeast foods. In: Proceedings of the 20th Convention of The Institute of Brewing(Australia and New Zealand Section). Institute of brewing, Sydney, Australia, pp 201-209.
• Ononogbu, I. C. and Echeta, N. B. C. (1987a). Haemoglobin glycosylation and erythrocyte-free fatty acid concentration in garri-fed rats. Nutrition Research. 7: 883-886.
• Ononogbu, I. C. and Echeta, N. B. C. (1987b). Haemoglobin glycosylation and erythrocyte-free fatty acid concentration in ogi-fed rats. Nutrition Research 7: 887-889.

Authorship
Authors submitting papers to the Journal of Biological Research and Biotechnology should carefully consider the list and order of authors before submitting. Therefore, any addition, deletion or rearrangement of authors’ names in the authorship list should be made only before the manuscript has been accepted, and only if approved by the Editor-in-Chief. A request for a change of author can only be made when the following conditions are met: (a) the reason for the change in author list, and (b) written and signed confirmation (e-mail, letter) from all authors that they agree with the addition, removal or rearrangement. In the case of addition or removal of authors, this should include confirmation from the author being added or removed. The Editor-in-Chief can only consider the addition, deletion or rearrangement of authors after the manuscript has been accepted in rare but satisfactory circumstances. During this period, publication of the manuscript will be suspended. If the article has already been published online, request/s approved by the Editor-in-Chief will result in a corrigendum.

Electronic Submission
Email or online (direct uploading of papers) submission are the only ways of submitting manuscripts. You may do so by registering as an author and following the uploading instructions step-by-step at: https://bioresearch.com.ng/bio/myaccount/ by clicking on “submit article link on the journal's url link provided above. An acknowledgement containing the manuscript number will be mailed to the corresponding author same day or within three days. The cover letter should include the corresponding author's e-mail address and should be in an e-mail message sent to the Editor, with the file.

Manuscripts Submission Steps
logging in/creating an author account, uploading and submitting the manuscript and supplementary files or emailing the paper directly to the Editor-in-Chief using the email address provided on the website (emeka.nweze@unn.edu.ng)

Decision on submitted mansucript
The corresponding author will be informed by e-mail once the decision is made regarding their article. Further actions (if required), will be stated in the e-mail.

Revisions
When revision of a manuscript is requested, it is important that the authors carefully follow the instructions given in the Editor’s e-mail, which includes reviewers’ comments point-by-point. Authors are encouraged to use colour indications to indicate changes to the paper. This will make for easy reference and facilitate processing

Uploading a revised Article
Authors must log into the journal website and then use the same process used during the initial submission of the paper via the author profile.

Galley Proof
Prior to publication of manuscripts, authors must proof-read their articles for correctness. It is the author’s responsibility to complete the proof-reading within 7 days of receipt of the proof.

Copyright Assignment form
Any author submitting manuscripts to the Journal of Biological Research and Biotechnology do so with the understanding that if the manuscript is accepted for publication in the journal, the copyright of such articles, including the right to produce the articles (in part or whole) in all forms and media, shall be assigned exclusively to the author/s. Authors also retain full publishing rights without restrictions. Copyright forms will be sent to the corresponding author, who will sign it on behalf of other authors on the paper. The form must be printed out, signed and a scanned copy sent to the editorial office via email

Copyright License Type
The journal of Biological Research and Biotechnology operates under the CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 license. Under this licence, readers can share, redistribute and reuse the article without permission as long as it is not done for commercial purposes and as long as the article is not changed. Those wanting to make derivatives or use content commercially can contact us to discuss your needs. When sharing or reusing any article, attribution must be given to the original source. 

Supplementary/Special Issues
Accepted peer-reviewed conference proceedings may be published as Supplementary/Special Issues in the journal. Such accepted conference proceedings should be sent to the Editor-in-Chief of the journal for consideration for publication in the Journal. The Editor may also request experts to submit articles in some special areas of interest to be reviewed and published as special issues in the journal.

Book reviews/ Conference Announcements and News
Books for review and conference announcements and news should both be sent to the Editor-in-Chief.

Proofs and Reprints
Electronic proofs will be sent via e-mail to the senior/corresponding author as a PDF file. Page proofs are considered to be the final version of the manuscript. With the exception of typographical or minor clerical errors, no major changes will be made in the manuscript at the proof stage. Once published freely online, authors will have free electronic access to the full text (in both HTML and PDF) of the article. Authors can freely download the PDF file from which they can print unlimited copies of their articles. The Editor will usually send the published copy of the paper to the corresponding author.

Subscription for Print Issues 
The Journal of Biological Research and Biotechnology is an online open access journal. The journal does not publish printed copies.

Permission from copyright owners/Plagiarism
Permission from the copyright owner(s) of reproduced Tables, Figures and Illustrations must be obtained, and a copy of the permission letter submitted to the Journal of Biological Research and Biotechnology. The source must be clearly acknowledged under the Table, Figure, or the Illustration. The use of copied text, photographs, tables or graphics from any source as one’s own is considered plagiarism, especially when a reference to the copied portion is not given.

Privacy Statement
The names and e-mail addresses entered in this journal site shall be used exclusively for the stated purposes of this journal and will not be made available for any other purpose or to any other party.

Withdrawal Policy
Once a manuscript has been accepted for publication in the journal, withdrawal is not permitted. Morever, if the withdrawal is eventually granted, the authors must pay the submission and processing fees, and submit to the Editorial Office, a document signed by all authors. Withdrawal of a published article is not an option, although such an article can be retracted for fraudulent reason/s.