Ethiopian Journal of Biological Sciences
Journal / Ethiopian Journal of Biological Sciences / Submissions

1. GENERAL
a) The Ethiopian Journal of Biological Sciences (Ethiop. J. Biol. Sci.) publishes scholarly standard (full length) articles in the various basic and applied biological disciplines.
b) It also publishes feature articles, short communications, review articles, book reviews and dissertation abstracts.

2. STYLE AND FORMAT
2.1 Title page
2.1.1 The following shall appear on the title page:
- A full title of the manuscript.
- The name/s of the author/s and address(es) including institution(s) in which the research was carried out, affiliation(s) of the author(s) referred to at the bottom of the page with the use of an asterisk if it is a single author or numerical superscripts if more than one. The author to whom all correspondence should be addressed should also be mentioned.
- An abstract not more than 250 words.
- Key words (up to five, and in alphabetical order) should be given next to the abstract in a separate line.

2.2 Nature of the manuscript
2.2.1 Manuscripts should be written in English.
2.2.2 Manuscripts should not exceed 30 pages, including the abstract.
2.2.3 Original manuscript plus three copies, printed double-spaced throughout and with wide margins (minimum 30 mm) on a good quality paper should be submitted.
2.2.4 Statement of authorship should be submitted with the manuscript. This should state that:
a) all the authors have agreed to its submission and are responsible for its contents. This statement should preferably be signed by all authors.
b) the paper, other than an abstract or an oral presentation, has not been or will not be submitted elsewhere.

2.3 Standard ('full-length') papers
2.3.1 Standard papers should be divided into the following sections: Abstract, Introduction (including objectives and literature survey), Materials and Methods, Results, Discussion, Acknowledgements and References. Repetition of content between sections must be avoided. A combined Results and Discussion section is permitted.
2.3.2 Citations and references
a) Each reference should have the following form in the text:
- Eastwood and McDonald (2001), or if more than two authors, Eastwood et al. (2001).
- Put dates of publication chronologically when references are large (Dobson and Charles, 1992; Flint, 1997; Abebe Belay et al., 2001).
- Ethiopian names should be in direct order, i.e., the full first name followed by the father's name; e.g. (Hailu Tolcha et al., 1990) and not Tolcha, H.
- Ethiopian Journal of Biological Sciences would be cited as Ethiop. J. Biol. Sci.
b) List of references should be alphabetical, and should have the form:
- Potrykus, I. (1980). Gene transfer to plants: assessments and perspectives. Physiol. Plant. 78: 125-134
- Hartmann, H.T. and Kester, D.E. (1975). Plant Propagation: Principles and Practices. Prentice-Hall, Inc., New Jersey.
To cite some pages in a publication prepared by one or more editors, an acceptable format is:
- Fraser, D.A.S. (1971). Events, information processing, and the structural model (with discussion). In: Foundations of Statistical Inference, pp. 32-35 (Godame, V.P. and Sprott, D.A., eds.). Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Toronto.
Do not use et al. in the reference list to indicate more than one or two authors.
Notations like ibid, loc. cit. etc. should be avoided.
2.3.3 Tables, figures and others
a) Tables should bear arabic numerals and be referred to in the text by their numbers. Each table must be typed on a separate sheet and should be placed at the end of the manuscript. The approximate position of each table should be indicated in the text. Footnotes in tables should be indicated by superscript letters beginning with 'a' in each table. Descriptive material not designated as a footnote may be placed under a table as a NOTE. Vertical lines should not be used to separate columns; instead extra space should be left between the columns.
b) All illustrations should be given separately, not stuck on pages and not folded. They should be numbered as figures in sequence with Arabic numerals. Each figure should have a descriptive legend and this should be given on a separate sheet after the manuscript. Clear, glossy black and white photographs (100 X 70 mm) can be submitted to the Journal; they should be clearly numbered on the back in pencil.
c) Only International System of Units (SI) are acceptable. Symbols and nomenclatures should conform to international recommendations with respect to specific fields of specialization.

3. OTHER COLUMNS
Review Articles
These are aimed at giving an overview of a particular subject suitable for a wider audience that includes recent advances in an area in which an author has been actively engaged.
Book Reviews
A critical evaluation of recently published books in any discipline of biological sciences will be published under this column.
Short Communications
Short communications must report completed work, not preliminary findings. They are an alternative format for describing smaller pieces of work. They should not be more than six pages and should not contain more than two figures, tables or combinations.
Feature Articles
These are articles that may cover a range of topics in basic and applied biology, biology education and contributions of basic and applied biology to society and development.

4. SUBMISSION OF MANUSCRIPT
The original and three copies typed with double spacing (unfolded) should be sent to: The Editor-in-Chief, Ethiopian Journal of Biological Sciences, PO Box 81176, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. A complete mailing and telephone or e-mail address of the corresponding author is also necessary.

PEER-REVIEW PROCESS:

It is the policy of the Ethiopian Journal of Biological Sciences (EJBS) to uphold the quality and standards of the journal by ensuring that all manuscripts pass through a rigorous review process by peer-reviewers.
Double-blind peer review
EJBS follows a double-blind peer review process and both the author and the reviewer are maintained anonymously. The identities of the reviewers are withheld from the reviewer’s comments that are sent to the authors.
Preliminary review
The Editor-in-Chief forwards new manuscripts to the appropriate Associate Editor with the relevant expertise. After submission of a new manuscript, the Associate Editor makes a preliminary review of the manuscript and decides whether it is publishable as is, publishable following resubmission or rejection.
Peer-review by reviewers
A manuscript is sent to at least three reviewers who have relevant expertise in the subject matter. Reviewers are requested to complete and submit the journal’s review report form including additional and detailed comments as they deem necessary once the manuscript is reviewed. The final decision whether to accept or reject the reviewer’s decision lies with the Associate Editor. Associate Editors can review manuscripts as reviewers in their area of specialization. All the comments of reviewers are sent to authors for revision of manuscripts. In the event that a reviewer recommends rejection while the other reviewers accept a manuscript, the reason(s) given for rejecting the manuscript is sent to authors in cases when the Associate Editor considers the comments constructive and useful in assisting authors to improve the manuscript.
Revision of manuscript
Following submission of revised manuscripts, the Associate Editor reviews the revised version to ensure that the authors have addressed the comments of reviewers. In the event that the Associate Editor is of the opinion that the revision has not adequately addressed the comments of reviewers, the manuscript is sent to authors for re-revision indicating the issues that require attention. In rare cases, the Associate Editor may decide to send the revised version to the reviewers for checking the manuscript.
Editing and proof reading
Articles that are accepted shall be formatted as per the in-house formatting style. All articlesshall be edited and proof read by the Editor-in-Chief and checked for adherence to EJBS guidelines and reference.