American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians

Journal of Veterinary Diagnostic Investigation

Instructions to Authors

Click here for a PDF version of these instructions.

1. Scope and editorial policy

The Journal of Veterinary Diagnostic Investigation (J Vet Diagn Invest), an international journal published bimonthly in English, is devoted to all aspects of veterinary diagnostic science. The major disciplines are anatomical pathology, bacteriology/mycology, clinical pathology, epidemiology, immunology, laboratory information management, molecular biology, parasitology, public health, toxicology, and virology.

The Journal accepts original manuscripts for review with the understanding that the same material or a substantial part thereof is not at present being considered for publication and has not been published elsewhere by another publisher. The corresponding author should secure the approval of all authors and the institution(s) where the work was carried out. A statement to the Editor confirming that such approval has been received should be included in the submission cover letter. Manuscripts will be reviewed by 2 or more persons selected by the Editors.

Upon acceptance for publication, authors will receive a Copyright Transfer Form to transfer copyright to the publisher. All articles published in the Journal of Veterinary Diagnostic Investigation are protected by copyright that covers the translation rights as well as the exclusive rights of the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians to reproduce and distribute the articles. The Journal will not publish any manuscript in which the Copyright Transfer Agreement has not been signed and returned to the Editorial office. Also upon acceptance for publication, authors will receive a Color Figure Agreement. If your article contains color figures, you are required to fill out, sign, and return this form to verify that you are aware of the additional charges involved in publishing color figures (as of 2008, $775 per page). Black/white figures do not incur any additional charges

2. Manuscript preparation

2.1. General format and style

2.1.1. Layout and media. Three manuscript formats are currently accepted for review: Review Articles, Full Scientific Reports, and Brief Communications. Review Articles are strongly encouraged provided they cover subjects of current and broad interest to veterinary laboratory diagnosticians. Authors interested in submitting a review article should contact the Editor-in-Chief (editor@jvdi.org) regarding the proposed title and scope of review prior to consideration by the Journal.

ü Your main document should in .DOC or .RTF format.

ü Main document should include your tables but must not include embedded figures regardless of whether they are photos or line art drawings.

ü Pages should be numbered at the bottom center.

ü Text lines must be numbered from beginning to end; each page should begin with line #1.

ü Manuscript should be double-spaced throughout, using Times New Roman, and font size should be 12 pt.

ü Figures (photographs, graphs, and other line art drawings) should be in .JPEG or .TIFF format only.

ü Line art should be submitted at a minimum of 1200 pixels/inch (480 p/cm). Half tones (photographs) should be submitted at a minimum of 300 pixels/inch (120 p/cm).

ü All parts of the manuscript should be submitted electronically via Manuscript Central™ at http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/jvdi.

2.1.2. Style. The American form of English should be used, and manuscripts should be written in a style following the current standards for scientific publications. The Editors will return manuscripts that do not meet a minimum standard for written English for revision prior to review. The use of personal pronouns (I, my, our, we, us) should be avoided in the text. Only metric units of measurement are acceptable. All abbreviations may be used after first mention with complete spelling. Arabic numerals should be used except when a number begins a sentence, in which case it should be spelled out in full.

2.2. Detailed layout

2.2.1. Title page. The title page should include the full title of the paper, the authors’ full names (example: John D. Doe), the name and location of each author’s institution(s), the name, mailing address, and e-mail of the corresponding author to whom galley proofs are to be sent, and a short running title (Review Articles and Full Scientific Reports only) not to exceed 60 characters (including spaces). The title should be concise, must not include any abbreviations, and should fully reflect the content of the manuscript.

2.2.2. Abstract. The abstract should be the second page of the manuscript following the title page. The abstract should limited to 250 words or fewer. It should be concise, factual, and be able to stand alone without reference to the text. Abbreviations and reference citations should not be used in the abstract.

2.2.3. Key words. For online search purposes, provide an alphabetical list of key words or phrases not to exceed 80 characters (including spaces). Key words should appear directly below, and on the same page as, the abstract. Abbreviations should be spelled out.

2.2.4. Body of manuscript.

· Review Articles should contain: Title page; Abstract and Key words; Introduction; section headings; Acknowledgements (if any); Sources and manufacturers (if any); References; Tables (if any); Figure legends (if any). Review articles should have appropriate section headings and subheadings chosen by the author.

· Full Scientific Reports should contain the following sequential sections: Title page; Abstract and Key words; Introduction; Materials and methods; Results; Discussion; Acknowledgements (if any); Sources and manufacturers (if any); References; Tables (if any); Figure legends (if any). Introduction and Discussion should not contain any subheads.

· Brief Communications should contain: Title page; Abstract and Key words; body of manuscript (no section or subheadings); Acknowledgements (if any); Sources and manufacturers (if any); References; Tables (if any); Figure legends (if any). Brief communications should be limited to approximately 12 double-spaced typed pages, including illustrations, tables, and references.

2.2.5. Sources and manufacturers. Trade names for commercial test kits, equipment, chemicals, etc., should not be included in the text but should be listed in full with the appropriate text citation in the Sources and Manufacturers section. Generic names of drugs should be used in the text. In the text, sources should be designated by superscript lowercase letters in sequential order. Under the Sources and Manufacturers heading, sources (including manufacturer’s name, city, state, and country if other than the U.S.) should be cited in a lettered list to correspond to superscript letters in the text.

2.2.6. References. In the text, references should be identified numerically with superscript numbers. Names of authors should not be used in the text.

Examples:

Recent studies^1,3,5-7have shown….

Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was performed as previously described.^6-8,9,10

In the Reference list, references must be listed alphabetically and numbered consecutively. List all authors when there are 4 or fewer; when there are 5 or more authors, list the first 3 and add “et al.” Volume numbers only should be used for journals, unless each journal issue begins with page 1, in which case the issue number should appear in parentheses after the volume number. Journal names should be abbreviated per NCBI (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?db=journals).

Examples:

1. Bowen RA: 1987, Serologic responses of calves to sequential infections with epizootic hemorrhagic disease virus. Am J Vet Res 48:1449–1452.

2. Gustafson DP: 1986, Pseudorabies. In: Diseases of swine, ed. Dunn HW, 5th ed., pp. 274–289. Iowa State University Press, Ames, IA.

3. Saliki JT, Libeau G, House JA, et al.: 1993, Monoclonal antibody-based blocking ELISA for specific detection and titration of peste-des-petits ruminants virus antibody in caprine and ovine sera. J Clin Microbiol 31:1075–1082.

For references in a language other than English, provide an English translation of the title in brackets following the foreign language title. Add the language in which the article appears at the end of the reference (e.g., In German.). If the article has an abstract that is available in English, please state this instead (e.g., Abstract in English.). For example:

1. Eicken K, Frey H-R, Grummer B, et al.: 2004, Epidemiologische Langzeituntersuchungen und Überwachungsmaßnahmen zur Bekämpfung von BVD-Virusinfektionen in einem nordwestdeutschen Rinderzuchtbetrieb.- Ein Fallbericht [Epidemiological long-term investigations and monitoring for the control of BVD virus infections in a northwestern German cattle holding]. Der Praktische Tierarzt 85:350–355. In German.

Authors are responsible for the accuracy of all references. Only published material or accepted manuscripts should be listed in references. Personal communications, unpublished observations, abstract-only citations, meeting proceedings, and citations from other non-refereed publications are not acceptable references; they must be cited in the text within parentheses. In general, meeting proceedings and citations from other non-refereed publications should be avoided.

2.2.7. Tables. Tables should appear on separate pages after the References. The table title should appear directly above the table. Tables must be numbered consecutively with Arabic numerals. All nonstandard abbreviations must be spelled out using table footnotes. References to footnotes should be indicated by the following sequential symbols (*, †, ‡, §, ¦, #, ¶, **).

2.2.8. Figure legends. Legends must be typed double-spaced on a separate page following the tables. Avoid unnecessary repetition of information already provided in the body of the manuscript. Identify histological stains, and indicate the magnification on electron micrographs with a bar and explain in legend.

2.3. Figures

Figures must be cited consecutively in the text and numbered with Arabic numerals (Fig. 1, Fig. 2, etc.). Simple illustrations should be designed for one column. Complicated illustrations should be designed to reproduce in two columns.

· 1-column width is 20 picas or 3.320 inches.

· 2-column width is 41 picas or 6.807 inches.

Authors are responsible for paying the cost of publishing color photographs/illustrations at the rate of $775.00 per page. Black/white images do not incur any additional cost.

Figures must not be embedded in the text document. Acceptable formats are .JPEG and .TIFF. The minimum acceptable resolution is 300 pixels/inch (120 pixels/cm) for half tones (i.e., photographs) and 1,200 pixels/inch (480 pixels/cm) for line art (i.e., graphs and other line drawings). Multiple figure panels should be grouped into a composite figure, with the individual components clearly identified (e.g., A, B, C). Figures should be saved as separate files with the figure number (Fig. 1, Fig. 2, etc.) as the file name (figure numbers and/or titles should not appear as part of the image). For more information on preparing your figures for publication, please visit the following link: http://www2.allenpress.com/allen_press/apguides/Digital_Art_Spec.pdf.

3. Page charges and galleys

There is a manuscript-processing fee of $75 for each printed page published in the Journal of Veterinary Diagnostic Investigation. Color figures incur an additional charge of $775 per page. In addition to the Copyright Transfer Agreement, if you are submitting color figures, a Color Figure Agreement must be signed and returned to the Editorial office to verify that you are aware of the additional charges. The Agreement is sent out with all decision letters. If you are unable or unwilling to pay the extra color page charge, you must resubmit all color materials in black and white.

The Corresponding Author will receive galley proofs by e-mail from the Editorial Assistant (editorial@jvdi.org) about 8–10 weeks before the first day of the scheduled publication month. It is important for the Corresponding Author to notify the Editorial Assistant of any change in e-mail address between acceptance and publication of the manuscript. At the time galleys are sent, an invoice for page charges will also be attached and payment is expected WITHIN 30 DAYS.

4. Reprints

The Editorial office of JVDI does not handle reprints. Reprint requests must be made directly to the printer (Allen Press) using the form supplied with the galleys.

4. New manuscript submission

All manuscripts must be submitted online at: http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/jvdi using the following online submission instructions. If you have trouble submitting a manuscript, please contact Manuscript Central customer support at 434-817-2040, ext. 167. Alternatively, consult the Manuscript Central online guide (http://mcv3help.manuscriptcentral.com/stalkjddfesd/MC3Help.htm), which provides detailed submission instructions. If you need any other information about manuscript preparation and submission, contact the Editorial Assistant (editorial@jvdi.org).

4.1. Preparing to submit

1. Name your files using simple file names and avoid special characters and spaces. If you are a Mac user, you must also type the three-letter extension at the end of the file name (e.g., .doc, .rtf, .jpg, .tif).

2. Manuscript Central supports the following browsers:

· Internet Explorer 6.0 or higher for Windows XP

· Firefox 2.0 or Safari 1.2.4 for Mac.

4.2. Submission process

1. Go to the Manuscript Central home page at: http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/jvdi

2. If you have previously submitted or reviewed a manuscript using Manuscript Central, use your User ID and Password to log in.

3. If you have forgotten your User ID and Password, enter your e-mail address to receive an e-mail with your account information.

4. If you are not registered, click on the “Create Account” tab in the upper right-hand corner of the home page and follow the on-screen instructions.

5. If you have trouble submitting your manuscript, please contact Manuscript Central customer support at 434-817-2040, ext. 167, or the Editorial Assistant at editorial@jvdi.org; 706-542-4193.

6. Click on the Author Center, find the button and click to submit a new manuscript, then follow the on-screen instructions. It is useful to have the original text file open so that you can copy and paste into the required fields. You will also be required to provide e-mail addresses for up to 5 of your co-authors. Please note: the system only allows up to 5 accounts per manuscript. While Manuscript Central only allows you to list 5 authors, this does not have any bearing on the number of authors you may list on your title page. The system will create accounts for the co-authors you list, thereby allowing them to log in and check the manuscript status.

7. If at any step you need to stop the submission process, click on the “Main Menu” link. Everything you have typed into the system will be saved, and the partially completed submission will appear under “Unsubmitted Manuscripts” in your “Author Center.” To return to the submission process you will need to click on the “Continue Submission” button next to the relevant manuscript title.

8. File upload:

· Enter individual files using the Browse button.

· Select the appropriate File Designation type (e.g., Main Document, Figure) from the pull-down menu. Choose Main Document for your manuscript text file. Choose Figure for all illustrations; a confirmation window will appear and you will be prompted to provide a File Tag and a Figure legend for each figure. The File Tag should be Figure 1, Figure 2, etc. Cut and paste the figure legend from your text file. If you do not want a document to be included as part of the consolidated PDF used for peer review, please designate it as a Supplementary File.

· Upload your files by clicking on Upload Files. This may take several minutes. Repeat these steps until you have uploaded all your files.

· Once you have uploaded all files, indicate the Order in which they should appear in your paper using the drop-down menu to the left of the file names. Then click Save.

· Click on PDF to view your files in PDF format. This PDF will be used for peer review.

· If the files have not uploaded to your satisfaction, click Save and Go Back to return to the file upload screen where you can remove or redo the order of the files, and repeat the upload process.

9. When you are satisfied with the PDF, click Save and Continue. Manuscript Central will check that you have completed all the mandatory fields and that you have viewed the PDF. It will also present you with a summary of all the information you have provided and give you a final chance to edit it. When you have finished reviewing this information click Submit.

10. After the manuscript has been submitted you will see a confirmation screen and receive an e-mail confirmation stating that your manuscript has been successfully submitted. This email will include the assigned manuscript number that will be used in all correspondence. If you do not see a confirmation screen and/or receive a confirmation e-mail, your manuscript has not been successfully submitted to the journal and cannot progress to peer review. If this is the case, your manuscript will appear in the “Unsubmitted Manuscripts” section of your “Author Center” awaiting your attention. Please contact Manuscript Central’s customer support (434-817-2040, ext. 167) or the Editorial Assistant if you encounter problems submitting your manuscript.

11. If you return to the Author Center, click on Submitted Manuscripts to the left of your screen. Find your manuscript title, and locate the Status section. This provides information on your manuscript as it moves through the review process.

5. Revised manuscript submission

1. Go to the Manuscript Central home page at: http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/jvdi

2. Use your User ID and Password to log in.

3. Click on Author Center, then Manuscripts with Decisions.

4. Locate the manuscript you wish to revise and click Create a Revision.

5. Respond to the comments made by the Editor and/or Reviewers. IMPORTANT: All corrections/changes must be made on the file provided in the decision letter.

6. Follow the submission process, providing information when prompted.

7. If at any step you need to stop the revised submission process, click on the “Main Menu” link. Everything you have typed into the system will be saved. When you interrupt the revision submission process, your manuscript moves into the “Revised Manuscripts in Draft” in your “Author Center.” Click on the link to restart your revision process.

8. Please note that all files from your new manuscript submission process are retained by Manuscript Central. Therefore, when uploading your revised files, you must first delete your original files and replace them with revised versions.

9. After your revision has been submitted you will see a confirmation screen and receive an e-mail confirmation stating that your manuscript has been successfully revised. This email will include an appended manuscript number (.R1, .R2) that will be used in all correspondence.

6. Help

If you experience any problems during the online submission process, please consult the Manuscript Central online guide (http://mcv3help.manuscriptcentral.com/stalkjddfesd/MC3Help.htm), which provides detailed submission instructions. Alternatively, contact Manuscript Central customer support at 434-817-2040, ext. 167, or contact the Editorial Assistant at editorial@jvdi.org.