The following are suggestions for authors to keep in mind when writing or submitting manuscripts to the Journal of Genetic Genealogy.
Manuscripts should be in Microsoft Word format with pages numbered consecutively, starting with the title page.
Write in English, using standard language that is free of colloquial words or phrases. Informal “shortening” of terms is discouraged. Spelling may follow British or American English conventions. Define all abbreviations (except very common ones; examples are listed under “Other Suggestions” below and if in doubt, ask the editor) the first time they are used in the text and again in each table and figure.
JoGG addresses an international audience. Religio- or ethno-centric terminology should be avoided except where necessary to describe populations under study. We recognize that the largest percentage of testers and genetic information available to the genetic genealogy community today are from North America and other UK-diaspora countries but authors should not allow this to unduly bias their work.
Articles must be factual although may certainly include the author’s opinions as long as they do not denigrate or misrepresent any person, company, country, ethnicity or cultural group, or speculate on the actions or motivations of others outside of the author’s direct knowledge.
The JoGG is a public forum and authors must ensure compliance with the terms of service of testing and analysis companies and obtain the approval of group members as necessary. Articles however must not under any circumstances include private or personal information for anyone besides the authors themselves.
Where ambiguity exists, dates should be specified as CE or BCE (“common era” or “before common era”), except when quoting, where the original source should be followed exactly. BCE follows the year (e.g., the year 175 BCE), while CE precedes it (e.g., the year CE 1492). Use metric units (except when quoting or where necessary to avoid confusion); quantities in other units may be included in parentheses.
Standard abbreviations that do not require definition include:
Other Suggestions:
Cover Letter The body of the email to which the manuscript is attached will serve as a cover letter. The first paragraph should state the title of the manuscript, the type of submission (e.g., Research Article), and the subject area (e.g., Y-STRs, Y-SNPs, mtDNA, autosomal DNA, etc.). The next paragraph should summarize the key points of the article and explain why it is suitable for publication in JoGG. The third paragraph should state who financed all or part of study and describe any conflicts of interest, such as business relationships with a genetic testing company. Finally, the cover letter must state that the article is not under consideration by any other journal and that all authors (if more than one) agree to the submission to JoGG. You may also request a specific editor and/or suggest appropriate peer reviewers (with their contact information) in the cover letter. All authors must be carbon copied on the email.
Title Page The first page of the manuscript file states the general subject area (see Cover Letter, above), title (150 characters or fewer; full names, affiliations, and postal addresses of all authors; and complete contact information (mailing address, email address, phone number) of the corresponding author. The Conflicts of Interest statement (see below) appears here, as well as in the body of the manuscript. Also provide a short title (10 words or fewer) to be used as a running head at the tops of pages and a list of 3–10 key words for indexing. The title page is the first numbered page.
Abstract The Abstract is a single paragraph (300 words or fewer; 150 words or fewer for Brief Communications) that conveys the study’s importance to the genetic genealogical community. It should include brief statements on purpose, methodology, subjects, findings and conclusions. Do not use citations or undefined abbreviations (with the exception of those listed below). The Abstract is generally written last, after the rest of the article has been drafted.
Body of the Manuscript Scientific Reports begin with an Introduction section that briefly describes the rationale for the study and summarizes previous work on the subject. The Methods must provide enough detail to enable a similarly trained colleague to repeat the study. Describe new methods in full, while citing protocols that have been previously published. The Results should describe all of the data or analytical results used as evidence for the study’s conclusions. The Methods and Results are written in the past tense. The Discussion should interpret the results to justify the major conclusions of the study. Those conclusions should be placed in the larger context of the field and should lead to suggestions for future work to advance genetic genealogy. The Discussion should also address any weaknesses in the study and how they might have affected the interpretation. The Results and Discussion may be combined into a single section. Subheadings are allowed in all sections but the Introduction.
Brief communications follow a similar organization but without headings and subheadings. Case Studies and Reviews should begin with an Introduction; subsequent sections are labeled at the discretion of the author(s).
Supplementary information list any supporting documents, such as data files, step-by-step methods, or links to software, here.
Acknowledgments Use this section to thank non-authors for their contributions to the project. Authors are responsible for ensuring that each person listed has agreed to have their name published. Funding sources and grant numbers, if applicable, are also listed here.
Conflicts of Interest Any financial or personal relationship that might be perceived to influence the presentation or interpretation of the results must be disclosed here and on the Title Page. Potential conflicts include, but are not limited to: employment, consulting fees, or business referrals; stock ownership; service on an advisory committee or board of directors; and close family relationships, such as a partner or parent/child.
Tables may be single- or double-spaced in a font size that is large enough to read easily. Tables are numbered in the order of appearance in the text with an Arabic numeral, followed by a brief title (15 words or less) in bold, e.g., Table 1. Sample sizes for each category. A more detailed description, in plain text, is optional. Provide units of measurement, and define all abbreviations in footnotes.
Figures are numbered with Arabic numerals in the order in which they appear in the manuscript. Each has a brief title (15 words or less) in bold, followed by a more detailed description, e.g., Figure 2. Phylogeny of Y chromosome haplogroups. If any part of a figure has been published elsewhere, permission to use it should be obtained from the original author and publisher.
Authors who wish to use a template supplied by the Journal of Genetic Genealogy may freely download these for their own use. These templates are provided in Microsoft Word format.
The preferred article style for the JoGG is a two-column academic study template which is appropriate for any article including Scientific Reports and Review Articles.
Authors with content that requires a one-column format may use this template.