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European Journal of Human Genetics

Instructions for authors

The European Journal of Human Genetics is the Journal of the European Society of Human Genetics.

Editorial Policy
The European Journal of Human Genetics publishes original research papers, review articles, short reports, scientific correspondence and announcements.

Preparation of Manuscripts
Authors are urged to write as concisely as possible. Three copies should be submitted, typed on one side of the paper in double line spacing with a margin of at least 3cm all round. (Names and addresses of four experts in the appropriate area of research should accompany each manuscript).

Short reports:
These manuscripts should not exceed 3 printed pages (ie 6 double-spaced pages or approximately 1500 words), including an abstract, essential references and not more than 3 tables or figures. Such communications should represent complete, original studies and should be arranged in the same way as full length manuscripts.

All manuscripts are subject to editorial review. Submission of an article for publication implies the transfer of the copyright from the author to the publisher upon acceptance. Accepted papers become the permanent property of the European Society of Human Genetics and may not be reproduced by any means, in whole or in part, without the written consent of the publisher. It is the author's responsibility to obtain permission to reproduce illustrations, tables etc from other publications.

Arrangement

1. Title page This should bear the title of the paper, the full names of the authors and the composition of consortia if applicable and their affiliations together with the name, full postal address, telephone, fax and e-mail address of the author to whom correspondence and reprint requests are to be sent. There should be a running title of not more than 50 letters and spaces.
2. Abstract This should not exceed 250 words and should be provided on a separate sheet.
3. Keywords For indexing purposes, a list of 3-10 keywords is essential.
4. Introduction This should assume that the reader is knowledgeable in the field and should therefore be as brief as possible.
5. Materials and methods Methods that have been published in detail elsewhere should not be described in detail. Any equipment mentioned should specify the manufacturer and their location.
6. Results These should be presented succinctly in the same order as the experiments are described in materials and methods. Tables and especially graphics are encouraged for quantitative information.
7. Discussion Do not recapitulate the results, but discuss their significance against the background of existing knowledge, and identify clearly those aspects that are novel. The final paragraph should highlight the main conclusion(s), and provide some indication of the direction future research should take.
8. Acknowledgements These should be brief and should indicate any potential conflicts of interest.
9. References Only papers closely related to the author's work should be quoted. Exhaustive lists should be avoided. References should appear as superscript numbers starting at 1. At the end of the paper they should be listed (double-spaced) in numerical order corresponding to the order of citation in the text. If there are 6 or fewer authors list them all: if there are 7 or more list the first 3 followed by et al. Abbreviations for titles of medical periodicals should conform to those used in the latest edition of Index Medicus. The first and last page numbers for each reference should be provided. Abstracts and letters must be identified as such. Papers in press may be included in the list of references. Papers submitted for publication and papers presented at meetings should not be included as references; nor should abstracts of papers presented at meetings not in the public domain. These should be cited as a personal communication in the text.

   Examples of references
   
   Journal article:
   

   1       Brown CJ, Ballabio A, Rupert JL et al. A gene from the region of the human X inactivation centre is expressed exclusively from the inactive X chromosome. Nature 1991; 349: 38-44.

   Monographs:
   

   2       Heim S, Mitelman F. Cancer Cytogenetics. New York, Liss, 1987.

   Edited books:
   

   3       Goddard AD, Solomon S. Genetic aspects of cancer; in Harris H, Hirschhorn K (eds): Advances in Human Genetics. New York, 1993, vol 21, pp 321-376.

10. Tables Each table should be numbered consecutively with an Arabic numeral. Each should have a separate caption or title. Methods not described in the text and abbreviations should be explained at the foot of the Table. Tables should be referred to specifically in the text of the paper.
11. Figures Figures should be numbered in numerical order with Arabic numerals. Each figure should have a title and a detailed legend, as appropriate, listed consecutively on a separate sheet of paper titled "Titles and legends to figures". Figures should be referred to specifically in the text of the paper. Figures, including photographs, line drawings or graphs, should be submitted as glossy prints about 1.5 times final size. Figures drawn by computer graphics are acceptable for publication provided the print-out is adequate. The use of "three-dimensional" histograms is strongly discouraged when the addition of the third dimension gives no extra information.

    Colour photographs can be reproduced if necessary but the authors will be expected to contribute towards the cost of publication.

    Correspondence
    Letters to the Editor are encouraged. They may deal with material in published papers or they may raise new issues. In the former case the Editor may send the letter first to the authors of the original paper so that their comments may be published at the same time as the letter.

    On acceptance
    To expedite publication and accuracy, authors will be requested to submit their final, revised manuscript on disk. The disk should contain the paper saved in its original application (eg WordPerfect or Microsoft Word), also as RTF (rich text format) if available, and as ASCII (plain) text. The disk should be clearly labelled with name, paper title, file names and the application used. Whether or not a disk is submitted, two printed copies (one original and one photocopy) of the paper are also required.

    Any illustrations that have been prepared on a computer may be submitted in electronic form, but to ensure optimum quality please follow these guidelines and submit the material as:

    • Macintosh files prepared to the correct size (max width 80mm single column or up to 160 mm double column) in Adobe Photoshop and supplied as a TIFF file.
    • Other formats which can be accepted are open files (not EPS's), of Adobe Illustrator or Macromedia Freehand.
    • IBM/PC TIFF (files in graphic format only NOT document).
    • Minimum resolution for scanned graphics to be 300 dpi for tone work and 600 dpi for line work. If any figures have to be produced in colour, save as CMYK and NOT RGB.
    • If the artwork has been created to the correct size the labelling placed around the illustration should be 8pt Univers. If an illustration has been created to a larger size than that stated, the labelling should be set to the correct percentage for reduction at page make-up.
    • Preferred media for delivery: CD-Rom, Optical 600 mb or 1.3 gb (5.25"), Syquest 88 mb or 230 mb (5.25"), Macintosh and PC 3.5" floppy disks (up to 1.44 mb or 5.25" (up to 1.2 mb).

    Editorial Office
    Manuscripts or other editorial correspondence should be sent to:

    European Journal of Human Genetics
    Professor Gert-Jan B van Ommen
    Editor-in-Chief
    Department of Human Genetics
    Leiden University Medical Centre
    PO Box 9503
    Wassenaarsweg 72
    2300 RA Leiden
    THE NETHERLANDS
    Tel: +31 71 527 6315
    Fax: +31 71 527 6075
    Email: ejhg@ruly46.medfac.leidenuniv.nl
    

    Proofs
    A copy of the proofs will be sent to the principal author who should read them carefully for errors. The corrected copy must be returned to the Publisher as soon as possible. Major alterations to the text cannot be accepted at this stage.

    Offprints
    Twenty-five offprints will be supplied free of charge to the principal author. Additional offprints may be ordered on the form accompanying the proofs. The charges are necessarily higher if orders for reprints are received after the issue has gone to press.

    Business matters
    

    Business correspondence and enquiries relating to advertising, subscriptions, backnumbers or reprints should be addressed to the relevant person at Nature Publishing Group, Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS, UK.

    

    Last Updated 4 January 2001