Author Guidelines

GUIDE FOR AUTHORS

This guide describes how to prepare manuscript for submission. We also recommend that, before submission, the authors should familiarize themselves with SJVS’s style and content by reading through this guide carefully.

Description and Scope

The Sahel Journal of Veterinary Sciences aims to provide a platform for the publication of high-quality research articles, short communications, case reports, and review articles encompassing all aspects of Veterinary Sciences and related disciplines. The journal welcomes original research that contributes to the advancement of knowledge in these areas. Both basic and applied research articles are encouraged, as well as short communications that provide concise findings or preliminary results. Additionally, the journal invites case reports that present interesting or unique clinical cases, and review articles that critically analyze and summarize the current state of knowledge in specific areas of veterinary sciences. The scope of the journal includes:

Animal Production:

Animal breeding and genetics
Animal nutrition and feeding
Livestock management and welfare
Reproductive biology and technology in animals
Animal behavior and welfare
Animal biotechnology and genomics
Animal husbandry practices and techniques

Veterinary Medicine Specialties:

Small animal medicine and surgery
Large animal medicine and surgery
Avian and exotic animal medicine
Veterinary pharmacology and therapeutics
Veterinary pathology and diagnostics
Veterinary anesthesia and pain management
Veterinary epidemiology and public health
Veterinary radiology and imaging
Veterinary clinical sciences
Comparative medicine and pathology
Veterinary immunology and infectious diseases
Veterinary oncology
Veterinary toxicology
Veterinary microbiology and virology
Veterinary parasitology
Veterinary public health and zoonoses
Veterinary education and research methodology

One Health-related Research:

Interactions between human, animal, and environmental health
Zoonotic diseases and their prevention and control
Emerging infectious diseases and their impact on animal and human populations
Environmental impacts on animal and human health
Epidemiological studies and surveillance programs related to One Health

Please note that the journal also welcomes interdisciplinary studies that bridge the gap between veterinary sciences and other related fields, fostering collaboration and knowledge exchange. Only original contributions written in clear and concise English would be considered for publication. The journal is published quarterly.

Policy Statement:

The editorial team of the Sahel Journal of Veterinary Sciences is committed to maintaining the highest standards of scientific integrity and peer review to ensure the publication of high-quality research that contributes to the advancement of Veterinary Sciences and related disciplines. By promoting the dissemination of research findings, the journal aims to contribute to the development of veterinary sciences and the improvement of animal health and welfare. Authors are encouraged to submit their original contributions and all submissions should adhere to the journal's guidelines and formatting requirements. Authors are urged to use the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) guidelines on good ‎‎publication practice for preparation of manuscripts to be submitted to this journal. Cruelty in ‎‎animal experimentation is not acceptable to the Editors of Sahel Journal of Veterinary Sciences.‎

PREPARATION OF MANUSCRIPT

Language

Please write your text in good English (American or British usage is accepted, but not a mixture of these).

Original Research

Review Article

A review article should not be more than 8,000 words. Review articles may be submitted upon a formal request for submission to the Editor In-Chief or by a known authority in the field.

Short Communication

Short Communication article should present preliminary findings of a concluded study based on a set objective. It should be limited to 1,500 words excluding the references. The format of presentation should be like a research article but the results and discussion sections should be combined.

Case Reports

A case report should be limited to 1,500 words and should have the following sub-sections; abstract, introduction, case presentation (case history; clinical examination; laboratory investigations and management), discussion and references which should not exceed a total of 15-20.

Letter to the Editor

Letters to the Editor offer opinions on papers published in SJVS. Letter to the Editor submissions must not exceed 500 words (main text only), with no more than 8 references. Original or unpublished data will not be considered. The correspondence and the reply cannot include more than 3 authors each. Letters are selected based on their relevance and originality. SJVS will not publish letters commenting on manuscripts for which letters have already been published. Your manuscript will be returned to you if it does not meet these criteria.

MANUSCRIPT STRUCTURE

Regular manuscripts should be typed in ‘standard’ font, 12-point Times New Roman, double-spaced with at least 2.5 cm margins all around and continuous line numbering., i.e. also for abstracts, footnotes and references. All pages are numbered starting from the title page. Our preferred format for text is Microsoft Word and if using Word 2007, please provide the manuscript in Compatibility Mode (i.e. as a Word 97-2003 document; saved as .doc, NOT .docx). There should be 2 separate document submissions.

The first document is the cover letter and should contain the following information as written on the website during submission process:

Title

Running title (not more than 60 characters)

Name(s) of author(s)

Complete postal address(es), emails and affiliations of authors

Tel no. and E-mail address of corresponding author

Note that the title should be the manuscript’s full title (it must be brief providing exact information of the contents), Authors’ names and initials, institutional affiliations (University/Institution, College, and Department/Unit) should be clearly stated, including full addresses and emails of all authors. The corresponding author should be identified with an asterisk against his/her name and email (Note the “Blind Peer Review Policy” of SJVS).

The second document is the article and other supporting documents if applicable. The main article should not contain any author information.

The types of articles accepted by Sahel Journal of Veterinary Sciences include:

Review Article

A review article should not be more than 8,000 words. Review articles may be submitted upon a formal request for submission to the Editor In-Chief or by a known authority in the field.

Original Research Articles

Original research articles are scholarly papers that present data and unique findings based on original research conducted by the authors. The articles should provide detailed accounts of new research findings and contributions to the field of knowledge. Original Research Articles should be organized in the following order:‎ Abstract, Keywords (indexing terms) normally 3-6 items‎, Introduction, Materials and Methods, Ethical Statement, Results, Tables, Figure captions, Discussion, Conclusions, Acknowledgements, Grants, Authors Contributions and References

Short Communication

Case Reports

Letter to the Editor

Sections

Abstract: Provide a concise and factual abstract of not more than 250 words. The abstract should state briefly the purpose of the research, the principal results and major conclusions. An abstract is often presented separately from the article, so it must be able to a stand alone. Complete sentences, active verbs, and the third person should be used, and the abstract should be written in the past tense. Standard nomenclature should be used and abbreviations should be avoided. References should be avoided, but if essential, then cite the author(s), year(s) and journal(s). Following the abstract, about 3 to 6 key words that will provide indexing references should be listed.

Introduction: This should state briefly and clearly the objectives of the investigation with reference to previous works. Extensive review of the literature should be avoided but insert references of recent publications where such reviews may be found. It should be understandable to colleagues from a broad range of scientific disciplines.

Material and Methods: These should be described in sufficient detail that the work can be reproduced. Procedures and techniques already published should be avoided; only cite the original source, with any new addition or variation briefly stated. Reports of experimental studies on humans and animals must certify that the research received prior approval by the appropriate institutional review body (Committee of Bioethics).The methods of data analysis should be described.

Ethical Statement: The ethical statement should highlight the global ethical principles for animal use and ethics. Institutional ethical approval references should be provided here.

Results: Results must be presented concisely and in logical order. It should be written in the past tense when describing findings in the authors' experiments. Figures or tables should be used to present data rather than inserting data in text. When appropriate give the range, standard deviation and indicate the significances of differences between numerical values obtained.

Discussion: Discussion should interpret the results and assess their significance in relation to previous work in the field. Speculation not warranted by actual data should be avoided.

Conclusions: These must be drawn from the text and restricted to the limits of data obtained.

Acknowledgement: These should be typed in a special paragraph under separate heading preceding the section of references. Acknowledge assistance of any colleagues or support staff in the preparation of article. They should be kept to a minimum consistent with the requirements of courtesy and disclosure.

Conflict of Interest: Conflict of interest (if any) should be stated here.

Grants: Provide the funding for the project stating the granting institution and grant number.

Author Contribution: Author contributions should be stated in accordance with the ICJME authorship criteria.

References:

The Harvard style of referencing should be used as exemplified below. In the text, a reference identified by means of an author’s name should be followed by the date of the reference in parentheses. When there are more than two authors, only the first author’s name should be mentioned followed by “et al”. In the event that 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:

Bukar (2003), Paul et al. (2003), (Baba, 1993), (Ambali and James, 1992), (Mohammed, 1998; David, 1987a,b; Dahiru, 1993,1995), (Abdul et al., 2001). Only articles that have been published (or in press with evidence) should be in the list of references. References should be arranged alphabetically and further sorted chronologically if necessary. Articles in preparation or articles submitted for publication, unpublished observations, personal communications, etc. should not be included in the reference list but should only be mentioned in the article text (e.g., O.D. Yusuf, University of Ibadan, Nigeria, personal communication). Journal names are abbreviated according to National Library of Medicine (NIH, US) Journal Abbreviations (pubmed.gov). Authors are fully responsible for the accuracy of the references.

Journal article

Baba, S.S. (1999). Detection of rabies virus RNA and antigen in tissues from naturally infected Nigerian dogs: In situ hybridization and Immunohistochemical studies. Revue Elev. Med. Vet. Pays Trop., 52(2): 85-91

Bokko, B. P., Adamu, S. S. and Mohammed, A. (2011). Slaughter–mediated foetal wastage amongst cattle in the Sahel region of Nigeria. Sahel J. Vet. Sci., 10 (2): 59 – 66

Reed, L.J. and Muench, H. (1938). A simple method of estimating fifty percent endpoints. Amer. J. Trop. Med. Hyg., 27:493-497

Books and Monographs

Nero, S. M. and Naear, R. C. (2009). How to prepare an electronic version of your article, In: Jones, B. S., Smith, R.Z. and Richards, E. M. (Eds.) Introduction to the Electronic Age. E-Publishing Inc., New York, pp. 281–304

Pelczar, J. R., Harley, J. P., Klein, D. A. (1993). Microbiology: Concepts and Applications. McGraw-Hill Inc., New York, pp. 591-603

Conference Proceedings

Baba, S.S., El-Yuguda, A.D., Egwu, G.O., Ribadu, A.Y., Ambali, A.G., Abubakar, M.B., Ibrahim, U.I and Zoyem, N. (2007). Development and evaluation of the efficacy of heat tolerant peste des petits ruminants (PPR) vaccine in Nigeria. Proceedings of International Conference on Adaptive Science & Technology (ICAST 2007), 10-12 December 2007, Gimpa campus, Accra, Ghana, pp. 138-141

Web References

As a minimum, the full URL should be given and the date when the reference was last accessed. Any further information, if known (DOI, author names, dates, reference to a source publication, etc.), should also be given. Web references can be listed separately (e.g., after the reference list) under a different heading if desired, or can be included in the reference list.

Guidelines for Tables

Number tables consecutively in accordance with their appearance in the text; do not combine numbering with figures. All tables must be called out in order at least once in the text (e.g. Table 1). Compose each table on a separate page at end of the manuscript. Provide a self-explanatory title at the top of each table. Place footnotes to tables below the table body and indicate them with superscript lowercase letters. Avoid vertical rules. Be sparing in the use of tables and ensure that the data presented in tables do not duplicate results described elsewhere in the article.

Guidelines for Figures

Figures should be as small and simple as is compatible with clarity. We encourage authors to use original figures and tables to illustrate their article. All figures should be high resolution and sharp in detail. Please note that all costs for figure preparation are assumed by the author. Each figure or plate should be on a separate file and a caption comprised of a brief title and a description of the illustration typed below it. Electronic file formats of JPG, TIF, EPS, PDF or PSD are preferred. Figures should be numbered consecutively, in Arabic numerals, according to the order in which they have been first cited in the text. Refer to each figure by number in the text (e.g. Fig. 1). Add any labels (A, B, etc.), arrows, or other markings using appropriate software.

SUBMISSION OF MANUSCRIPT

Submission Declaration

All manuscripts submitted to the journal should not carry any author identifying information. A separate document entitled “Author detail page” should be uploaded as a separate document onto the submission platform. Details of author contribution should also be incorporated in the author detail page and not in the blinded manuscript

Articles are published on the explicit understanding that they have neither been published nor are being considered for publication elsewhere and will not be published elsewhere including electronically in the same form, in English or in any other language, without the written consent of the copyright-holder. Submission to SJVS is taken by the journal to mean that all the listed authors have agreed to all of the contents. Accepted manuscript should be accompanied by a cover letter verifying that the final manuscript has been seen and approved by all authors.

Online Submission Process

Authors should note that SJVS accepts only online submissions. Files can be submitted as a batch, or one by one. The submission process can be interrupted at any time; when users return to the site, they can carry on where they left off. The text, tables, and figures can be included in a single Microsoft Word file (Times New Roman Font) and uploaded’

Visit the journal website at www.saheljvs.org to register to use the journal website
Click on ‘Submit Manuscript’ You will be re-directed to our online manuscript submission system.
Follow the stepwise registration process to key in your details, email address and chosen password. Please ensure that all co-author names, email addresses and affiliations are written correctly
You will receive the acknowledgement of registration and login details in your email
Login with your password to submit your manuscript
Complete the checklist of manuscript appropriateness, content and style in the submission checklist.
The journal's copyright policy will appear next, and the authors will need to agree to this policy
Next, the author can add any comments, which will be visible to the editor.
Move to the next step by clicking on the Save and Continue button.
To submit your manuscript, click ‘Browse’ to open a ‘Choose File’ window and locate the files on the hard drive of your computer and highlight it.
Click Open on the Choose File window, which places the name of the file on this page.
Click Upload on this page, which uploads the file from the computer to the journal's web site.
Once the submission is uploaded, click Save and continue.
The next step of the submission process serves to collect all relevant metadata from the author. The first section of metadata covers the authors. The submitting author will have personal information automatically appear. Any additional information, such as Competing Interests should also be added at this time.
If there are multiple authors for the submission, their information can be added using the Add Author button. You can also re-order the list of authors, make one of the authors the principal contact with the editor, and delete any author added in error.
You will then add indexing information (3-6 keywords). This will help others find your article.
The final section allows you to enter the name of any organization that may have supported your research.
The next step allows authors to upload supplementary files, such as research instruments, data sets, etc if desired
Once the submission is uploaded, click Save and Continue.
Click Finish Submission to submit your manuscript. You will receive an acknowledgement by email and will be able to view your submission's progress through the review and editorial process by returning to the Active Submissions section of your Author page.
Authors should note that manuscripts will be checked using plagiarism software and for compliance with author guidelines. Manuscripts that failed the plagiarism check and adherence to author guidelines will be declined and resubmission required.

Peer Review Process:

The Sahel Journal of Veterinary Sciences journal follows the guidelines and recommendations of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). We expect authors, reviewers, and editors to uphold the principles of fairness, transparency, and ethical conduct in all stages of the publication process. Plagiarism, data fabrication, and any form of scientific misconduct will not be tolerated. An outline of the review process is provided below:

Submission and Initial Screening:

Authors submit their manuscripts through the journal's online submission system.
The editorial office conducts an initial screening to ensure that the manuscript meets the journal's guidelines and formatting requirements.

Assignment to Reviewers:

The editor-in-chief or assigned handling editor selects appropriate reviewers who are experts in the subject area of the manuscript.
Reviewers are selected based on their expertise, experience, and absence of conflicts of interest.

Peer Review:

The journal follows a blind peer review process. Reviewers receive the manuscript along with guidelines to evaluate various aspects such as scientific validity, methodology, originality, clarity, and significance.
Reviewers are requested to provide constructive feedback, suggestions, and comments to help the authors improve their work.
Reviewers are expected to evaluate the manuscript objectively, maintain confidentiality, and disclose any potential conflicts of interest.

Reviewer's Recommendations:
- Accept: The manuscript is of high quality and meets the journal's standards.
- Minor revisions: The manuscript requires minor changes and can be accepted after addressing the reviewers' comments.
- Major revisions: The manuscript has potential but requires substantial revisions and further evaluation.
- Resubmit for review: The reviewers have identified important areas for improvement. The authors are encouraged to address the reviewers' comments and suggestions and resubmit the revised manuscript for further review
- Submit elsewhere: Based on the reviewers' feedback and evaluation the manuscript does not meet the criteria for publication in our journal. We encourage the authors to consider submitting their work to a more suitable publication that may better appreciate its content and contribute to the relevant field.
- Reject: The reviewers' assessments of the manuscript have highlighted significant concerns regarding the methodology, data interpretation, and overall contribution to the field

Reviewers provide one of the following recommendations:

Editor's Decision:

Based on the reviewers' recommendations, the handling editor makes a decision on the manuscript.
The editor-in-chief or associate editor may be involved in the decision-making process for complex or contentious cases.
The decision may include acceptance, rejection, or the need for major or minor revisions.

Author Notification and Revision:

Authors are notified of the decision, along with the reviewers' comments and recommendations.
In case of revisions, authors are provided with a reasonable timeline to address the reviewers' comments and submit a revised version of their manuscript.

Second Round of Review (if necessary):

If major revisions are requested, the revised manuscript may undergo a second round of review.
The same or different reviewers may be assigned to evaluate the revised version.

Final Decision:

The handling editor evaluates the revised manuscript and makes a final decision.
The decision may include acceptance, further revisions, or rejection.

Timelines for Review Completion:

Initial review process: Within 4-6 weeks from the date of submission.
Revision period: Authors are provided with a reasonable timeline, typically 2-4 weeks, to address the reviewers' comments and submit a revised version.
Second round of review (if necessary): Within 3-4 weeks from the date of revised submission.
Final decision: Within 2 weeks from the completion of the review process.

Nomenclature and Units

Follow internationally accepted rules and conventions: use the international system of units (SI). If other quantities are mentioned, give their equivalent in SI. You are urged to consult IUB: Biochemical Nomenclature and Related Documents: http://www.chem.qmw.ac.uk/iubmb for further information. Authors are, by general agreement, obliged to accept the rules governing biological nomenclature, as laid down in the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature, the International Code of Nomenclature of Bacteria, and the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature. All biotics (crops, plants, insects, birds, mammals, etc.) should be identified by their scientific names when the English term is first used, with the exception of common domestic animals. All biocides and other organic compounds must be identified by their Geneva names when first used in the text. Active ingredients of all formulations should be likewise identified.

Abbreviations

Use only standard abbreviations. Avoid abbreviations in the title and in the abstract. The full term for which an abbreviation stands should precede its first use in the text, unless it is a standard unit of measurement. Use Latin abbreviations only in parenthetical material (e.g., cf, etc, viz, i.e.): In non-parenthetical materials use the English translations of the Latin terms.

Use of Trademark Names

The generic or non-proprietary name of a drug should be used, with the proprietary or trademark name and manufactuer included in parentheses at first mention, e.g., trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (Septra, Pfizer). The manufacturer's name, superscript ®, and superscript ™ are not necessary. Trademark names of equipment and materials should be provided when appropriate, and the manufacturer's name and address (city, state, country if necessary) should be included in parentheses, e.g., tourniquet (Velcro, USA).

Blind Peer Review Policy

To ensure the integrity of the peer-review, authors, editors, and reviewers (who upload documents as part of their review) should ensure that author identification is removed from the file properties.

For Microsoft 2003 and previous versions, and Macintosh versions of Word:

Under the File menu select: Save As > Tools (or Options with a Mac) > Security > Remove personal information from file properties on save > Save.

For MacIntosh Word 2008 (and future versions):

Under the File menu select "Properties." Under the Summary tab remove all of the identifying information from all of the fields. Save the File.

For Microsoft 2007 (Windows):

Click on the office button in the upper-left hand corner of the office application
Select "Prepare" from the menu options.
Select "Properties" for the "Prepare" menu options.
Delete all of the information in the document property fields that appear under the main menu options.
Save the document and close the document property field section.

For Microsoft 2010 (Windows):

Under the File menu select "Prepare for sharing."
Click on the "Check for issues" icon.
Click on "inspect document" icon.
Uncheck all of the checkboxes except "Document Properties and Personal information".
Run the document inspector, which will then do a search of the document properties and indicated if any document property fields contain any information.
If the document inspector finds that some of the document properties contain information it will notify you and give you the option to "Remove all," which you will click to remove the document properties and personal information from the document.

For PDF files:

With PDFs, the authors' names should also be removed from Document Properties found under File on Adobe Acrobat's main menu.

ARTICLE PROCESSING CHARGE

The author(s) will be required to pay an article processing charge (APC) for each accepted manuscript after peer review. The APC is thirty-five thousand naira only (₦35,000) for Nigerian author(s) or one hundred dollars ($100) for foreign author(s).

All payments must be by bank deposit or electronic transfer to the account below.

Bank Name: Zenith Bank PLC

Account Name: Sahel Journal of Veterinary Sciences

Account Number: 1013371970

Account Type: Corporate/Current

AFTER ACCEPTANCE

Proofs

One set of page proofs (as PDF files) will be sent by e-mail to the corresponding author or a link will be provided in the e-mail so that authors can download the files themselves. Proofreading is solely the responsibility of the authors. Article will be typeset and copy edited for grammar, punctuation, house style, and format. Review of proof allows the author to answer all queries and make any corrections necessary. It is important to ensure that all corrections are sent back to us in one communication. Check carefully before replying, as inclusion of any subsequent corrections cannot be guaranteed. We ask that these proofs be returned within 72 hours. Corrections received after that time may not be included in the current issue of the journal. Please keep in mind that only essential changes can be made on the page proof. We will do everything possible to get your article published quickly and accurately. Note that SJVS may proceed with the publication of your article if no response is received.

Offprint

The corresponding author will be provided with a PDF file of the article via email. The PDF file is a watermarked version of the published article and includes a cover sheet with the journal cover image and a disclaimer outlining the terms and conditions of use. Offprint and/or volume of the journal can be ordered via the “order form” which is sent once the article is accepted for publication. Both corresponding and co-authors may order offprint and volume of the journal at any time from SJVS. All volumes of the journal can be ordered by any individual, corporate bodies, institutions and libraries after contacting the editorial office. The charges will be at the current cost of production stated in the order form.

Copyright Statement

The Sahel Journal of Veterinary Sciences is an Open Access journal publication. Articles published in the journal are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0). Under the terms of this license, all published articles, reviews, and any other content within this journal are freely available to the public. Readers are permitted to copy, distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially, as long as proper attribution is given to the original work and the journal as the source of publication.

The authors retain the copyright of their individual articles and grant the journal the right to publish and disseminate their work. By submitting their work to this journal, authors affirm that their contributions are original and do not infringe upon any third-party copyrights or intellectual property rights. The authors are responsible for obtaining any necessary permissions or licenses for the use of copyrighted materials included in their articles.

For further details about the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, please refer to the legal code at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode

For Inquiries:‎

Managing Editor,‎
Sahel Journal of Veterinary Sciences
Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Maiduguri,‎
P. M. B. 1069, Maiduguri, Nigeria
info@saheljvs.org

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