JDS -- Types of Articles

Types of Manuscripts Published in JDS

Full-length research papers. The majority of papers published in the Journal of Dairy Science are full-length research articles. The journal emphasizes the importance of good scientific writing and clarity of presentation of the concepts, methods, and sufficient background information that would be required for thorough understanding by scientists in other disciplines. The results of experiments published in the journal must be replicated, either by replicating treatments within experiments or by repeating experiments.

In addition to full-length research papers, the following types of articles also appear in JDS:

Symposium papers. Papers submitted from the joint annual meeting of ADSA/American Society of Animal Science 2006 in Minneapolis, MN, will be published as an online supplement to the journals, and all subscribers to both journals will have access to all papers. Papers will be due at the meeting.

Our Industry Today. The Our Industry Today section includes interpretive applied summaries and recommendations from research that are useful to the dairy industry. Syntheses and applications from technical reports that contribute to solutions of problems in the dairy industry especially are solicited. Authors of reports for extension education of the nonscientist are encouraged to share their contributions with colleagues and to achieve larger circulation of their conclusions and recommendations through this section. Papers that report on advances in teaching and outreach techniques are suitable for this section. The organization of papers for Our Industry Today may vary but should be logical and effective. An abstract is required. Other instructions to authors apply.

Hot Topics. Papers submitted for this section must report a completed experiment testing a timely, original hypothesis of importance to an area of dairy science. The work may be preliminary in nature, but with sufficient data so that the hypothesis is clearly tested. Results may point to avenues for fruitful in-depth analyses. Reports must contain an explicitly stated hypothesis, objectives, sufficient detail in methodology for repetition of the work, results with brief discussion, and references. Total page limits for text, tables, figures, and references must be no more than 4 Journal pages (approximately 10 typewritten pages minus space for tables and figures). The manuscript should contain a title and short abstract but not separate sections. The total number of tables and figures should be no more than 3; references should be minimal. The first page must have HOT TOPICS in capital letters on the header line. Papers will be given priority for publication. An effort will be made to notify authors of a decision within 1 mo of date of receipt. Once accepted, the paper should be published within 3 mo.

Short Communications. Short communications are reports of limited experiments that test a timely, original hypothesis of importance to some area of dairy science. The manuscript, which can be no more than 4 journal pages in length (approximately 10 typewritten pages minus space for tables and figures), should contain a title and short abstract but not separate sections. “Short Communications:” should precede the title on the title page of the manuscript. The manuscript may report negative results. Reports must contain a hypothesis, objectives, sufficient detail in methodology for repetition of the work, results with brief discussion, and references.

Technical Notes. Papers in this section should report a method that is useful to some aspect of dairy science. Submissions should include a brief justification for the technique, be it new or an improvement on a previously published technique. The report should state a hypothesis, include a full description of procedures that can be repeated by researchers, and include explicit controls to indicate sensitivity, precision, and accuracy of the technique. If the technique is an improvement on an existing technique, sufficient comparison of the previous technique should be included, and mean and dispersion information must be included. The page limit is no more than 4 Journal pages (approximately 10 typewritten pages minus space for tables and figures). Use of tables, figures, and references should be minimized. The manuscript should contain a title and short abstract but not separate sections.

Nucleic Acid Sequences. The section on nucleic acids sequences is for data that are not appropriate for a full paper but that are useful to other scientists. The section is not intended for data that will be published in full elsewhere, nor is the section a repository for nucleic acid sequence information; the reported sequence must address basic questions of structural or functional interest. Authors should be aware that publication of sequences or description of molecular clones places them in the public sector. Sequences published must relate to dairy cattle, dairy products, or dairy pathogens and microorganisms. Manuscripts dealing with comparative analyses of sequences may be considered if the genes are relevant to dairy science. Sequences of cDNA or genes for which gene products are not relevant to dairy science are not acceptable. All DNA sequences should be accompanied by a statement indicating that both strands have been sequenced with appropriate overlapping sequence runs. Sequences should be provided at a maximum of 100 characters per line. Acceptance for publication of sequencing data is contingent on the submission to one of the databases (e.g., GenBank, EMBL Data Library). Accession number and name and address of the database should be stated in a footnote to the title page. Sequence data are peerreviewed, but publication is very fast. The format for publication of nucleic acids sequences is name of sequence, species in which the sequence was determined, origin of the clone, evidence that a protein is produced from the DNA, sequencing method (both strands must be sequenced with appropriate overlapping sequence runs), submission number (or accession number) to EMBL data bank (or GenBank), comments, and references. Sequences not accompanied by an EMBL Data Library (GenBank) accession number will be returned to the authors.

Invited Reviews. The mechanism for consideration of invited reviews is to encourage additional publication (6 to 10 per year) of invited reviews. Additional reviews will be encouraged in all sections of the Journal. Section editors will advise the editor-in-chief on suggested reviewers and justification for the review. The editor-in-chief will make the invitation and ensure the quality of the review with the assistance of the editors.

Letters to the Editor. Short (300 words) letters to the editor on topics of concern to readers, including comment on publications with rebuttals from authors if needed, may be submitted to the editor-in-chief or to any of the editors. The letters should be titled, and the title and running head should include “Letter to the Editor.” Letters will be published at the discretion of the editor-in-chief. Authors of letters are subject to the same copyright release requirements as other authors; letters are published at no charge to the author.

Biographical Sketch. Occasionally, retiring or past scientists and educators should be subjects of biographical essays, both as a small honor to them and an example and history to other readers. This section brings a maturity and completeness to our field. Individuals who wish to submit biographical sketches should contact the editor-in-chief or one of the editors for additional instructions.