Submissions

Author Guidelines

INSTRUCTIONS TO AUTHORS
SCOPE:
JICB provides a platform for the exchange of information in the fields of computational biology, with emphasis on the documentation of new algorithms and databases that allows the progress of bioinformatics and computational biology research in a significant manner.

You are also required to provisionally select one of the following categories for your manuscript and clearly state it in your cover page during submission:

• Genome analysis
• Sequence analysis
• Phylogenetics
• Structural bioinformatics
• Gene expression
• Genetic and population analysis
• Systems biology
• Data and text mining
• Databases and ontologies
• Bioimage informatics
• Personalized genomics and healthcare
• Metagenomics
• Diagnostic biochips
• Genomics analysis platform and tools
• Structure and function of biological macromolecules and small molecule ligands
• Macromolecular interactions
• Grid and cloud computing for bioinformatics application
• Agro-based systems biology
• Human healthcare-based systems biology
• Veterinary-based systems biology
• Environmental-based systems biology
• Beneficial microbe-based systems biology
• Eco-informatics
• Biodiversity informatics
• Agriculture informatics
• Neuroinformatics
• Microarray bioinformatics
• Personalized medicine
• Biomedical informatics
• Cancer bioinformatics
• Big data analytics
• Computational bio marker discovery
• In-silico drug candidate discovery
• Biomedical image and signal processing
• Personalised and adaptive digital systems
• Computational intelligence
• Pattern recognition
• Statistical and machine learning
• Data stream and dynamic environment
• Behaviour modelling and predicting
• Mobile computing in health and life sciences

The Journal's scope should not be regarded as fixed and will evolve and adapt over time to the changes in research trends.

TYPES OF MANUSCRIPT:
The following types of paper may be submitted for publication. Please note the page limits for each type of paper.

Original Papers (up to 7 pages; this is approx. 5000 words)
Original papers that describe new research developments in computational molecular biology, for example: models, algorithms, software involving new methods, biological databases and network information services, and their impact on molecular biology or computer science. Actual biological data, as opposed to purely simulated data, must be used.

Discovery Notes (up to 4 pages, this is approx. 3000 words)
Discovery notes report biologically interesting discoveries using computational techniques. Topics may include sequence motif detection, definition of new domains, structural similarities, gene structure prediction, comparative genomics, biomolecular networks and other aspects of computational molecular biology.

The results presented should present new discoveries, bringing insight to a relevant biological problem, and not be the simple extension of current knowledge. The results are expected to proceed from the specialized use of tools, methods, and databases. The inclusion of experimental results is considered very positively.

Reviews Papers (3-8 pages)
Most review papers are commissioned, although the editors welcome suggestions from prospective authors who should in the first instance submit a draft or abstract/summary no longer than a page.

Letters to the Editor/Editorial Notes
JICB publishes "letters to the editors" on the broad range of topics covered by the journal, including political, technical and scientific analyses of issues related to bioinformatics and computational biology. The letters can also include the discussion of papers published by the journal.

Conference Papers
JICB considers proposals for publishing conference proceeding papers, as supplementary issues or as special sections of the journal. Please be sure to include the following information in your proposal:

• What is the theme of the conference and submitted papers?
• What numbers of papers are expected to be submitted and published?
• What peer review process will be put in place by the conference organizers to recommend papers for publication in the journal?
• How many delegates are expected to attend the conference?
• Assurance that the papers proposed for publication have not and will not be published elsewhere prior to publication in JICB, or afterwards without the permission of the journal’s publisher.

The following items are required upon submission:
Title Page:
List the title of the manuscript and the authors' names in the order in which they should appear. Provide a complete mailing address for each author. Clearly designate the corresponding author and his/her mailing address, telephone number, and e-mail address.

Blinded Manuscript:
JICB has a policy of blinded peer review. The manuscript must not contain any mention of the authors’ names or initials or the institution at which the study was done. The Editorial Office staff will screen each paper prior to peer review and blind it as necessary. Note that, as a result of this policy, self-citation references will NOT be available to reviewers if the authors can be identified as contributors to the current study. Thus, authors should not depend on self-citation references to provide reviewers with background information.

Accuracy of Material:
It is the responsibility of the author(s) to check the accuracy of all data, statements and references.

Potential Conflict of Interest Statement:
Authors must incorporate a potential conflict of interest statement in the manuscript. This statement has no bearing on the editorial decision to publish a manuscript. That decision will continue to be based solely on the value of the article to the readers of JICB. No article will be published until the above mentioned statement has been incorporated in the manuscript. Sources of funding should also be disclosed in the manuscript text at the end of the Materials and Methods section.

IRB/IEC Approval:
A statement with reference number of the granting approval from the Institutional Review Board/Institutional Ethics Committee or the Animal Utilization Study Committee is required. A translated version must be provided if the original approval is not written in English.

Permission to Use Illustrations or Tables Owned by another Party:
When the use of illustrations that have been published elsewhere is deemed essential, the author must provide a full citation for the previous publication in the figure legend. The author is also required to:

• Provide a letter from the owner of the copyright granting permission for JICB to reprint the copyrighted material, or
• Provide JICB with the date when permission was requested and the approximate date when the permission is expected to be received. All authors are responsible for obtaining the appropriate permissions for their work.
   

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES:
Please note that by submitting an article for publication, you confirm that you are the corresponding/submitting author and that CRYSTAL UM (“CRYSTAL”) may retain your email address for the purpose of communicating with you about the article. You are encourage to notify CRYSTAL immediately if there are changes with your contact details. If your article is accepted for publication, CRYSTAL will contact you using the email address you have used in the registration process.

ALL ARTICLES MUST BE SUBMITTED VIA OPEN JOURNAL SYSTEMS (OJS). Once you have prepared your manuscript according to the Instructions below please submit your manuscript to us at http://ejournal.um.edu.my/index.php/JICB/about/submissions

Please read these instructions carefully and follow them strictly so that the publication process is efficient and as rapid as possible. The Editors and the Editorial Office reserve the right to return submissions that are not prepared in accordance with the following instructions.

FORMAT OF MANUSCRIPTS:
Follow the general style guidelines set forth in the "Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (6th edition)." The entire manuscript — including abstract, quotations, notes, references, figure captions and tables — must be typed single-spaced. Manuscript pages must be numbered consecutively. The use of sexist or ethnically biased language is unacceptable. Except under unusual circumstances, authors are expected to make available upon request all previously unpublished questionnaires or scales used in an article. The editor may find it necessary to return a manuscript for reworking or retyping that does not conform to requirements.

• Title and Acknowledgements (page 1) 
  To facilitate masked review, all indication of authorship must be limited to this page (other pages must show the short title plus page number at the top right). Include on the title page (a) full article title, (b) names and affiliations of all authors, (c) acknowledgments and (d) mailing and email addresses and telephone and fax numbers of the corresponding author (individual serving as the point of contact).
• Abstract and Keywords (page 2)
  Abstract should not exceed 250 words. Below the abstract, list appropriate 3 – 5 keywords for the manuscript.
• Text (page 3)
  Indent the first line of each paragraph by about 1/2 inch (1 centimetre) and insert extra lines between your paragraphs. Do not use desktop publishing features, such as right margin justification or underline. Only bold and italics may be used. Use single-spaced Times New Roman 12-point typeface.
• References  
  References cited in text must appear in the reference list, and entries in the reference list must be cited in the text. Follow the examples in the 6th edition of the APA manual for specific guidelines.
• Notes  
  Footnotes are not permitted in the text. If necessary, endnotes may be used. Number consecutively throughout text and list on a separate page preceding the reference section.
• Tables 
  Tables must appear as a unit following the reference section. Each table should be typed single-spaced on a separate sheet, be numbered consecutively and include a caption. All tables must be cited in the text.
• Figures 
  Figures and artwork should be submitted in the following digital file formats and with minimum resolution of 300 DPI (600 DPI for line art): TIFF, EPS, PDF, JPEG or Microsoft Word. Prepare figures according to the guidelines provided in the 6th edition of the APA manual.
  
  

SUBMISSION FEES:
No charges for first few issues.