Guidelines for Reviewers
GENETICS' SCOPE
The journal GENETICS, published by The Genetics Society of America, publishes high quality, original research presenting novel findings on a range of topics bearing on inheritance. These topics include population and evolutionary genetics, complex traits, developmental and behavioral genetics, cellular genetics, gene expression, genome integrity and transmission, and genome and systems biology. The journal also publishes Review, Commentary (current issues or interest to geneticists), and Perspective (historical) articles, as well as articles focused on the teaching of genetics.
GENETICS is a peer-edited journal—all editorial decisions are made by the authors’ peers—with a tradition of rigorous peer-review. Full documentation of the data presented and compelling evidence for the conclusions drawn is required.
CRITERIA FOR PUBLICATION
- the study is of interest to a wide range of genetics and genomics investigators;
- the results presented provide strong support for the conclusions reached;
- the conclusions provide new insights into a biological process,
- the study demonstrates novel and creative approaches to an important biological problem,
- the manuscript describes development of new resources, methods, technologies or tools of interest to a wide range of geneticists.
or
or
Submitted manuscripts are assigned to an Associate Editor, a peer of the authors who manages the review process and decides if the manuscript will be accepted for publication. Manuscripts may be rejected without review if the editors judge it to be outside the scope of the journal. A manuscript will also be returned without being reviewed if it does not follow the GENETICS style guide, or if improper grammar or style precludes its proper scientific review.
WRITING THE REVIEW
Being a peer-run, peer-edited journal, GENETICS should set the standards for our field. Please demand the highest standards of your peers. As you conduct your review, be critical, but fair.
In your review, provide your assessment of how well the manuscript meets these criteria. Offer your opinion of the importance of the issues addressed in the manuscript, and whether you think the authors have made a significant advance in the field with the findings they present. Indicate also whether the manuscript is of interest to a wide range of geneticists.
In your comments for the authors, please do not indicate whether you think the manuscript should be accepted or rejected; provide that recommendation only in confidential comments to the Editor.
You are an adviser to the Editor, who ultimately renders the decision whether to accept or reject the manuscript based in large part on your opinion of its significance and veracity.
Include also in the review any opinions or suggestions you may have on the manuscript’s writing, structure, composition, scientific accuracy, scholarship, length (shorter is usually better), and suggestions for ways to improve the paper.
Peer-review of research reports is an essential part of science. We appreciate your service to our scientific community.
CONFLICTS OF INTEREST
Before accepting a review assignment, carefully consider any affiliations or relationships that may present a conflict of interest.
CONTACT GENETICS
If you have any questions about the review process, contact the handling editor, or Tracey DePellegrin Connelly, Managing Editor at:
td2p{at}andrew.cmu.edu
or
genetics-gsa{at}andrew.cmu.edu
phone: 412-268-1812
fax: 412-268-1813
Editorial Office
GENETICS
Mellon Institute, Box I
4400 Fifth Avenue
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213-2683