An international journal dedicated to the application of genetics in the administration of justice.
Now indexed in Medline

Official journal of the International Society for Forensic Genetics(ISFG).

Forensic Science International: Genetics is a peer-reviewed, international journal for the publication of original contributions in the field of forensic genetics. The scope of this journal includes forensic applications of human polymorphisms, genetic analysis of forensic non-human material, population genetics of polymorphisms of forensic interest, DNA typing methodologies and strategies, biostatistics, standards, quality control, DNA databases and ethical and legal issues related to forensic genetics as well as investigations of interest for experts in the area where genetics interact with the law in a broad sense.

Submission of manuscripts

Forensic Science International: Genetics has no page charges.

Submission to Forensic Science International: Genetics now proceeds online via Elsevier Editorial System - http://ees.elsevier.com/fsigen/. Authors will be guided step-by-step through uploading files directly from their computers. Electronic PDF proofs will be automatically generated from uploaded files, and used for subsequent reviewing.

Authors should send queries concerning the submission process or journal procedures to AuthorSupport@elsevier.com. Authors can check the status of their manuscript within the review procedure using Elsevier Editorial System.

Authors submitting hard copy papers will be asked to resubmit using Elsevier Editorial System.

Submission of an article is understood to imply that the article is original and is not being considered for publication elsewhere; multiple submissions is not acceptable to the Editor, and any such papers, together with future submissions from the authors, will be rejected outright. Submission also implies that all Authors have approved the paper for release and are in agreement with its content. Upon acceptance of an article, authors will be asked to sign a "Journal Publishing Agreement'' (for more information on this and copyright see http://www.elsevier.com/locate/guidepublication ). Acceptance of the agreement will ensure the widest possible dissemination of information. An e-mail (or letter) will be sent to the corresponding author confirming receipt of the manuscript together with a 'Journal Publishing Agreement' form. If excerpts from other copyrighted works are included, the author(s) must obtain written permission from the copyright owners and credit the source(s) in the article. Elsevier has pre-printed forms for use by authors in these cases: contact Elsevier's Rights Department, Philadelphia, PA, USA: phone (+1) 215 239 3804, fax (+1) 215 239 3805, E-mail: healthpermissions@elsevier.com. Requests may also be completed online via the Elsevier homepage http://www.elsevier.com/locate/permissions.

Papers for consideration should be submitted by topic. Editors and their topic specialty are listed below:

Types of contribution

1. Original Research Papers (Regular Papers)
2. Review Articles
3. Letters to the Editor
4. Case Reports
5. Book Reviews
6. Announcements of Population Data
7. Rapid Communications

Case Reports will be accepted only if they contain some important new information for the readers.

Publication of population data of human polymorphisms: Whilst the journal acknowledges that knowledge of allele and genotype frequencies is an essential prerequisite to the use of any human polymorphism in forensic work, most of these manuscripts tend to reiterate information (typically, descriptions of loci and methodology) which is available elsewhere. Moreover, population data papers tend to reproduce stereotype reports of little appeal to the general reader. Authors are therefore invited to submit population data to the journal in table format as an 'Announcement of Population Data'. Authors must report the description of the population sample, the detection method used (with a reference when appropriate), the number of people typed, the results of statistical parameters (including p value for Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium testing, chance of exclusion, discrimination power, heterozygosity value), deviation from independence between or across loci, quality criteria such as the use of sequenced allelic ladders (and their source) and whether the laboratory has met any proficiency testing programme. Authors submitting population data are required to download the data as supplementary files (see Preparation of supplementary data). A concise comparison of populations is required for publication. In the "Other remarks" section (up to one printed page) authors can discuss the findings and describe the conclusions.

For mtDNA DNA papers, previous acceptance of the dataset in EMPOP ( http://www.empop.org) is required and for Y STR data previous inclusion of the data in the YSTR database ( http://www.ystr.org ) is recommended.

Exceptionally those articles containing aspects of interest other than population data, such as novel population genetic findings, large or interesting collections of populations or makers of relevance for forensic identity testing, will continue to be considered for publication in the usual full-length format of Original Research papers although the data should still be submitted as supplementary data.

Rapid Communications should describe work of significant interest, whose impact would suffer if publication were not expedited. They should not be longer than 5 printed journal pages (about 10 submitted pages). Authors may suggest that their work is treated as a Rapid Communication, but the final decision on whether it is suitable as such will be taken by the Editor. Rapid Communications requiring revision should be resubmitted as a new submission.

Policy and ethics
The work described in your article must have been carried out in accordance with The Code of Ethics of the World Medical Association
(Declaration of Helsinki) for experiments involving humans http://www.wma.net/e/policy/b3.htm; EC Directive 86/609/EEC for animal experiments http://europa.eu.int/scadplus/leg/en/s23000.htm; Uniform Requirements for manuscripts submitted to Biomedical journals http://www.nejm.org/general/text/requirements/1.htm. This must be stated at an appropriate point in the article. Revisions deadline

Please note that articles that are sent to the author for revision need to be returned within four months. A reminder will be sent in the third month. Any articles that are sent after the fourth month period of revision will be considered a re-submission.

Preparation of manuscripts

1. Manuscripts should be written in English. Http://www.elsevier.com/authors provides both the new and seasoned journal author with helpful information, services and tools about submission, support, and efficient and timely production and distribution. Http://www.elsevier.com/languagepolishing provides details of some companies who can provide English language and copyediting services to authors who need assistance before they submit their article or before it is accepted for publication. Authors should contact these services directly.

Please note, Elsevier neither endorses nor takes responsibility for any products, goods or services offered by outside vendors through our services or in any advertising. For more information please refer to our terms & conditions http://www.elsevier.com/termsandconditions/.

2. The text should be typed in double-spacing on consecutively numbered pages. Every page of the manuscript, including the title page, references, tables, etc. should be numbered.

3. Manuscripts in general should be organized in the following order:
- Title (should be clear, descriptive and not too long)
- Name(s) of author(s)
- Complete postal address(es) of affiliation(s)
- Telephone and fax numbers and e-mail address of the corresponding author
- Abstract, which should be clear, descriptive and not longer than 400 words
- Keywords, normally 3-6 items
- Introduction
- Material studied, methods, techniques
- Results
- Discussion
- Conclusion
- Acknowledgments
- References

4. Elsevier reserves the privilege of returning to the author for revision accepted manuscripts and illustrations which are not in the proper form given in this guide.

References

References should be numbered in the order in which they are cited (using square brackets in the text) and listed in numerical order on a separate sheet. This journal should be cited as Forensic Science International. References to journals, books and multi-author volumes should accord with the following examples:

[1.] N. von Wurmb-Schwark, R. Higuchi, A. P. Fenech, C. Elfstroem, C. Meissner, M. Oehmichen and G. A. Cortopassi, Quantification of human mitochondrial DNA in a real time PCR. Forensic Sci. Int. 126 (2002) 34-39.

[2.] J. Siegel, G. Knupfer and P. Saukko , Encyclopedia of Forensic Sciences, Academic Press, London, San Diego, 2000.

[3.] R.E. Bisbing, Finding Trace Evidence, in: M.M. Houck (Ed.) Mute Witnesses - Trace Evidence Analysis, Academic Press, London, San Diego, 2001, pp. 87-115.

Tables

Authors should take notice of the limitations set by the size and layout of the journal. Tables should be typed in double spacing on separate sheets, and numbered according to their sequence in the text. The text should include references to all tables.

Illustrations

- Illustrations should be designed with the format of the journal in mind
- Illustrations and lettering should be of such a size as to allow a photographic reduction of 50% without becoming illegible
- If scales are required, use scale bars on the illustration itself instead of numerical magnification factors
- Make sure you use uniform lettering and sizing of your original artwork
- Save text in illustrations as "graphics" or enclose the font
- Only use the following fonts in your illustrations: Arial, Courier, Helvetica, Times, Symbol
- Number the illustrations according to their sequence in the text
- Use a logical naming convention for your artwork files
- Provide all illustrations as separate files
- Provide captions to illustrations separately
- Produce images near to the desired size of the printed version

A detailed guide on electronic artwork is available on our website: http://www.elsevier.com/artworkinstructions You are urged to visit this site; some excerpts from the detailed information are given here.

Formats

Regardless of the application used, when your electronic artwork is finalised, please "save as" or convert the images to one of the following formats (Note the resolution requirements for line drawings, halftones, and line/halftone combinations given below.):

EPS: Vector drawings. Embed the font or save the text as "graphics".
TIFF: Colour or greyscale photographs (halftones): always use a minimum of 300 dpi.
TIFF: Bitmapped line drawings: use a minimum of 1000 dpi.
TIFF: Combinations bitmapped line/half-tone (colour or greyscale): a minimum of 500 dpi is required.
DOC, XLS or PPT: If your electronic artwork is created in any of these Microsoft Office applications please supply "as is".

Please do not:

- Supply embedded graphics in your wordprocessor (spreadsheet, presentation) document
- Supply files that are optimised for screen use (like GIF, BMP, PICT, WPG); the resolution is too low
- Supply files that are too low in resolution
- Submit graphics that are disproportionately large for the content

Elsevier will ensure that colour figures will appear free-of-charge in colour in the electronic version of accepted papers, regardless of whether or not these illustrations are reproduced in colour in the printed version. Colour illustrations can only be included in print if the additional cost of reproduction is paid for by the author or a sponsor: you will receive information regarding the costs from Elsevier after receipt of your accepted article. For further information on the preparation of electronic artwork, please see http://www.elsevier.com/artworkinstructions

Preparation of supplementary data

Supplementary files supplied will be published online, at no charge, alongside the electronic article. Supplementary files include, but are not limited to, supporting applications, movies, animation sequences, high-resolution images, background datasets, and sound clips. Please ensure that data is provided in one of our recommended file formats to ensure that any submitted material is directly usable. Authors should submit the material in electronic format together with the article and supply a concise and descriptive caption for each file. For further information on the preparation of electronic artwork, please see http://www.elsevier.com/artworkinstructions

Copyright

If excerpts from other copyrighted works are included, the Author(s) must obtain written permission from the copyright owners and credit the source(s) in the article. Elsevier has preprinted forms for use by Authors in these cases: contact Elsevier's Rights Department, Philadelphia, PA, USA: phone (+1) 215 239 3804, fax (+1) 215 239 3805, e-mail healthpermissions@elsevier.com. Requests may also be completed online via the Elsevier homepage ( http://www.elsevier.com/locate/permissions ).

Material in unpublished letters and manuscripts is also protected and must not be published unless permission has been obtained.

Authors Rights

As an author you (or your employer or institution) retain certain rights, for details you are referred to: http://www.elsevier.com/authorsrights

Funding body agreements and policies

Elsevier has established agreements and developed policies to allow authors who publish in Elsevier journals to comply with potential manuscript archiving requirements as specified as conditions of their grant awards. To learn more about existing agreements and policies please visit http://www.elsevier.com/fundingbodies

Proofs

One set of page proofs in PDF format will be sent by e-mail to the corresponding author (if we do not have an e-mail address then paper proofs will be sent by post). Elsevier now sends PDF proofs which can be annotated; for this you will need to download Adobe Reader? version 7 available free from http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html. Instructions on how to annotate PDF files will accompany the proofs. The exact system requirements are given at the Adobe site: http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/acrrsystemreqs.html#70win.

If you do not wish to use the PDF annotations function, you may list the corrections (including replies to the Query Form) and return to Elsevier in an e-mail. Please list your corrections quoting line number. If, for any reason, this is not possible, then mark the corrections and any other comments (including replies to the Query Form) on a printout of your proof and return by fax, or scan the pages and e-mail, or by post. Please use this proof only for checking the typesetting, editing, completeness and correctness of the text, tables and figures. Significant changes to the article as accepted for publication will only be considered at this stage with permission from the Editor. We will do everything possible to get your article published quickly and accurately. Therefore, it is important to ensure that all of your corrections are sent back to us in one communication: please check carefully before replying, as inclusion of any subsequent corrections cannot be guaranteed. Proofreading is solely your responsibility. Note that Elsevier may proceed with the publication of your article if no response is received.

All questions arising after acceptance of the manuscript, especially those relating to proofs, should be directed to: Elsevier Ireland Ltd., Elsevier House, Brookvale Plaza, East Park, Shannon, Co. Clare, Ireland. Tel: +353 61 709600. Fax: +353 61 706114

Offprints

The corresponding author, at no cost, will be provided with a PDF file of the article via e-mail. 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.

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