Guidelines for Authors

The Journal of Ethnobiology invites manuscripts based on original research in any area of ethnobiology, the interdisciplinary study of the relationships of living things with human cultures worldwide. Topics include but are not limited to paleoethnobotany, zooarchaeology, ethnobotany, ethnozoology, ethnoecology, linguistic ethnobiology, and other related areas in anthropology and biology.

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The Review Process

The Journal of Ethnobiology is peer-reviewed. Upon receipt of a manuscript, the editor will determine its appropriateness for the journal. Suitable manuscripts will be sent out for review. When the reviews are received, the editor will decide the status of the manuscript: accepted (acceptance contingent on any necessary minor revisions and corrections, proper formatting, publication quality illustrations, and completeness); revise and resubmit (reconsideration contingent on more substantial additions, re-writing, or re-organization); rejected. After the editor’s decision and reviews are transmitted to the authors, the most positively reviewed manuscripts will continue through several rounds of revision. Final decisions concerning publication are made by the editor.

Submitting the Manuscript to the Journal

Manuscripts should be emailed as a Word file to editor@ethnobiology.org. The manuscript should include a title page, two abstracts (English and a language of the author’s choice), the text itself, references cited, tables, and figures. Figures must be in black and white, .tif or .pdf format, and at least 300 dpi at publication size (125mm x 200 mm; 5 x 8 inches). For purposes of submission and reviewing, you may embed figures into Word files. The text pages should be numbered and double-spaced throughout (including abstracts, text, notes, references cited, and figure captions). Text should be submitted double-spaced and in 12 point font. Do not justify the right margin.

Content, Style, and Format

Consult the editor and the Chicago Manual of Style for matters not addressed in these guidelines.

Cover Page

The cover page is primarily for the convenience of the editorial staff. It should include (in order): title, date submitted, the word count of the body of text, the word count of the References Cited section, the number of tables and the number of figures. Towards the bottom of the page put the authors’ names, mailing/e-mail addresses, phone number for at least one author, as well as any temporary address (e.g., summer address, field address, applicable dates). The title and name of each author are to be repeated on the first page of the actual manuscript as you would like them to appear in the journal.

Center, double-spaced and in example style as follows:

Abstract

Each manuscript must include an informative one-paragraph abstract that briefly (fewer than 200 words) summarizes the article. The English abstract is in italics, with an indented first line, and is followed by four keywords that characterize the content of the manuscript for indexing purposes. The second abstract follows this format.

Example:

Headings

Before first-order headings leave an extra blank line. First-order headings are centered, bold, and in mixed case with all major words capitalized. For text following a first-order heading, leave an extra blank line and indent.

Example:

Before second-order headings leave an extra blank line. Second-order headings are flush-left, bold, and in mixed case with all major words capitalized. Begin the text on the next line and indent.

Example:

Third-order headings should be used only when necessary. They are flush-left, in italics, and in mixed case with all major words capitalized. Begin the text on a new line and indent.

Example:

Scientific Names and Voucher Specimens

Scientific names (Latin binomials) should be cited in the style of the relevant biological discipline. If you are unfamiliar with the style, consult an appropriate authority. Genus and species must be italicized; authorities of plants should be cited the first time mentioned in the text or in tabular form (example: Zea mays L.). The locations where voucher specimens have been deposited for curation should be put in an endnote.

Vernacular and Indigenous Language Terminology

For languages that are not written with the Latin alphabet, vernacular or indigenous terminology used as data should be transliterated with a consistent phonemic orthography or practical alphabet. A brief characterization of the orthographic conventions used should be given in an endnote at the first occurrence in the text. To increase readability, indigenous terms should be indicated by bold face italics to contrast with normal use of italics for foreign terms and Latin binomials. Terms that are in a language that is commonly written according to well-established orthographic conventions (e.g., Spanish, French) should be italicized as foreign words.

Authors’ Responsibilities to Others

With regard to studies that involve human subjects, all research reported in your manuscript must be in accord with the ethical and legal obligations of your institution and the country in which the research took place at the time of the study. Informed consent must be obtained from all human subjects. While written proof is not necessary, you should indicate in the manuscript that you have received permission. Authors are responsible for obtaining all necessary permissions to reproduce images and other copyrighted material. Credit or source information for images not produced by the authors should be provided in the figure captions.

Miscellaneous Items

You may indicate words with italics in your manuscript, but be consistent. Use metric units for all measurements (e.g., cm, ha, kg). English units may be added in parentheses, spelled out. Exception: the original research cited used English measurements. References to figures and tables in the text should appear as: (Figure x, Table y). Figure captions follow the style: 
Figure 1. Your caption. 
Table 1. Your heading.

Citations

In-text citations should be in social science style. If an item has three or more authors, cite only the first author individually: Hole et al. (1969) or (Hole et al. 1969). If more than one paper is cited, place in alphabetical order, not date of publication: (Benz 2000; Posey 1984, 1986). If chronology is important, consider using the following format: “as Posey (1984) and Benz (2000) have pointed ou…” Please keep citations to a minimum.

Personal Communication

If personal communication is used, the person cited must provide the editor with written permission. An email is acceptable.

Unpublished sources

The journal discourages the use of unpublished sources. It is difficult, often impossible, for the reader to verify or check the interpretation of material cited in this way. If it is absolutely necessary to use an unpublished source, provide additional information as a note: the name and affiliation of the person or institution that is the source of the information. Do not put this information in the References Cited section.

Notes

Footnotes at the bottom of the page are not permitted. The Journal discourages the use of endnotes except for source references to unpublished information. Endnotes should be avoided except as listed above. If they are necessary (especially for unpublished sources), they should appear at the end of the text, marked by a first-order heading (Notes) before the References Cited section.

Acknowledgements

If you would like to include an Acknowledgments section, place them after any Notes and before the References Cited section.

Appendices

Appendices should be used sparingly; if the information is important enough to include in your article, you should be able to incorporate it in your text or tables. Place appendices before the References Cited. Appendices should be numbered in the following style: Appendix 1. Title.

References Cited

Works referred to in your text should be listed in a separate section under the first-order heading (centered, mixed case, bold), References Cited. Names of authors cited should be given in full. Book and journal titles should be italicized. Do not use abbreviations for journal titles. Do not list works that are not cited in the text.

Sample References Format

Journal articles:

Adams, Karen R.

1984   Evidence of wood-dwelling termites in archaeological sites in the southwestern United States. Journal of Ethnobiology 4:29-43.

Harlan, Jack R. and J.M.J. DeWet

1965   Some thoughts about weeds. Economic Botany 19:16-24.

Wolverton, Steve, R. Lee Lyman, James H. Kennedy, and Thomas W. La Point

2009   The terminal Pleistocene extinctions in North America, hypermorphic evolution, and the dynamic equilibrium model. Journal of Ethnobiology 29(1):28-63.

Books:

Ellen, Roy

1993   The Cultural Relations of Classification: An Analysis of Nuaulu Animal Categories from Central Seram. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

Berlin, Brent, Dennis E. Breedlove, and Peter H. Raven

1974   Principles of Tzeltal Plant Classification. Academic Press, New York.

Hastorf, Christine A. and Virginia S. Popper, eds.

1989  Current paleoethnobotany: Analytical Methods and Cultural Interpretation of Archaeological Remains. University of Chicago Press, Chicago.

Chapters of books:

Shepard, Glenn H

2002   Nature’s Madison Avenue: Sensory cues as mnemonic devices in the transmission of medicinal plant knowledge among the Matsigenka and Yora of Perœ. In Ethnobiology and Biocultural Diversity, eds. John R. Stepp, Felice S. Wyndham, and Rebecca K. Zarger, pp. 326–335. University of Georgia Press, Athens.

Thesis/Dissertation:

Eckert, Suzanne L.

2003   Social Boundaries, Immigration, and Ritual Systems: A Case Study from the American Southwest. Ph.D. dissertation (Anthropology). Arizona State University, Tempe.

Corbin, Annalies

1995   Material Culture of Nineteenth Century Steamboat Passengers on the Bertrand and Arabia. Master’s thesis (History), East Carolina University, Greenville, NC.

Conference presentations:

Nakazono, Erika M., Carlito Freitas dos Santos, and Moisés Jesus Barbosa

2002  Arum fiber: Use and management of Ischnosiphon polyphyllus (Marantaceae) by artisians in Novo Air‹o, Rio Negro, Central Amazon, Brazil. Paper presented at the Ninth Conference of the International Association for the Study of Common Property, Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe.

Web sources:

Gleick, Peter H.

2000   Water: The potential consequences of climate variability and change for the water resources of the United States. Available at:
http://www.gcrio.org/NationalAssessment/water/water.pdf (verified 13 November 2001).

Contract reports, published:

Adams, William H.

1977   Silcott, Washington: Ethnoarchaeology of a Rural American Community. Washington State University, Laboratory of Anthropology, Report of Investigations, No. 54, Pullman.

Contract reports, unpublished:

Brauner, David R.

1989   The French-Canadian Archaeological Project Willamette Valley, Oregon: Site Inventory. Report to Oregon State Historic Preservation Office, Salem, from Department of Anthropology, Oregon State University, Corvallis.

Monographs or irregular series:

Bott, Keith E.

1981   44RU7: Archaeological Test Excavations at a Late Woodland Village in the Lower Uplands of Southwest Virginia. Research Report Series, No. 2. Virginia Department of Historic Resources, Richmond.

For all other sources, consult the Chicago Manual of Style or contact the editor.

List of Tables and Figure Captions

On a separate page at the end of the manuscript, include a list of tables and figure captions. Credit or source information may appear as a note to the table. Credit or source information for images should be provided in the figure captions.

Preparing a Manuscript for Publication

After your manuscript has been accepted and requires no more than minor copyediting, you may be asked for a final electronic submission. The text should be double-spaced throughout (including abstracts, text, references cites, legends, and notes), with a jagged right margin. Do not use the automatic formatting capability of your computer; please send manuscripts in “normal” format only. Note that you should set tabs rather than use the space bar for aligning text. The total page count of tables and figures should be no more than half the number of text pages (i.e., fewer than one page of tables or figures for two pages of text).

Figures

Figures are printed in black and white and should be submitted as such. Illustrations and graphics must be in .tif or .pdf and have a minimum of 300 dpi. Scan photographs at 300 dpi. The author(s) will bear the cost of any required editing if they cannot do it themselves. You may also be asked to mail hard copies of the figures. If you are unsure of the quality of the images, print them out to verify that they meet your standards and are suitable to be sent to the press. All figures should be numbered sequentially as they appear in the text. Figures should be submitted at a size that can be a published on a page of the journal without further reduction (maximum size of image plus caption: 125mm x 200mm; 5 x 8 inches). Photographs should be black and white images of good contrast and sharpness. Make sure any text in the figures is legible. Electronic images should be sent in separate files, clearly labeled. Figure captions, listed after the table headings at the end of the manuscript, should include source or credit. It is the responsibility of the author(s) to obtain any necessary permissions.

Tables

Tables should be numbered sequentially as they appear in the text. Tables should complement the text. Tabular material should be relevant to the appropriate section of the text, but not repeat it. Tables should be prepared with regular text spaced with tabs, the table function of your word-processing program, or a spreadsheet program such as Excel. Tables must have brief, self-explanatory titles. Rows and columns of information must be clearly marked and labeled. Use portrait or landscape orientation as needed. Adjust the column widths to conserve space without loss of clarity. Each table should be submitted in a separate electronic file and clearly named. Table heading and information on any one page of a table should be legible on the printed page (maximum size of table plus heading: 5 x 7.75 inches). No microprint please, as it is very hard to read. If you cannot comfortably fit the information on the table, perhaps you should consider other options.

Copyediting and Proofs

Upon completion of the copyediting process, you will be sent a .pdf of your manuscript prior to it being sent to the press. At this time you will be asked to carefully read over the paper and make any final changes in style, content, and format; any corrections following this step can only be typos and errors in the layout.