About Investigative Genetics

What is Investigative Genetics?

Investigative Genetics is a peer-reviewed, open access, online journal, which publishes articles on the development and application of molecular genetics in a wide range of science disciplines with societal relevance. These include forensic issues and legal medicine, evolutionary, anthropological and historical studies, as well as epidemiology and biosafety.

Investigative Genetics aims to provide a venue for novel, cutting-edge research and technological developments that will, through the application of molecular genetics, answer questions of past and present life, enhance life quality, and provide a safer living environment.

Main areas of interest include:

• forensic genetics
• biosafety and biosecurity
• legal medicine
• genetic epidemiology
• identity and lineage testing
• personalized genetics
• population genetics
• evolutionary genetics
• mechanisms of inheritance
• ancient biomaterials
• anthropological genetics
• archaeogenetics

In addition, articles addressing the important issues of statistics, validity, reliability, and ethics related to the use and understanding of genetics will be published.

Investigative Genetics is a journal that reflects the breadth of molecular genetic research, development and validation and its application to the greater understanding and safety of our society. The journal bridges the gap between different areas of science that similarly exploit molecular genetics, allowing findings and developments to be disseminated efficiently and effectively among disciplines. Suitable articles are hypothesis-driven and apply, if appropriate, statistical principles; purely descriptive studies are of limited interest.

Content overview

• Research: reports of data from original research. These articles will form the major content of the journal.
• Reviews: comprehensive, authoritative, descriptions of any subject within the scope of the journal. Please send your tentative title and abstract to Editorial@investigativegenetics.com.
• Methodology articles: presentations of a new experimental method, test or procedure. The method described may either be completely new, or may offer a better version of an existing method. The article should describe a demonstrable advance on what is currently available.
• Short reports: brief reports of data from original research.
• Letters to the Editor: these can either be a substantial re-analysis of an Investigative Genetics article, or a substantial response to such a re-analysis from the authors of the original Investigative Genetics publication.
• Opinions: Short opinion pieces focusing on the latest high-impact research in the field. Please send your suggestions for opinion topics to Editorial@investigativegenetics.com.
  
  

Peer review policy

Manuscripts submitted to Investigative Genetics will be reviewed by at least two experts selected by the Editors-in-Chief, with the suitability of an article for publication assessed solely on criteria of scientific excellence. Final decisions will be made by the Editors-in-Chief.

Co-founded and co-edited by Bruce Budowle, Manfred Kayser and Antti Sajantila, Investigative Genetics is supported by an expert Editorial Board.

Publishing in Investigative Genetics

Articles in Investigative Genetics should be cited in the same way as articles in a traditional journal. However, because articles in this journal are not printed, they do not have page numbers. Instead, they have a unique article number.

The following citation:

Invest Genet 2004, 2:1

refers to article 1 from volume 2 of the journal.

As an online journal, Investigative Genetics does not have issue numbers. Each volume corresponds to a calendar year.

To keep up to date with the latest articles from Investigative Genetics, why not register to receive alerts? Registration also enables you to customise your subject areas of interest, store your searches, and submit your manuscripts.

Submission of manuscripts

Manuscripts should be submitted electronically to Investigative Genetics using the online submission system. Full details of how to submit a manuscript are given in the instructions for authors.

General journal policies

Investigative Genetics is published by BioMed Central, an independent publisher committed to ensuring peer-reviewed biomedical research is open access. That means it is freely and universally accessible online, it is archived in at least one internationally recognised free access repository, and its authors retain copyright, allowing anyone to reproduce or disseminate articles, according to the BioMed Central copyright and licence agreement. Investigative Genetics however, has taken this further by making all its content open access.

Investigative Genetics's articles are archived at INIST in France and in e-Depot, the National Library of the Netherlands' digital archive of all electronic publications. The journal is also participating in the British Library's e-journals pilot project, and plans to deposit copies of all articles with the British Library.

Investigative Genetics is able to deliver summaries of frequently updated content via Really Simple Syndication (RSS) feeds. For more information about RSS feeds see our publisher's website.

For further information about general policies please see the instructions for authors.