Journal of Ethnobiology

Manuscript Submission Guidelines: Journal of Ethnobiology

This Journal is a member of the Committee on Publication Ethics.

This Journal recommends that authors follow the Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals formulated by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE).

Please read the guidelines below then visit the Journal’s submission site https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/ethnobiology to upload your manuscript. Please note that manuscripts not conforming to these guidelines may be returned. Remember you can log in to the submission site at any time to check on the progress of your paper through the peer review process.

Sage Publishing disseminates high-quality research and engaged scholarship globally, and we are committed to diversity and inclusion in publishing. We encourage submissions from a diverse range of authors from across all countries and backgrounds.

Only manuscripts of sufficient quality that meet the aims and scope of Journal of Ethnobiology will be reviewed.

There are no fees payable to submit or publish in this Journal. There are fees associated with Sage Open Access if authors are interested in open access publishing. More information can be found below under "Open access and author archiving."

As part of the submission process you will be required to warrant that you are submitting your original work, that you have the rights in the work, and that you have obtained and can supply all necessary permissions for the reproduction of any copyright works not owned by you, that you are submitting the work for first publication in the Journal and that it is not being considered for publication elsewhere and has not already been published elsewhere. Please see our guidelines on prior publication and note that the Journal of Ethnobiology does not accept submissions of papers that have been posted on preprint servers.

If you have any questions about publishing with Sage, please visit the Sage Journal Solutions Portal.

1. What do we publish?

1.1 Aims and Scope

1.2 Article Types

1.3 Writing your paper

2. Editorial policies

2.1 Peer review policy

2.2 Authorship

2.3 Acknowledgements

2.4 Funding

2.5 Declaration of conflicting interests

2.6 Research ethics and patient consent

2.7 Clinical trials

2.8 Reporting guidelines

2.9 Research data

3. Publishing Policies

3.1 Publication ethics

3.2 Contributor’s publishing agreement

3.3 Open access and author archiving

4. Preparing your manuscript for submission

4.1 Formatting

4.2 Artwork, figures and other graphics

4.3 Supplemental material

4.4 Reference style

4.5 English language editing services

5. Submitting your manuscript

5.1 ORCID

5.2 Information required for completing your submission

5.3 Permissions

6. On acceptance and publication

6.1 Sage Production

6.2 Online First publication

6.3 Access to your published article

6.4 Promoting your article

7. Further information

7.1 Appealing the publication decision

1. What do we publish?

1.1 Aims & Scope

The Journal of Ethnobiology invites manuscripts based on original research or review in any area of ethnobiology, the interdisciplinary study of past and present relationships between humans and their biological environments. Topics include but are not limited to: paleoethnobotany, zooarchaeology, ethnobotany, ethnozoology, ethnoecology, linguistic ethnobiology, and other related fields of study within anthropology and biology. Areas published in JoE include but are not limited to paleoethnobotany, zooarchaeology, ethnobotany, ethnozoology, ethnoecology, linguistic ethnobiology, and other related fields of study within anthropology and biology. JoE does not limit itself to a single perspective or approach, but seeks to represent the diversity of the field of ethnobiology (including cognitive, symbolic, linguistic, ecological, and economic aspects of human interactions with biota). Papers that significantly advance theory or methodology are particularly welcome. JoE does not publish uncontextualized data such as species lists; appropriate submissions must elaborate on the cultural context of findings.

Before submitting your manuscript to Journal of Ethnobiology, please ensure you have read the Aims & Scope.

Please visit our Sage Author Gateway for guidance on producing visual and/or video abstracts.

1.2 Article Types

• Research Articles: Manuscripts should be 20 - 40 ms pages, and approximately 5,000 - 8,500 words, including abstract, tables and references cited. We encourage authors to send articles less than 5,000 words to Ethnobiology Letters, and manuscripts longer than approximately 10,000 words to the Contributions in Ethnobiology series. In some cases, additional material (e.g., long lists of taxa and ethnobiological uses) can be published as an on-line supplement to the main article. There is no limit on the number of references allowed.
• Review Articles: We are especially interested in review articles that can connect two or more topics within ethnobiology and/or related fields that have the potential to significantly advance research, identify knowledge gaps, and spark debate across disciplinary divides. Review articles should go far beyond a descriptive, mechanical or systematic review of literature on one species or subject. Rather reviews should be synthetic and critical both in context and scope, in the sense that they consider the subject matter in depth, drawing from multiple intellectual traditions and lineages, generating new ideas from existing research and theory, and fostering creative dialogue between different disciplines and ways of knowing. In particular, we welcome reviews that advance reflective theoretical development within our discipline, interweaving concepts and perspectives from different scholarly backgrounds, and pushing the boundaries of ethnobiological thinking beyond conjectures. Additionally, policy-oriented reviews exploring the relevance of ethnobiology in decision-making will be given special consideration. Submissions may be up to 12,000 words in length, they should otherwise conform to the guidelines for authors and include an abstract.  There is no limit on the number of references allowed. If you would like to explore a review idea with the editors before submitting a manuscript, please feel free to contact the journal.
• Commentary: JoE will, on rare occasions, allow guest commentary published in the Ethnobiotica section of the journal. Authors interested in pursuing this option should first contact the editors to discuss details.

Please visit our Sage Author Gateway for guidance on producing visual and/or video abstracts.

1.3 Writing your paper

The Sage Author Gateway has some general advice on how to get published, plus links to further resources.

1.3.1 Make your article discoverable

For information and guidane on how to make your article more disoverable, visit our Gateway page on How to Help Readers Find Your Article Online.

2. Editorial policies

2.1 Peer review policy

Journal of Ethnobiology adheres to a rigorous anonymized reviewing policy in which the identity of the reviewers are always concealed from authors.

Sage does not permit the use of author-suggested (recommended) reviewers at any stage of the submission process, be that through the web-based submission system or other communication.

Reviewers should be experts in their fields and should be able to provide an objective assessment of the manuscript. Our policy is that reviewers should not be assigned to a paper if:

• The reviewer is based at the same institution as any of the co-authors.
• The reviewer is based at the funding body of the paper.
• The author has made an unsolicited recommendation for the reviewer.
• The reviewer has provided a personal (e.g. Gmail/Yahoo/Hotmail) email account and an institutional email account cannot be found after performing a basic Google search (name, department and institution).

Journal of Ethnobiology is committed to delivering high quality, fast peer-review for your paper, and as such has partnered with Web of Science Researcher Profiles (formerly Publons). This is a third-party service that seeks to track, verify and give credit for peer review. Reviewers for Journal of Ethnobiology can opt in to claim their reviews or have them automatically verified and added to their reviewer profile. Reviewers claiming credit for their review will be associated with the relevant journal, but the article name, reviewer’s decision and the content of their review is not published on the site. For more information visit the Web of Science website.

The Editor or members of the Editorial Board may occasionally submit their own manuscripts for possible publication in the Journal. In these cases, the peer review process will be managed by alternative members of the Board and the submitting Editor/Board member will have no involvement in the decision-making process.

2.2 Authorship

Papers should only be submitted for consideration once consent is given by all contributing authors. Those submitting papers should carefully check that all those whose work contributed to the paper are acknowledged as contributing authors.

The list of authors should include all those who can legitimately claim authorship. This is all those who:

• Made a substantial contribution to the concept or design of the work; or acquisition, analysis or interpretation of data,
• Drafted the article or revised it critically for important intellectual content,
• Approved the version to be published,
• Each author should have participated sufficiently in the work to take public responsibility for appropriate portions of the content.

Authors should meet the conditions of all of the points above. When a large, multicenter group has conducted the work, the group should identify the individuals who accept direct responsibility for the manuscript. These individuals should fully meet the criteria for authorship.

Acquisition of funding, collection of data, or general supervision of the research group alone does not constitute authorship, although all contributors who do not meet the criteria for authorship should be listed in the Acknowledgments section. Please refer to the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) authorship guidelines for more information on authorship.

Principal authorship, authorship order, and other publication credits should be based on the relative scientific or professional contributions of the individuals involved, regardless of their status. A student is usually listed as principal author on any multiple-authored publication that substantially derives from the student’s dissertation or thesis.

2.3 Acknowledgements

All contributors who do not meet the criteria for authorship should be listed in an Acknowledgements section. Examples of those who might be acknowledged include a person who provided purely technical help, or a department chair who provided only general support.

Please supply any personal acknowledgements separately to the main text to facilitate anonymous peer review.

Per ICMJE recommendations, it is best practice to obtain consent from non-author contributors who you are acknowledging in your paper.                   

2.3.1 Third party submissions
Where an individual who is not listed as an author submits a manuscript on behalf of the author(s), a statement must be included in the Acknowledgements section of the manuscript and in the accompanying cover letter. The statements must:

• Disclose this type of editorial assistance – including the individual’s name, company and level of input
• Identify any entities that paid for this assistance
• Confirm that the listed authors have authorized the submission of their manuscript via third party and approved any statements or declarations, e.g. conflicting interests, funding, etc.

Where appropriate, Sage reserves the right to deny consideration to manuscripts submitted by a third party rather than by the authors themselves.

2.3.2 Writing assistance

Individuals who provided writing assistance, e.g. from a specialist communications company, do not qualify as authors and so should be included in the Acknowledgements section. Authors must disclose any writing assistance – including the individual’s name, company and level of input – and identify the entity that paid for this assistance. It is not necessary to disclose use of language polishing services.

2.3.3 Artificial Intelligence

Please refer to Sage’s policy on use of large language models and generative AI tools in writing your submission here.

2.4 Funding

Journal of Ethnobiology requires all authors to acknowledge their funding in a consistent fashion under a separate heading.  Please visit the Funding Acknowledgements page on the Sage Journal Author Gateway to confirm the format of the acknowledgment text in the event of funding, or state that: This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors. 

2.5 Declaration of conflicting interests

Journal of Ethnobiology encourages authors to include a declaration of any conflicting interests and recommends you review the good practice guidelines on the Sage Journal Author Gateway.

Please ensure that a ‘Declaration of Conflicting Interests’ statement is included at the end of your manuscript, after any acknowledgements and prior to the references. If no conflict exists, please state that ‘The Author(s) declare(s) that there is no conflict of interest’. For guidance on conflict of interest statements, please see the ICMJE recommendations here.

2.6 Research ethics and patient consent

Authors should include a statement regarding prior informed consent as well as any IRB approvals if required.

2.7 Research data

At Sage, we are committed to facilitated openness, transparency and reproducibility of research. Where relevant, Journal of Ethnobiology encourages authors to share their research data in a suitable public repository subject to ethical considerations and where data is included, to add a data accessibility statement in their manuscript file. Authors should also follow data citation principles. For more information, please visit the Sage Author Gateway, which includes information about Sage's partnership with the data repository, Figshare.

3. Publishing Policies

3.1 Publication ethics

Sage is committed to upholding the integrity of the academic record. We encourage authors to refer to the Committee on Publication Ethics’ International Standards for Authors and view the Publication Ethics page on the Sage Author Gateway.

3.1.1 Plagiarism

Journal of Ethnobiology and Sage take issues of copyright infringement, plagiarism or other breaches of best practice in publication very seriously. We seek to protect the rights of our authors and we always investigate claims of plagiarism or misuse of published articles. Equally, we seek to protect the reputation of the Journal against malpractice. Submitted articles may be checked with duplication-checking software. Where an article, for example, is found to have plagiarized other work or included third-party copyright material without permission or with insufficient acknowledgement, or where the authorship of the article is contested, we reserve the right to take action including, but not limited to: publishing an erratum or corrigendum (correction); retracting the article; taking up the matter with the head of department or dean of the author's institution and/or relevant academic bodies or societies; or taking appropriate legal action.

3.1.2 Prior publication

If material has been previously published it is not generally acceptable for publication in a Sage journal. However, there are certain circumstances where previously published material can be considered for publication. Please refer to the guidance on the Sage Author Gateway or if in doubt, contact the Editor at the address given below.

3.2 Contributor’s publishing agreement      

Before publication, Sage requires the author as the rights holder to sign a Journal Contributor’s Publishing Agreement. Sage’s Journal Contributor’s Publishing Agreement is an exclusive license agreement which means that the author retains copyright in the work but grants Sage the sole and exclusive right and license to publish for the full legal term of copyright. Exceptions may exist where an assignment of copyright is required or preferred by a proprietor other than Sage. In this case copyright in the work will be assigned from the author to the society. For more information, please visit the Sage Author Gateway.

3.3 Open access and author archiving

Journal of Ethnobiology offers optional open access publishing via the Sage Choice program. For more information on Open Access publishing options at Sage please visit Sage Open Access. For information on funding body compliance, and depositing your article in repositories, please visit Sage’s Author Archiving and Re-Use Guidelines and Publishing Policies. The article publishing charge (APC) can be found here.

4. Preparing your manuscript for submission            

4.1 Formatting

The preferred format for your manuscript is Word. LaTeX files are also accepted. A LaTex template is available on the Manuscript Submission Guidelines page of our Author Gateway.

4.2 Artwork, figures and other graphics

For guidance on the preparation of illustrations, pictures and graphs in electronic format, please visit Sage’s Manuscript Submission Guidelines.

Figures supplied in color will appear in color online regardless of whether or not these illustrations are reproduced in color in the printed version. For specifically requested color reproduction in print, you will receive information regarding the costs from Sage after receipt of your accepted article.

4.3 Supplemental material

This Journal is able to host additional materials online (e.g. datasets, podcasts, videos, images etc.) alongside the full-text of the article. For more information please refer to our guidelines on submitting supplemental files.

4.4 Reference style

Journal of Ethnobiology adheres to the APA reference style. View the APA guidelines to ensure your manuscript conforms to this reference style.

4.5 English language editing services

Authors seeking assistance with English language editing, translation, or figure and manuscript formatting to fit the Journal’s specifications should consider using Sage Language Services. Visit Sage Language Services on our Journal Author Gateway for further information.

5. Submitting your manuscript

Journal of Ethnobiology is hosted on Sage Track, a web-based online submission and peer review system powered by ScholarOne Manuscripts. Visit https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/ethnobiology to login and submit your article online. 

IMPORTANT: Please check whether you already have an account in the system before trying to create a new account. If you have reviewed or authored for the Journal in the past, it is likely that you have had an account created (although it may be under another email address). For further guidance on submitting your manuscript online, please visit ScholarOne Online Help.  

5.1 ORCID

As part of our commitment to ensuring an ethical, transparent and fair peer review process Sage is a supporting member of ORCID, the Open Researcher and Contributor ID. ORCID provides a unique and persistent digital identifier that distinguishes researchers from every other researcher, even those who share the same name, and, through integration in key research workflows such as manuscript and grant submission, supports automated linkages between researchers and their professional activities, ensuring that their work is recognized.

The collection of ORCID iDs from corresponding authors is now part of the submission process of this journal. If you already have an ORCID iD you will be asked to associate that to your submission during the online submission process.

ORCID iDs cannot be added after a paper has been accepted, so we strongly encourage all co-authors to link their ORCID ID to their accounts in our online peer review platforms upon submission or during peer review. It takes seconds to do: click the link when prompted, sign into your ORCID account and our systems are automatically updated. Your ORCID iD will become part of your accepted publication’s metadata, making your work attributable to you and only you. Your ORCID iD is published with your article so that fellow researchers reading your work can link to your ORCID profile and from there link to your other publications.

If you do not already have an ORCID ID please follow this link to create one or visit our ORCID homepage to learn more.

5.2 Information required for completing your submission

You will be asked to provide contact details and academic affiliations for all co-authors via the submission system and identify who is to be the corresponding author. These details must match what appears on your manuscript. The affiliation listed in the manuscript should be the institution where the research was conducted. If an author has moved to a new institution since completing the research, the new affiliation can be included in a manuscript note at the end of the paper. At this stage, please ensure you have included all the required statements and declarations and uploaded supplementary files (including reporting guidelines where relevant).

5.3 Permissions

Please also ensure that you have obtained any necessary permission from copyright holders for reproducing any illustrations, tables, figures or lengthy quotations previously published elsewhere. For further information including guidance on fair dealing for criticism and review, please see the Copyright and Permissions page on the Sage Author Gateway.

6. On acceptance and publication

6.1 Sage Production

Your Sage Production Editor will keep you informed as to your article's progress throughout the production process. Proofs will be made available to the corresponding author via our editing portal, Sage Edit, or by email. Corrections should be made directly or notified to us promptly. Authors are reminded to check their proofs carefully to confirm that all author information, including names, affiliations, sequence and contact details are correct, and that Funding and Conflict of Interest statements, if any, are accurate. Please note that any changes to authorship should be made before acceptance in peer review (not at the production stage) and require that all authors complete and sign a form authorizing the change.

6.2 Online First publication

Online First allows final articles (completed and approved articles awaiting assignment to a future issue) to be published online prior to their inclusion in a journal issue, which significantly reduces lead time between submission and publication. Visit the Sage Journals help page for more details, including how to cite Online First articles.

6.3 Access to your published article

Sage provides authors with online access to their final article. 

6.4 Promoting your article

Publication is not the end of the process! You can help disseminate your paper and ensure it is as widely read and cited as possible. The Sage Author Gateway has numerous resources to help you promote your work. Visit the Promote Your Article page on the Gateway for tips and advice.  

7. Further information

Any correspondence, queries or additional requests for information on the manuscript submission process should be sent to the Journal of Ethnobiology editorial office as follows:

Editor: Rick Stepp, journalofethnobiology@gmail.com

Managing Editor: Jeffrey Wall, jrw297@cornell.edu

7.1 Appealing the publication decision

Editors have very broad discretion in determining whether an article is an appropriate fit for their journal. Many manuscripts are declined with a very general statement of the rejection decision. These decisions are not eligible for formal appeal unless the author believes the decision to reject the manuscript was based on an error in the review of the article, in which case the author may appeal the decision by providing the Editor with a detailed written description of the error they believe occurred.

If an author believes the decision regarding their manuscript was affected by a publication ethics breach, the author may contact the publisher with a detailed written description of their concern, and information supporting the concern, at publication_ethics@sagepub.com.