One of the main objectives of the Physiological Society of Nigeria at its inauguration in April 1978 was the dissemination of scientific information collated from the laboratories in the ivory tower and various research laboratories throuhout the world. The concept of an official journal for the society was initiated in 1981 at the meeting of the Society held at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria.

Towards realising the set goal, the Nigerian Journal of Physiological Sciences was established as the official journal of the society in 1982 at the meeting of the Society held at the University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus, with the election of the first editorial team, led by Prof. D.D.O. Oyebola as Editor-in-Chief.  The first issue of the Journal (Volume 1, Number 1) was released in April 1983.

The journal is  published twice a year and attracts articles from the broad area of physiological sciences.

PEER REVIEW POLICY

All submitted manuscripts are assessed initially by the Editor-in-Chief or the Deputy Editor for compliance with the journal’s style. An Associate Editor is then assigned to read the manuscript, look at the data, check for relevant literature (whether cited in the manuscript or not), and determine their suitability for the review process. Only those manuscripts judged most likely to meet our editorial criteria are sent out for formal review. They will generally be reviewed by two experts with the aim of reaching a first decision as soon as possible.

The Editorial Board of the Nigerian Journal of Physiological Sciences may ask authors to provide the contact details (including e-mail addresses) of at least four potential peer reviewers for their manuscript. These should be experts in their field of study, who will be able to provide an objective assessment of the manuscript. Such suggested peer reviewers should not have published with any of the authors of the manuscript within the past five years and should not be members of the same research institution. Members of the Editorial Board of the journal can be nominated. Suggested reviewers will be considered alongside potential reviewers identified by their publication record or recommended by Editorial Board members.

In cases where there is strong disagreement either among peer reviewers or between the authors and peer reviewers, advice is sought from a member of the journal's Editorial Board. The ultimate responsibility for any decision lies with the editor-in-chief. 

Selection of Peer Reviewers

The Nigerian Journal of Physiological Sciences considers factors such as expertise, previous record of good performance, integrity/reputation, peer recommendation and conflict of interest in choosing reviewers for manuscripts sent to the journal.

Where an editor is on the author list or has any other competing interest regarding a specific manuscript, another member of the Editorial Board will be assigned to oversee peer review.

PUBLICATION POLICY

Procedure after acceptance

The authors should consider all the suggestions proposed by reviewers and the Editor, and carry out appropriate changes before submission of the ready-to-print version of their manuscript. The editor retains the right to modify the style and length of a manuscript to make it conform to the editorial style of the journal. In any case, when major changes occur, the authors will be consulted for their approval.

Article-processing charges

The Nigerian Journal of Physiological Sciences levies an article-processing and publication charge per article accepted for publication. Please note that such payments are made only after a manuscript has been reviewed and accepted for publication. Details of APC are as follows:

Members of the Physiological Society of Nigeria—equivalent to seventy-five US dollars ($75) only

Authors from African Countries - Equivalent of one hundred US dollars ($100) only

Others—equivalent to two hundred US dollars ($200) only

Details of payment will be made known to authors upon acceptance of the manuscript.

Proofs and reprints: Proofs will be sent to authors of accepted articles for the correction of printing errors only.

Editorial information:

Nigerian Journal of Physiological Sciences is an official journal of the Physiological Society of Nigeria, and it is published twice a year in June and December. The journal is an educational and training resource for all areas of physiological sciences and related disciplines. The Journal endorses the Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts (URM) issued by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE): details of their current recommendations on the conduct, reporting, editing and publication of scholarly works in medical journals can be accessed at: http://www.icmje.org/recommendations.

ETHICS POLICY 

Authors should indicate by a statement in the body of the manuscript that they complied with the standard requirements of the Ethics Committee of the institution in which the work was done. A letter of Ethics Committee approval must also accompany the manuscript at the time of submission. In addition, the Helsinki Declaration principles as revised should be followed strictly.

In all research involving experimental animals, evidence of ethical approval by the appropriate ethics review committee must be provided. The details of anesthesia, housing and husbandry in experimental animals must be provided in relevant manuscripts. The authors are required to comply with the US National Research Council’s “The Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals” or similar internationally approved guidelines.

The authors must declare any conflicts of interest in a sentence after the Acknowledgement section. The authors must comply with ICMJE guidelines on authorship, and the roles of each author in a multi-authored manuscript should be specified. All allegations of research misconduct reported to the African Journal of Medicine and Medical Sciences will be investigated.

ADVERTISING POLICY

The Nigerian Journal of Physiological Sciences welcomes adverts from companies wishing to promote their health (human or animal) or scientific products in the journal. However, all advertisements and commercially sponsored publications are independent from editorial decisions. Also, it should be noted that the contents of the Nigerian Journal of Physiological Sciences are not influenced by commercial or financial interests or by any specific arrangements with advertising clients or sponsors.