Instructions for Authors

INSTRUCTIONS FOR AUTHORS – CROATIAN VETERINARY JOURNAL (CVJ)

AIMS AND SCOPE

The goal of the Croatian Veterinary journal is to provide the opportunity for the international publication of articles in the fields of veterinary and animal sciences, and biotechnology. This publication is primarily aimed at veterinarians, biotechnologists, and the broader scientific community, and seeks to encourage these professionals to share their knowledge and findings. Acceptable manuscript types include: original scientific papers, review articles, short communications, professional articles and case reports.

MANUSCRIPT ORGANISATION

The manuscript format must conform strictly to these instructions, and all papers must be written in English.

Original research papers, review articles and professional papers may have up to 20 pages in length, though a larger number of pages may be accepted in exceptional cases. Case reports may be up to 7 pages. All manuscripts must be prepared in MS Word using Times New Roman, font size 12, with 1.5 line spacing and in A4 format.

All pages must be numbered consecutively in the lower right-hand corner, starting with the title page. The total number of lines per page, including text and tables, must not exceed 30. To facilitate clear communication and an efficient review process, all lines in the manuscript must also be numbered consecutively in the left margin, beginning with the title page. Figures and tables should be submitted as a separate file, each with its own title and description. The minimum resolution is 300 DPI for photographs and 600 DPI for line and vector graphics. Acceptable formats are TIFF, JPEG and PNG for images, and EPS for vector graphics. All text and graph labels must be legible on a standard screen, even when scaled down for viewing on mobile devices.

Write out all acronyms and genera in full the first time they appear in the text, and whenever they begin a sentence. All biota (mammals, birds, reptiles, insects, plants, etc.) should be identified by their scientific names. Latin words, phrases and abbreviations, including generic and specific names, should be written in italics throughout the text.

Equations should be written in a separate line and numbered consecutively with a number between slashes (/1/, /2/ etc.). Indicate the intended positions of figures and tables in the text (e.g., [Figure 1 here], [Table 2 here]). Provide the standard error or standard deviation measure for all mean values reported. Report percentage values using no more than two significant digits.

All headings (Abstract, Introduction, Materials and methods, Results, Discussion, Conclusions, References) must be written in bold and placed above the text (paragraph). The manuscript should be organized into the following sections:

 

  • Title page
  • Abstract
  • Key words
  • Introduction
  • Materials and Methods
  • Results
  • Discussion
  • Conclusions
  • Acknowledgements
  • References

 

 

TITLE PAGE AND AUTHOR AFFILIATIONS

The first page of the manuscript must contain the full title of the article, the names of all authors, the abstract, and keywords. Author names should be formatted with the first name initial, middle name(s) initial(s) if applicable, and full surname (e.g., M. J. Narváez-Moreno). The corresponding author must be clearly indicated by an asterisk (*).

The footer of the title page must contain a complete and clearly formatted author list, presented in the exact order agreed upon for the article. Each author entry must include the full first name, full middle name(s) if applicable, and surname, followed by the full institutional affiliation and the email address of all authors. Authors should also include their ORCID ID (if available) after e-mail. Academic degrees and titles such as PhD, DVM, or MSc must not be included in the author list or any other section of the manuscript.

All institutional affiliations must be provided in English and follow the mandatory format: Department or Division (if applicable), Institution Name, City, Postal Code (recommended), and Country.

Example of author listing (Immediately after the article title):

  1. Kudumija*, I. Reil, B. Habrun

Full author and contact information in Footer:

Nina Kudumija* (corresponding author), Analytical Chemistry laboratory, Department of Veterinary Public Health, Croatian Veterinary Institute, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia, kudumija@veinst.hr, orcid.org/0000-0001-6144-6514;

Irena Reil, Laboratory for Bacterial Zoonoses and Molecular Diagnostics of Bacterial Diseases, Department for Bacteriology and Parasitology, Croatian Veterinary Institute, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia, reil@veinst.hr, orcid.org/0000-0002-2198-557X;

Boris Habrun, Laboratory for general bacteriology and Mycology, Depatrment for Bacteriology and Parasitology, Croatian Veterinary Institute, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia, habrun@veinst.hr, orcid.org/0009-0002-9688-026X.

Croatian translation of the Title, Abstract and Key words

On a separate page at the end of the manuscript, authors who are native or fluent Croatian speakers must provide the Croatian translation of the Title, the Names of all authors, the Abstract, and the Key words. For foreign contributors (authors who are not native or fluent Croatian speakers), this translation requirement is waived. The Editorial Office will provide the necessary translations into the Croatian language.

ABSTRACT

The Abstract should not exceed 300 words but should contain full information regarding the results of the study. It should explain the aim of the paper and include the most relevant results and conclusions. No abbreviations, equations, illustrations, figures, tables or references should appear in the Abstract. Authors need to be careful that abstracts reflect the content of the article accurately.

KEY WORDS

Use up to six key words to identify the object, problem and method of study. Key words should list the main topic of the paper for indexing purposes; therefore, they should not be overly general. Use of abbreviations as key words should be avoided, except for well-known and standard abbreviations (such as HPLC, PCR etc.). Key words that do not appear anywhere in the text should not be used.

INTRODUCTION

The introduction should be brief, concise, and focused. It should include recent and relevant references concerning the topic, leading to a clear and meaningful statement of the research objective or hypothesis. The introduction should provide a brief background and critical summary of the relevant previous publications and their conclusions, culminating in a short section explaining the novelty and relevance of the research presented in this context.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Provide sufficient documentation and details regarding materials and methods. The experimental protocol should be written clearly and with enough detail to allow the work to be reproduced. Detailed descriptions are only required for new techniques and procedures; known methods must be cited in the references. Do not mention tables and figures that present the results in this section.

Chemicals and apparatus: Full data must be given, including the name of the product, the company/manufacturer (do not cite a supplier, only manufacturers), the city, state (if applicable), and country of origin. Computer software, search tools, and databases must be cited in the reference list.

Field studies: A description of the study site, including significant physical and biological features, and the precise location, must be included.

Sampling and analysis: The sampling design should be described (controls, number of samples, treatments, measured variables, replication, final form of data, etc.). Statistical procedures and software used to analyse the results, including the probability level at which significance was determined, must be described.

RESULTS

The results should include a concise, logical presentation of raw data. It is editorial policy to use the International System of Units SI symbols for all units. This section must not contain discussion, interpretation, or comparison with other reports. The text-based presentation should focus on the key findings and must include references to each of the tables and figures. The preferred position of all tables and figures should be clearly indicated in the text, e.g., [Insert Table 1 here] or [Insert Figure 2 here].

DISCUSSION

In the discussion, the results should be discussed, evaluated or interpreted. Emphasize the new and important aspects of the study, and the conclusions that follow from them. Do not repeat in detail data or other material given in the Introduction or the Results section. The discussion should provide the authors' interpretation of the significance of the results obtained. Crucial information in the research must be emphasized and interpreted in the context of previously published work.

CONCLUSIONS

The conclusions may constitute the final paragraph of the discussion section, or a separate distinct section. Conclusions must link directly to the stated goals of the study, and authors must avoid unqualified statements and conclusions not adequately supported by the data. Conclusions should concisely and clearly explain the significance and novelty of the results obtained in the presented work. References are not to be cited in this section.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Authors may use this optional section to express their gratitude for technical, editorial, or financial assistance provided by individuals, institutions, or organizations. Crucially, a clear statement must be included to disclose all sources of financial support (funding) for the research presented in the manuscript.

REFERENCES AND CITATIONS

Citations in the text and entries in the References list must follow the style used in recent issues of the Croatian Veterinary Journal (Author-Date system). Readers must be provided with direct citations to original research sources. The References list must include only those works cited in the text.In-text citation format:

  • Single author: Stupar (2025)
  • Two authors: Bogdanović and Buljan (2025)
  • Three or more authors: Sedak et al. (2026); Ural et al. (2026).

The manuscript should be carefully checked to ensure that the spelling of the authors' names, and the dates are exactly the same in the text as in the References list. It is recommended to include references to papers from peer reviewed periodicals. Citations from non-available sources (proceedings, reports) should be avoided.

Reference list requirements:

The References list should be given alphabetically by the first author’s surname.

Abbreviate the titles of periodicals according to the List of Title Word Abbreviations (LTWA), maintained by the ISSN International Centre.

For publications in any language other than English, the full title must be given in English with the language of publication in parenthesis, e.g., (in Croatian).

Avoid citing a "personal communication" unless it provides essential information not available from a public source.

DOI numbers are mandatory for all references that contain one, and must be provided at the end of the corresponding reference. DOI numbers may be checked using the Crossref Simple Text Query.

Example of reference formats:

Book: BOWMAN, D. D. (2024): Georgi’s Parasitology for Veterinarians. 11th Ed. St. Louis, Elsevier.

Book chapter: MOXLEY, R. A. (2022): Family Enterobacteriaceae. In: McVey, d. s., M. Kennedy, M. M. Chengappa, R. Wilkens: Veterinary Microbiology. 4th Ed. Hoboken, NJ, USA, Wiley Blackwell.

Dissertation: KUNIĆ, V. (2025): Interspecies transmission and genomic properties of porcine-originated rotavirus A in Croatia. Dissertation. Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zagreb.

Proceeding manuscripts: SOKOLOVIĆ, M., F. KRSTULOVIĆ, T. AMŠEL ZELENIKA, M. BALENOVIĆ, M. BERENDIKA, R. TRIPON and C. TULCAN (2024): Staphylococcal Infections in Poultry. XV Symposium Poultry Days 2024 with International Participation Pula, Croatia, May 22-25, 2024. Proceedings, 70-75.

Proceeding abstracts: HABRUN, B., G. KOMPES, A. BAGARIĆ and E. POSTRUŽIN (2025): Antimicrobial Resistance – a Global Problem of 21st Century. 13th International Scientific and Professional Conference WITH FOOD TO HEALTH. Osijek, Croatia, September 17-18, 2025. Book of Abstracts, 3.

Journal: BOŽIKOVIĆ, M., J. PRPIĆ, M. KAMBER and L. JEMERŠIĆ. (2025): Porcine lymphotropic herpesviruses – a new threat to domestic pigs in Croatia. Vet. stanica. 56, 545 - 554. doi: 10.46419/vs.56.5.10

Editorial PROCESS and final submission

Following the initial screening, scientific and professional manuscripts that satisfy the submission criteria are sent for peer review by two independent reviewers who are experts in the field of the manuscript's topic and have no conflict of interest. The Editorial Board may require authors to improve their work without submitting it to the formal peer review process, or may immediately reject the manuscript. After the revision process and formal acceptance of the manuscript for publication, the author(s) must submit the final corrected files, where text and tables must be submitted as a single file, preferably in MS Word format, and figures (graphs/images) must be submitted as separate high-resolution files in the TIFF, JPG, PNG, or EPS format, adhering to the specific resolution and file type requirements specified in the Manuscript Organisation section.

COVER LETTER REQUIREMENTS

The cover letter must clearly include the following:

  1. a) Conflict of Interest and General Ethical Statement

Authors must disclose all potential conflicts of interest, including but not limited to consultancies, financial involvement, or patent ownership. This specifically includes any financial arrangements with a company whose product is featured in the manuscript or with a company manufacturing a competing product. This information will be kept confidential during the review process but will be published alongside the article if accepted.

The authors must certify the originality of the material and guarantee that it has not been published previously (except in abstract form) and is not under consideration for publication by any other journal. The Editorial Board is responsible for identifying and preventing publication of manuscripts where research misconduct has occurred (e.g., plagiarism, fraudulent use of data) and is committed to publishing corrections and retractions when needed.

  1. b) Animal Ethics and Welfare Policy

The Croatian Veterinary Journal adheres to the highest ethical standards concerning animal welfare. We will not allow the publication of papers describing experimental procedures on living vertebrates or Cephalopoda (e.g., Octopus vulgaris, Loligo spp., Sepia officinalis) which may reasonably be presumed to have inflicted unnecessary pain or discomfort.

All experiments must strictly conform to the European Union's legislation (Directive 2010/63/EU) and the guidelines set by the Committee for Research and Ethical Issues of IASP and the International Association of Veterinary Editors (IAVE).

Mandatory Requirements:

  • Ethics Approval: Every research article must include a statement in the Cover Letter confirming that the study obtained ethics approval from the relevant review committee, or a statement that such approval was not required.
  • Documentation in Methods: In the Materials and Methods section, authors must specify the ethical review committee approval process and the international, national, and/or institutional guidelines followed.
  • Client-Owned Animals: For studies using client-owned animals, a high standard (best practice) of veterinary care and documentation of informed client consent is mandatory.
  • Final Certification: Prior to acceptance, the authors must sign a separate letter certifying that the legal and ethical requirements have been met with regards to the humane treatment of animals described in the study.

Criteria for Manuscript Rejection:

  • Studies that involve unnecessary pain, distress, suffering, or lasting harm to animals.
  • Manuscripts that fail to meet the afore mentioned legal and ethical documentation requirements.

 

COPYRIGHT AND LICENSING INFORMATION

Authors retain the copyright to their work and grant the Croatian Veterinary Institute, as the publisher, the license to publish the article. All published articles are available free of charge to readers and are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).

PUBLICATION CORRECTIONS AND RETRACTIONS

Article retraction

Retractions are used for infringements of professional ethical codes (such as multiple submission, plagiarism, or fraudulent use of data) or to correct errors in submission or publication. A retraction note titled "Retraction: [article title]" signed by the authors and/or the editor is published in a subsequent issue and linked electronically to the original article.

Erratum

An erratum refers to a correction of errors introduced to the article by the publisher. All publisher-introduced changes are highlighted to the author at the proof stage and any errors are ideally identified by the author and corrected by the publisher before final publication. Authors who notice an error should contact the Editor-in-Chief (e-mail: habrun@veinst.hr).

Corrigendum

A corrigendum refers to a change to their article that the author wishes to publish at any time after acceptance. Authors should contact the editor of the journal, who will determine the impact of the change and decide on the appropriate course of action.

Withdrawal

The manuscript that has passed the peer-review process and was accepted for publication in the on-line form by the decision of the Editorial Board cannot be withdrawn from the further publication process.

Advertising policy

Advertising of veterinary medicinal products in the Croatian Veterinary Journal must be in accordance with Articles 75-78 of the Act on Veterinary Medicinal Products (Official Gazette 84/2008) and the Ordinance on the advertising of veterinary medicinal products (Official Gazette 146/2009). For veterinary medicinal products that have not been granted marketing authorisation, advertisers are required to request consent for advertising from the competent authority.

Manuscripts submission:

From the 1st of September 2025, all manuscripts must be submitted in the English language exclusively through the open journal system:

Online Submission: https://ojs.srce.hr/index.php/croatian-veterinary-journal/about/submissions

To ensure transparency and efficient processing, submission via electronic mail is strongly discouraged. The e-mail address of the Editorial Staff (cvj@veinst.hr) should be used only in the case of technical difficulties with the OJS system.