Information For: Authors
The Journal of Student Physical Therapy Research (JSPTR) is an open
access, peer-reviewed online journal published quarterly that
encompasses all aspects of clinical and basic research studies related
to physical therapy.
The
JSPTR invites student authors to contribute manuscripts relevant to
theory and practice of physical therapy.
General Requirements
Manuscripts
submitted to the JSPTR must meet the following basic requirements to be
eligible for review:
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Primary author(s) must be students enrolled in an APTA accredited
physical therapy program.
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The manuscript is
written in English
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Submission of manuscript includes a cover letter
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Data and/or findings of the manuscript have not been previously
published.
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The manuscript must be under exclusive review of JSPTR at time of
submission.
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The manuscript addresses scientific or clinical issues relevant to
physical
therapy.
§
The manuscript must be
formatted according to AMA style guidelines
(American Medical Association Manual of Style, 9th Edition)
Submissions must
meet all the essential requirements above or the manuscript will be
returned to the author without review.
Manuscript Categories
Accepted manuscripts are published in the following journal sections:
Research Report:
A full-length report of an original basic, applied, or clinical research
investigation that advances the clinical science of physical therapy.
Research Reports should include the following 5 sections when applicable: Background,
Methods, Results, Discussion, and Conclusion.
Case Report:
A Case Report is a detailed factual report of a clinical physical
therapy case.
Case Reports should include the following 5 sections when applicable: Background, Case
Description(s), Outcomes, Discussion, and Conclusions. The description of the
case includes the relevant patient characteristics,
examination/evaluation, diagnosis, and a description of the
interventions that were provided.
Case Study:
A Case Study is a comprehensive investigation, which is designed to
analyze and understand those factors important to the etiology, care and
outcome of the subject’s problems, through a detailed description of a
patient’s background, present status and response to treatment.
Case Studies
should include the following 5 sections when applicable:
Background, Case Description(s), Outcomes, Discussion, and Conclusions.
Current literature, which supports the rationale for treatment and
interpretation of outcomes, should be cited and discussed.
Case Series:
A Case Series is a comprehensive investigation
in a small group of similar patients. It is
designed to analyze and understand those factors important to the
etiology, care and outcome of the subject’s problems, through a detailed
description of a patient’s background, present status and response to
treatment Case Series should include the following 5 sections
when applicable: Background, Case
Description(s), Outcomes, Discussion, and Conclusions. The description of the
cases includes the relevant patient characteristics,
examination/evaluation, diagnosis, and a description of the
interventions that were provided.
Literature
Review:
A narrative or critical analysis of literature on a specific topic of
interest in physical therapy.
Reviews of literature may take the
form of a traditional review, a blinded review, or a meta-analysis.
Literature reviews submitted for review must have a structured abstract
and include a Methods section.
They can be submitted either upon specific invitation or editorial
acceptance of an author's proposal.
To submit a proposal, authors should send a tentative title and
abstract
addressed to the Editor-in-Chief and state both the scientific relevance and the lack of recent
reviews on the topic.
Manuscript Preparation
Submitted
manuscripts should be a maximum of 3500 words not including the title
page. Manuscripts should be double-spaced and have 2.45- cm (1-in)
margins on all sides of the page. Pages should be consecutively
numbered, starting with the title page. The font should be 12-point
Times New Roman. All measurements in the manuscript should be presented
in SI units, except for those of angular measures, which should be
presented in degrees.
Title Page (separate page)
Title of the manuscript
Names of each author with credentials (if applicable)
Institution, city, state/country for each author
Sources of grant support (if any)
Institutional
Review Board approval of the study protocol (if applicable)
Correspondence author’s name, address, phone, and e-mail address
Anonymous Title Page (separate page)
Title of the manuscript
Statement of financial disclosure and conflict of interest
statement
Abstract (separate page)
Research Report
and Literature Review:
A maximum of 350 words, divided into 6 sections with the
following headings (in this order): Study Design, Objectives,
Background, Methods and Measures, Results, Conclusion.
Case Study/
Report/ Series:
A maximum of 250 words, divided into 5 sections with the
following headings (in this order): Study Design, Background, Case
Description, Outcomes, and Conclusions.
Tex
Research Report
and Literature Review:
The body of the manuscript to be divided into 5 sections: Background, Methods, Results, Discussion, and Conclusion.
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Background: The background section should be written from the standpoint of
researchers without specialist knowledge in that area and must clearly
state - and, if helpful, illustrate - the background to the research and
its aims. Reports of clinical research should, where appropriate,
include a summary of a search of the literature to
indicate why this study was
necessary and what it aimed to contribute to the field. The section
should end with a very brief statement of what is being reported in the article.
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Methods: This should include the design of the study, the setting, the type
of participants or materials
involved, a clear description of all
interventions and comparisons, and the type of analysis used,
including a power calculation if appropriate.
The name of the Institutional
Review Board that approved the research protocol
involving human subjects must be included in the methods section.
The methods section must also contain a statement that informed consent
was obtained and that the rights of the subjects were protected.
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Results and Discussion: The results and discussion may be combined into
a single section or
presented separately. Results of statistical analysis should include,
where appropriate, relative and absolute risks or risk reductions, and
confidence intervals. The results and
discussion sections may also be broken into subsections with
short,
informative headings.
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Conclusions: This should state clearly the main conclusions of the research and
give a clear explanation of their importance and relevance.
Case Study/
Report/ Series:
The body of the manuscript to be divided into 5 sections:
Background, Case
Description(s), Outcomes, Discussion, and Conclusions.
§
Background: This should give an introduction to the Case Study/Report/Series
from the standpoint of those without specialist knowledge in the area,
clearly explaining the background of the topic. This section should
include a short literature review, and should end with a very brief
statement of what is being reported in the article.
Case
reports should include, when required by the appropriate Institutional
Review Board, a statement that each subject was informed that data
concerning the case would be submitted for publication or a statement
indicating approval by the board. In all cases, patient confidentiality
must be protected.
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Case
Description(s):
This should present all details concerning the case, as
well as a discussion with
references to the literature. The case presentation should contain a
description of the patient's relevant demographic information (without
adding any details that could lead to the identification of the patient), any relevant medical
history of the patient, the patient's symptoms and signs, any tests that
were carried out, and a description of any treatment or intervention.
This section may be broken into subsections with appropriate
subheadings.
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Outcomes/ Discussion: The outcomes and discussion may be combined into a single section
or presented separately. The outcomes and discussion sections may also
be broken into subsections with short,
informative headings.
§ Conclusions: This should state clearly the main conclusions of the Case report and give a clear explanation of their importance and relevance. Summary illustrations may be included.
Tables
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Each table must be
self-contained and provide standalone information
independent of the text.
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See AMA Manual of Style,
section 2.13, to organize and format tables.
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Number tables consecutively in the order of their first citation in
the text, and supply a brief title for each in sentence form.
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Place explanatory matters in footnotes, not in the heading. Explain
in footnotes all nonstandard abbreviations that are used in each table.
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Footnotes should be
listed in order of occurrence in the table (left to right, row to row).
According to AMA style, footnotes are cited with the following
superscript symbols (in this order): *, †, ‡, §, ||, ¶, #, **, ††,
‡‡. Where these
symbols are unavailable, superscript numbers may be
used.
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Be sure that each table is cited in the text.
Figures
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Number figures consecutively in the order of their first citation
in the text, and supply a brief title for each in sentence form.
§
Place explanatory matters in footnotes, not in the heading. Explain
in footnotes all nonstandard abbreviations that are used in each table.
§
Footnotes should be
listed in order of occurrence in the table (left to right, row to row).
According to AMA style, footnotes are cited with the following
superscript symbols (in this order): *, †, ‡, §, ||, ¶, #, **, ††,
‡‡. Where these
symbols are unavailable, superscript numbers may be used.
§
Letters,
numbers, and symbols should be clear and even throughout and of
sufficient size that when reduced for publication each item will still
be legible.
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Titles and detailed explanations belong in the legends for
illustrations, not on the illustrations themselves.
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Digital figures must be
at least 350 dpi (dots per inch).
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Photographs must be in
JPEG file format (JPG) and graphic art in GIF file format.
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Each figure may be
imbedded in the electronic file of the manuscript after its respective
caption.
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Be sure that each figure is cited in the text.
References
§
References should be
numbered consecutively in alphabetical order, according to author last
name and initials, title, and year. Where the
first-author names are
identical, references with 1 author precede
those with multiple authors. Where all the author names are
identical,
the title is the next ordering component, and lastly, the year.
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All references in the References section must be cited in the text.
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References must be cited in the text by using the reference number in
superscript at the end of the sentence or the referenced portion
of the
sentence. The reference goes after the author’s name when
author’s
name is listed (eg, Davies1). If there are only 2
authors in the reference,
then the text should include both authors (eg, Davies and
Ellenbecker1). If the reference has more than 2 authors, the
text should
include ‘’et al’’ after the first author’s name (eg, Davies et al1).
In the
Reference section, when a reference has 7 or more authors, list
the first
3 authors, followed by ‘’et al.’’
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References must include only material that is retrievable through
standard literature searches.
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References to papers accepted but not published or published ahead of
print should be designated as ‘’in press’’ or use the PubMed/Medline
[Epub ahead of print]
status until an updated citation is available. Doctoral and masters
theses are considered as published material.
Information from manuscripts not yet accepted for publication and
personal communications will not be
accepted. The use of abstracts
and proceedings should be avoided unless they are the sole source
of the information.
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Abbreviations for the
journals in references must conform to those of the
National
Library of Medicine in Index Medicus.
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References must be
verified by the author(s) against the original
documents.
The style and
punctuation should conform to the examples that follow:
§
Journals:
Boileau P,
Watkinson D, Hatzidakis AM, Hovorka I. Neer Award
2005: The Gram- mont reverse shoulder prosthesis: results in cuff
tear
arthritis, fracture sequelae, and revision arthroplasty. J
Shoulder Elbow Surg. 2006;15:527-540.
§
Books:
Portney LG,
Watkins MP. Foundations of Clinical Research:
Applications to Practice. Norwalk, CT: Appleton and Lange; 1993.
§
Organization as Author
and Publisher:
US Institute of
Medicine. Looking at the future of the Medicaid program. Washington, DC:
US Institute of Medicine;1992.
§
Chapter in a Book:
Wilk KE, Arrigo
CA. Isokinetic testing and rehabilitation following
microtraumatic shoulder injuries. In: Davies GJ, ed. The Compendium
of Isokinetics in Clinical Usage. Onalaska, WI: S & S
Publishers;
1992:387-431.
§
Master’s or Doctoral
Thesis
:
Kaminski TW.
Concentric and Eccentric Force-Velocity Relationships Between Uninjured
and Functionally Unstable Ankles [dissertation].
Charlottesville, VA:
University of Virginia; 1996.
§
Published Abstract of a
Paper Presented at a Conference
:
Kornberg C, Lew P.
The effect of using slump as a stretching
technique on grade one hamstring injuries [abstract]. In: Dalziel
BA, Snowsill JC, eds.
Fifth Biennial Conference, Manipulative Therapists’
Association of Australia, Melbourne, Australia. Victoria,
Australia:
Manipulaive Therapists’ Association of Australia; 1987.
§
Universal Resource
Locator (URL)
:
Health Services
Research Unit, University of Oxford, Project
Information, Assessment and Evaluation of the SF36, Version II.
Available at: http://hsru.dphpc.ox.ac.uk/sf36v2.htm. Accessed
August 1, 1998.
§
Paper Presented at a
Symposium:
Nashner LM.
Sensory neuromuscular and biomechanical
contributions to human balance. Proceedings of the American
Physical Therapy Association Forum on
Balance, Nashville, TN, June 1989.
Alexandria, VA: American Physical Therapy Association; 1990:349-
356.
Acknowledgements
Please acknowledge anyone who contributed towards the study by making
substantial contributions to conception, design, acquisition of data, or
analysis and interpretation of data, or who was involved in drafting the
manuscript or revising it critically for important intellectual content,
but who does not meet the criteria for authorship. Examples of those who
might be acknowledged include a person who provided purely technical
help, writing assistance, or a professor who provided only general
support.
Manuscript Submission
Authors should mail a paper copy and an electronic copy of their
manuscript to the JSPTR at the following address:
Stephen P. Bailey, PT, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Address: 2085 Campus Box, Elon, NC 27244
Email: baileys@elon.edu
Phone #: 336 278-6346
When mailing a manuscript, please include a cover letter and all
figures, tables, and appendices, as well as the required original
signatures of all authors, and any signed Photograph Release Statements.
Peer Review Process
In the peer-review process,
submitted manuscripts that are deemed suitable for peer review will
be assigned to atleast three reviewers.
JSPTR reviewers
are unaware of the author’s identity and institutional affiliation. The
reviewers will have up to three weeks to review the submitted article.
After the receipt of the recommendation from the reviewers, the
Editors-in-Chief will decide to place the manuscript in one of the
following categories:
Accepted for Publication
Revise and Re-Submit
Rejected for Publication
Editorial Policies
The following policies apply to manuscripts submitted for review
and publication:
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The recommendations of associate editors, editorial review board
members, and reviewers concerning the status of manuscripts under
review are advisory to the Editor-in-Chief.
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The final decision concerning the publication of a manuscript is
solely the responsibility of the Editor-in-Chief.
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Manuscripts are treated as works in progress and are viewed as new
manuscripts each time a revision is submitted; each time a
manuscript is reviewed, new issues may be raised for the authors to
address.
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Authors should expect to make multiple revisions of their manuscript
before formal acceptance of the manuscript for publication.
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Manuscripts submitted for review are a form of privileged
communications between the authors and the Journal and the authors
and the reviewers. Reviewers may share the paper with other
professionals if the disclosure is intended to enhance the review.
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Authors are not allowed to make changes during the proof stage of
publication, except to correct inaccuracies.
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The Editor-in-Chief may refuse to publish a manuscript if the author
requests substantial revisions of the manuscript content after the
paper have been through the review process and accepted for
publication.
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The Editor-in-Chief may solicit additional reviews to supplement the
opinion of the assigned associate editors and reviewers.