Go to journal home page - Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics

Guide for authors

GENERAL INFORMATION

The Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics (the Journal) is an international, interdisciplinary, and peer-reviewed journal dedicated to the advancement of conservative health care principles and practices. Submissions must be original work, not previously published, and not currently under consideration for publication in another medium, including both hardcopy and electronic formats.

The Journal uses AMA style and follows the standards as set forth in the Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts (www.icmje.org), the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) (publicationethics.org), World Association of Medical Editors (www.WAME.org), and Enhancing the QUAlity and Transparency Of health Research (EQUATOR) (www.equator-network.org). The Journal is owned by the National University of Health Sciences and published by Elsevier. ISSN: 0161-4754 (Print) 1532-6586 (Electronic) The Journal is published 9 times per year. Manuscripts should be submitted online.

JMPT MANUSCRIPT FORMS

JMPT Title Page Form
JMPT Copyright Form
ICMJE Conflict of Interest Form
Figure and Information Permissions Form
Consent for Acknowledgment Form

MANUSCRIPT SUBMISSION CATEGORIES

Experimental and observational investigations

The Journal publishes rigorous quantitative and qualitative studies. Reports of new research findings include investigations into the improvement of health factors, the causal aspects of disease, and the establishment of clinical efficacies of related diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. These types of studies may include clinical trials, intervention studies, cohort studies, case-control studies, observational studies, cost-effectiveness analyses, epidemiologic evaluations, studies of diagnostic tests, qualitative analyses, etc. The authors should follow current reporting guidelines for the study design (eg, CONSORT, MOOSE, QUOROM, STARD, TREND, STROBE, etc.) Text word limit is approximately 5000 words, word count does not include abstract, tables, figure/table captions, or references.

Systematic reviews and meta-analyses

The Journal publishes rigorous systematic reviews and meta-analyses. Assessments of current knowledge of a particular subject of interest that synthesize evidence relevant to well-defined questions about diagnosis, prognosis, or therapy with emphasis on better correlation, the demonstration of ambiguities, and the delineation of areas that may constitute hypotheses for further study. Systematic reviews should be registered prior to data collection. Text word limit is approximately 5000 words, word count does not include abstract, tables, figure/table captions, or references.

Clinical guidelines

The Journal publishes high quality clinical guidelines. Succinct and informative summaries of official or consensus positions on issues related to health care delivery, clinical practice, or public policy. Manuscripts must be properly formatted and include rigorous methods and reporting of results. Text word limit is approximately 5000 words, word count does not include abstract, tables, figure/table captions, or references.

Letters to the editor

Communications that add information or clarify a deficiency in a paper recently published in the Journal (must be within the last 2 months) and include relevant references to substantiate comments. No unidentified letters are accepted for publication. All letters are subject to editing and abridgement. If a letter is accepted for publication, a blind copy will be sent to the author of the article who will have an opportunity to provide a response and new information that will be considered for publication along with the letter. Direct communication between the writer of a letter and the author of an article should be avoided, in the interest of scientific objectivity differences of opinion are best handled by a third party-the editor-who can serve as an arbitrator if there is a dispute, thus avoiding unnecessary irritation to either party. Also, if deficiencies exist in an article published in the Journal, all readers and the scientific community in general have a right to be informed. For more information about requirements for letters to the editor, please read this editorial https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmpt.2006.06.016 Text word limit is 500 words maximum, reference limit 8, word count does not include references.

Other studies

The Journal does not consider case reports, narrative reviews, or submitted commentaries.

EDITORIAL POLICIES

Authorship

All authors of manuscripts submitted to the Journal must have an intellectual stake in the material presented for publication and must be able to answer for the content of the entire work. Authors must be able to certify participation in the work, vouch for its validity, acknowledge reviewing and approving the final version of the manuscript, acknowledge that the work has not been previously published elsewhere, and be able to produce raw data if requested by the editor. All authors are required to complete and submit an authorship copyright form.

As stated in the Uniform Requirements (www.icmje.org), credit for authorship requires all 4 of the following:

  1. Substantial contributions to: the conception or design of the work; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data for the work; AND
  2. Drafting the work or revising it critically for important intellectual content; AND
  3. Final approval of the version to be published; AND
  4. Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.

Authors should meet conditions 1, 2, 3 and 4. Each author must sign a statement attesting that he or she fulfills the authorship criteria of the Uniform Requirements, which is included on the copyright assignment form.

Changes in Authorship

Any change in authorship (ie, adding, subtracting or change in authorship order) after initial submission must be: submitted with a signed letter by all authors with an explanation for the change, an updated title page form, and submitted to the editor prior to being considered. No changes to authorship are allowed after the manuscript has been accepted for publication.

Contributorship

How each author contributed to the manuscript shall be included in the title page form. Categories include: concept development (provided idea for the research), design (planned the methods to generate the results), supervision (provided oversight, responsible for organization and implementation, writing of the manuscript), data collection/processing (responsible for experiments, patient management, organization, or reporting data), analysis/interpretation (responsible for statistical analysis, evaluation, and presentation of the results), literature search (performed the literature search), writing (responsible for writing a substantive part of the manuscript), critical review (revised manuscript for intellectual content, this does not relate to spelling and grammar checking), and other (list other specific novel contributions).

Human and animal studies

Studies with humans or animals must go through approval from the appropriate ethics review board/committee, animal board, or institutional review board in advance. The Journal endorses the ICMJE guidelines and the Declaration of Helsinki. All related conditions regarding the experimental use of humans and their informed consent apply. Studies using animals should follow the Animal Research: Reporting In Vivo Experiments (ARRIVE) guidelines. Information about review board approval should be included in the Methods section of the manuscript. Manuscripts that report the results of experimental investigations with humans must include a statement that informed consent was obtained (in writing, from the person or legal guardian) after the procedure(s) had been fully explained. Evidence of board approval (eg, approval letter from the IRB/REB/Ethics Board Chair) must be submitted at the initial time of submission.

Clinical trial registration

Clinical trials must be included in a clinical trial registry prior to data collection as outlined by the ICMJE. The clinical trial registration number should be included in the methods section of the manuscript. Clinical trials should be registered in a publicly available trial registry at or before the onset of patient enrollment as a condition of consideration for publication. This policy applies to clinical trials starting enrollment after July 1, 2005. The ICMJE (www.icmje.org) defines a clinical trial as a study that prospectively assigns humans to intervention or comparison groups to evaluate the cause-and-effect relationship between an intervention and a health outcome. Trial registration numbers and the URLs for the registry must be included in the title page form at the time of submission.

Registration of Other Studies

It is expected that studies, such as systematic reviews and meta-analyses, are registered in recognized registries prior to data collection. Registry information must be included in the title page form at the time of initial submission.

Participant anonymity

It is the authors' responsibility to maintain appropriate records as well as protect participants' identities. Ethical and legal considerations require careful attention to protection of participants. Identifying information such as names, initials, actual case numbers, and specific dates must be avoided; identifying information about a patient's personal history and characteristics should be disguised. Photographs or artistic likenesses of patients or models are publishable only with their written consent or the consent of legal guardian; a signed consent form, giving any special conditions, must accompany manuscript.

Reporting guidance For research involving humans, animals or eukaryotic cells, investigators should integrate sex and gender-based analyses (SGBA) into their research design according to funder/sponsor requirements and best practices within a field. Authors should address the sex and/or gender dimensions of their research in their article. In cases where they cannot, they should discuss this as a limitation to their research's generalizability. Importantly, authors should explicitly state what definitions of sex and/or gender they are applying to enhance the precision, rigor and reproducibility of their research and to avoid ambiguity or conflation of terms and the constructs to which they refer. Authors can refer to the Sex and Gender Equity in Research (SAGER) guidelines and the SAGER guidelines checklist. These offer systematic approaches to the use and editorial review of sex and gender information in study design, data analysis, outcome reporting and research interpretation - however, please note there is no single, universally agreed-upon set of guidelines for defining sex and gender.

Definitions Sex refers to a set of biological attributes that are associated with physical and physiological features (e.g., chromosomal genotype, hormonal levels, internal and external anatomy). A binary sex categorization is usually designated at birth ("sex assigned at birth"), most often based solely on the visible external anatomy of a newborn. Gender generally refers to socially constructed roles, behaviors, and identities of women, men and gender-diverse people that occur in a historical and cultural context and may vary across societies and over time. Gender influences how people view themselves and each other, how they behave and interact and how power is distributed in society. Sex and gender are often incorrectly portrayed as binary (female/male or woman/man) and unchanging whereas these constructs actually exist along a spectrum and include additional sex categorizations and gender identities such as people who are intersex/have differences of sex development (DSD) or identify as non-binary. Moreover, the terms "sex" and "gender" can be ambiguous-thus it is important for authors to define the manner in which they are used. In addition to this definition guidance and the SAGER guidelines, the resources on this page offer further insight around sex and gender in research studies.

HIPAA compliance

For more information about HIPAA as it relates to obtaining patient consent for publication, please refer to http://privacyruleandresearch.nih.gov/faq.asp or your country's legal guidelines.

Conflict of interest

Authors - Each author is required to complete an ICMJE conflict of interest form (www.icmje.org)and submit this at the time of initial submission to the Journal. Conflict of interest exists when an author has financial or other interests that may influence his or her actions regarding the authors' work, manuscript development, or decisions. In addition to the form, any concerns or additional conflict of interest issues may be included in the cover letter to the editor. Authors must also disclose in the cover letter conflicts of interest of any other person or entity involved with the manuscript (eg, non-author, contributor, funding body). As it may be difficult to judge material from authors where conflicts of interests are concerned, authors should be ready to answer requests regarding potential conflicts of interest. The editor makes the final determination concerning the extent of information included in the published paper. It is expected that authors are truthful when declaring conflicts on their submission materials. An editor's role is not to be policeman, so the burden is upon the author to properly declare interest. If an author did not accurately declare their interests upon submission, and it is discovered later, the editor will follow up with an ethics investigation. The results may include rejection or retraction of the paper, prevention of future submissions, and notification of ethical misconduct to the proper authorities. For more information about policy on conflict of interest, please refer to the following editorial. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmpt.2010.01.004

Editorial Staff and Peer Reviewers - It is expected that individuals involved with handling manuscripts for the journal will properly disclose their financial and professional interests that may be viewed as potential conflicts of interest and recuse themselves from any actions in which their conflicts of interest will hamper their judgment or actions. Peer reviewers should inform the editor if they feel they are not able to properly review a manuscript and recuse themselves from reviewing that manuscript. Editorial staff should disclose information that might influence decisions in journal editing. Please refer to ICMJE website (www.icmje.org) for more information on declared/competing/conflict of interest.

Declaration of generative AI in scientific writing

The below guidance only refers to the writing process, and not to the use of AI tools to analyze and draw insights from data as part of the research process.

Where authors use generative artificial intelligence (AI) and AI-assisted technologies in the writing process, authors should only use these technologies to improve readability and language. Applying the technology should be done with human oversight and control, and authors should carefully review and edit the result, as AI can generate authoritative-sounding output that can be incorrect, incomplete, or biased. AI and AI-assisted technologies should not be listed as an author or co-author or be cited as an author. Authorship implies responsibilities and tasks that can only be attributed to and performed by humans, as outlined in Elsevier's AI policy for authors.

Authors should disclose in their manuscript the use of AI and AI-assisted technologies in the writing process by following the instructions below. A statement will appear in the published work. Please note that authors are ultimately responsible and accountable for the contents of the work.

Disclosure instructions

Authors must disclose the use of generative AI and AI-assisted technologies in the writing process by adding a statement at the end of their manuscript in the core manuscript file, before the References list. The statement should be placed in a new section entitled 'Declaration of Generative AI and AI-assisted technologies in the writing process'.

Statement: During the preparation of this work the author(s) used NAME TOOL / SERVICE in order to REASON. After using this tool/service, the author(s) reviewed and edited the content as needed and take(s) full responsibility for the content of the publication.

This declaration does not apply to the use of basic tools for checking grammar, spelling, references etc. If there is nothing to disclose, there is no need to add a statement.

Funding sources

Sources of financial support for the study, such as grants, funding sources, donation of equipment and supplies, should be clearly stated in the title page form. The role of any funding organizations in the conduct of the study should be described. If the study is funded directly by an NIH grant or other national funding, it is the corresponding author's responsibility to inform the editor at the time of submission.

Copyright of journal contents

Materials published in the Journal are covered by copyright. No content published by the Journal (either in print or electronic) may be stored or presented in other locations such as on another private website, an organization's site, or displayed or reproduced by any other means, without express permission of the copyright holder.

Elsevier supports responsible sharing
Find out how you can share your research published in Elsevier journals.

Redundant or duplicate publication

Manuscripts must be submitted to one journal at a time and published in only one journal. The Journal does not publish articles containing material reported at length elsewhere. If there is possible overlap, the corresponding author must include in the cover letter a statement to the editor about all submissions and previous materials that might be considered redundant or a duplicate publication of similar work, including if the manuscript includes materials on which the authors have published a previous report or have submitted similar or related work to another publication. Copies of the related material may be requested by the editor in order to assist with the editorial decision of the manuscript.

If redundant or duplicate publication is attempted or occurs without proper disclosure to the editor, editorial action will be taken according to COPE guidelines. The results may include rejection or retraction of the paper, prevention of future submissions, and notification of ethical misconduct to the proper authorities. If it is confirmed that a paper is a duplicate or redundant publication and is discovered in the prepublication phase, the manuscript will be rejected, even if an accept notice has been distributed previously to the authors. If duplicate or redundant publication is confirmed after publication, the manuscript will be retracted and the appropriate boards/institutions notified.

Non-compliance with author instructions

Authors who do not comply with the items set forth in these instructions may have the submission returned, rejected, or brought to higher authorities, such as ethics, licensing, or institutional boards for further review at the editor's discretion. If an author has a question, the author should contact the editor.

Publication Ethics

The Journal follows the guidelines from the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) (publicationethics.org). Issues that arise during the submission, review, or publication process will be addressed using COPE guidelines.

EDITORIAL PROCESS

Pre-peer review and internal review

To ensure that only relevant and appropriate manuscripts are sent to review, submitted manuscripts are pre-reviewed for relevance, appropriate submission format, and basic quality before sending out to peer review. Reasons for early rejection may include: the submission does not meet the requirements as stated in the instructions for authors, the work is of poor quality, and/or the topic is not relevant to the mission of journal. The editorial staff reads each manuscript and then decides whether to send the manuscript to outside reviewers. If a submission is rejected without external review, the author will typically be notified electronically within 2 to 3 weeks of receipt. Submitted manuscripts that are sent to external peer review are assigned 3 or more reviewers.

Review process

All manuscripts are subject to blind critical review by experts in a related field. The peer review process assists the editor in determining appropriateness to Journal objectives, originality, validity, importance of content, substantiation of conclusions, and this process provides the authors with areas needing improvement to ensure highest quality end-result. The Journal uses double-blind peer review methods (author and reviewer are blinded). The journal staff will do their best to support blinded review methods, however due to the special nature of the topics published, we cannot guarantee that reviewers or authors will not be able to guess the identity of each other. Manuscripts are considered privileged communications and should not be retained or duplicated during or after the review process. Reviewers' comments may be returned with the manuscript if rejected or if strong recommendations for improvement are made.

Rapid review

Rapid review speeds up the process of peer review and publication. Priority is given to large clinical trials and meta-analysis. Only manuscripts that are of very high quality with findings likely to directly influence clinical practice immediately will be considered for rapid review. Authors who feel that their research warrants rapid review should email the editor and submit justification regarding the merits of the manuscript to substantiate its inclusion for rapid review. The editor will make the final decision regarding the suitability of a submission for rapid review and publication. If a manuscript is not deemed appropriate by the editor for rapid review, the manuscript may still be submitted through the regular submission process and timeline. If a manuscript is accepted for rapid review, it will then be handled through an expedited peer review process for decision.

Criteria for editorial decisions

The Journal can publish only a portion of all manuscripts submitted each year. Manuscripts are selected based on quality and strength of the study in regard to scientific merit and the potential impact on improving patient care and public health.

Revisions, rejections, transfers, and resubmissions

Processing a manuscript for peer review does not imply acceptance to publish, even though the manuscript may be found to be within Journal editorial objectives. Submissions may receive one of the following responses from the editor: incomplete or not ready for submission, major revision, minor revision, accept, accept pending additional changes or requests, or reject. Aside from rejection for uncorrectable faults, a well-compiled manuscript may also be rejected because it adds little new information to work that was previously published in the literature or addresses a new topic that deserves more in-depth reporting.

For some manuscripts that are not a good match for the Journal's mission, the editor may provide the authors and opportunity to have the manuscript submission transferred to a journal that is a better match. A transfer does not guarantee acceptance to the transfer journal. It is up to the author to accept or reject the transfer recommendation.

If the authors have been given the opportunity by the editor to make specific changes to a manuscript and return it for further consideration, this is considered a "revision." The manuscript will have the same manuscript number and may be sent out to the same or different reviewers, depending on the needs of the revision. A request for revision does not imply that the manuscript will be accepted. Manuscripts that are revised and returned may still be rejected.

If the authors have received a rejection decision but wish the editor to reconsider the decision, this is considered a "resubmission." A new file will be created, and the submission will receive a new manuscript number. The cover letter must explain that the manuscript is being resubmitted and provide explanations for why the manuscript should be allowed to be resubmitted.

Acceptance for publication

Once a manuscript has been accepted, the authors should not distribute content relating to the article while it is being prepared for publication. It is permissible at this time to refer to this manuscript as "accepted for publication" in a forthcoming issue of Journal; however, it is requested that no further details of the paper, or the research on which it may have been based, be given out in consideration that abridged or inexact versions of research or scholarly work can be misleading, or even hazardous where clinical procedures are involved. Authors may use the Editorial Manager website to track accepted articles and set up e-mail alerts to inform authors of when an article's status has changed. Answers to questions arising after acceptance of an article, especially those relating to the proof, are provided after registration of an article for publication. Accepted papers will be edited for clarity, journal style, and accuracy of information. The intention is to provide the highest quality version of the manuscript for final publication. Authors will have the opportunity to review the manuscript before final publication during the proof stage to make sure all corrections are accurate. The editor reserves the right to accept or deny any correction requests from authors prior to final publication.

Proofs

All accepted manuscripts are subject to post-acceptance editing; revision may be necessary to ensure clarity, completeness, conciseness, correct usage, and conformance to approved style. Almost all papers that are accepted require editorial revision before publication. Authors will have the opportunity to review revisions made during the copyediting process during the reviewing of the proofs. Editors will work with authors to arrive at agreement when authors do not find the revisions acceptable, but the Journal reserves the right to refrain from publishing a manuscript if discussion with the author fails to reach a solution that satisfies the editors. The journal reserves the right to deny requested changes that do not affect accuracy. Authors may be charged for changes to the proof beyond those required to correct errors or to answer queries. Authors must carefully check and correct the proof and reply within 24 to 48 hours of receipt and follow all instructions in the proof email.

Publication scheduling of accepted papers and proofs

Authors will be sent notice by email that the proof file is ready for review. Authors are expected to review the proof, answer queries, and make corrections within 48 hours. Authors who cannot examine the proof by the deadline should email the editor to designate a colleague who will review the proof. All requests for changes within the proof are reviewed and approved or denied by the editor. Authors should reply promptly to any information requests from the journal personnel. Once proof changes have been submitted and approved, no further changes will be considered.

JMPT e-papers

Starting with the January 2002 issue, the Journal initiated an electronic paper option for the journal. Electronic papers have their abstract published in the print version of the journal, while the full-text version of the paper is included on the Journal web site (www.jmptonline.org). While the editor will attempt to honor requests to publish or not publish a paper as an E-paper, the editor reserves the right to make a final decision as to whether a given paper will be published as an E-paper. It is important to note that electronic publication includes all the same rights and privileges as print publication, including inclusion in indexing agency databases.

Funding sources and NIH funded studies

Funding sources and conflicts of interests must be included in the title page form. If there were no funding sources or conflicts of interest to declare, then this should be clearly stated. The Journal is compliant with open access NIH publication policy and will deposit the final version of the accepted manuscript to PubMedCentral (PMC) within 12 months of final publication. It is the corresponding author's responsibility to inform the editor in both the cover letter and the copyright form that the study was funded by an NIH grant.

Elsevier has reached open access agreements for various institutions. This page provides more information about open access agreements. https://www.elsevier.com/open-access/agreements

Reprints and copies

Authors of papers in the Journal are encouraged to make reprints available to interested members of the scientific, academic, and clinical communities so the inherent knowledge may be widely disseminated; a reprint order form will be provided with the proofs to facilitate ordering quantity reprints. Copies of the Journal, if desired, must be ordered at regular cost from the publisher. Authors are responsible for payment of reprints or additional copies.

Reproductions

The entire content of the Journal is protected by copyright, and no part may be reproduced (outside of the fair use stipulation of Public Law 94-553) by any means without prior permission from the editor or publisher in writing. In particular, this policy applies to the reprinting of an original article in print or in electronic format, in another publication and the use of any illustrations or text to create new work.

Publication and Acceses Options

The Journal offers two types of access for accepted manuscripts. Authors must select from one of these two options:

Subscription Access or Gold Open Access

Gold Open Access. Upon acceptance, a final published journal article will be immediately available to everyone. For Gold Open Access, the author will pay an APC (Article Publishing Charge) USD 2,900.00 only if the article is accepted.

For open access articles, permitted third party (re)use is defined by the following Creative Commons user licenses:

Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs (CC BY-NC-ND). For non-commercial purposes, let others distribute and copy the article, and to include in a collective work (such as an anthology), as long as they credit the author(s) and provided they do not alter or modify the article.

Subscription Access. Subscription access has no fee for publication. Upon acceptance, the final published journal article will be immediately available to all journal subscribers, to patients and caregivers, and other groups. If subscription access is selected, authors must wait for 12 months before they may share the accepted manuscript publicly in their institution or funder's repository. They may immediately share their work on non-commercial personal homepages and blogs, within their institution, and privately with collaborators. Subscription articles are made available to developing countries and patient groups through our universal access program.

The Journal supports studies, such as those that are funded by the NIH and other national funding bodies, to comply with the public-access policy by the Journal Publishing Agreement which is sent to the corresponding author of accepted Articles. It is the author's responsibility to inform the Journal Editor of any requirements at the initial time of manuscript submission. It is the authors' responsibility once the paper has been accepted to follow up with forms related to NIH and other funding bodies. The Journal complies with Elsevier's agreements with funding bodies. http://www.elsevier.com/about/open-science/open-access/agreements

Regardless of how authors choose to publish their article, the Journal will apply the same peer review criteria and acceptance standards.

SUBMISSION INFORMATION

Manuscript preparation and submission

All manuscripts must be submitted through the Journal online submission and review web site (Editorial Manager). Authors may send queries concerning the submission process, manuscript status, or journal procedures to the Editorial Office at [email protected]. Once the submission files have been uploaded, the system automatically generates an electronic (PDF) proof for author review. All correspondence, including the Editor's decision and request for revisions, will be sent by e-mail to the corresponding author. The Publisher and Editors will not be able to consider submissions that do not follow these procedures.

File Requirements

Original source files are required, such as Word, Excel, JPEG files. Do not submit pdf files. Files should be labeled with appropriate and descriptive file names (eg, SmithText.doc or Fig1.tif). It is recommended that each file uploaded during the submissions process is no larger than 2MB.

Journal Style

The Journal follows the style as described by the AMA Manual of Style (11th ed.). The manuscript should be written in English (American spelling). Authors who are nonnative speakers may wish to use their own scientific editing service. Elsevier also offers a language service (http://webshop.elsevier.com/languageservices) to provide an English editing for manuscript submissions. Please note that this Elsevier service is not connected in any way with the Journal and using this service does not influence acceptance or rejection of the manuscript.

Revision

Manuscript revisions are expected within 30 days of request for revision. The corresponding author should contact the editor if there are any questions or more time is needed.

All comments, concerns, suggestions must be addressed in the revision and include an explanation of whether the requested change has made or not. The corresponding author must upload a Word document with a list of reviewer comments with the itemized changes made in the manuscript addressing each of the revision requests. Changes made in the manuscript (insertions or corrected information) must be highlighted within the text (either highlight using track changes or use color font) to show the reviewers and editor where the changes have been made.

Accepted manuscripts

Accepted manuscripts will be edited after acceptance to ensure that the final published article is accurate and understandable to readers. Once the proof is ready, the corresponding author will receive an email link to the proof. The author is responsible for reviewing the proof, making corrections, answering all queries, and completing the proof submission within 48 hours.

SUBMISSION COMPONENTS AND REQUIREMENTS

Submission checklist

Required at initial submission for all manuscripts

  • Cover letter
  • Title page form
  • Signed copyright form for each author
  • Conflict of interest form for each author
  • Uses AMA style for text and references
  • Correct use of English (spelling, grammar, syntax)
  • Structured abstract required at initial submission - as relevant
  • Ethics approval/exemption letter
  • Signed permission to acknowledge form
  • Permission to reprint
  • Include call outs for figures and tables in text
  • Uses reporting guideline (eg, CONSORT, PRISMA, etc)

Manuscript Forms

JMPT Title Page Form
JMPT Copyright Form
ICMJE Conflict of Interest Form
Figure and Information Permissions Form
Consent for Acknowledgment Form

Cover letter

The cover letter should include

  • why the manuscript should be published in the Journal rather than elsewhere
  • note that the submission is original and not currently under consideration for publication in another peer-reviewed medium
  • a statement of intent to submit to the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics
  • if the corresponding author had full access to all study data and assumes all responsibility to submit the manuscript for publication
  • any special information regarding the submission that may be helpful in its consideration for publication, including if the study has been presented in another form (eg, conference proceeding or other similar publication)
  • if the study was funded by an NIH or other grant

Peer Reviewers Recommended by Authors

Authors are required to recommend a minimum of 3 peer reviewers for consideration during the submissions process. The recommended peer reviewers should include the following characteristics

  • have expertise and have published in the topic areas or study design of the manuscript
  • do not have the same employer or work at the same institution (within the past 3 years)
  • are currently active in the research field
  • do not have a close working or other relationship with any of the authors (within the past 3 years)

Title page

Fill in all components and upload the title page form as a Word document.

Blinded manuscript file

Manuscript format and style

Manuscripts must be prepared in accordance with the ICMJE guidelines www.icmje.org and follow AMA Manual of Style (11th edition). More information may be found in the following editorial explaining the expectations for manuscripts submitted to the Journal. Submitting Manuscripts to Biomedical Journals: Common Errors and Helpful Solutions https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmpt.2008.12.002

Structured Abstract

The structured abstract should be no more than 250 words. The abstract should consist of 4 paragraphs, labeled: Objectives, Methods (include relevant information such as design, persons/population, setting, statistical methods, etc), Results, and Conclusions.

Manuscript Organization and Contents

Studies should follow published guidelines relevant to their study design (eg, CONSORT, MOOSE, QUOROM, STARD, TREND, etc). Any questions about format should be directed to the editor. A large array of guidelines may be found on the following website https://www.equator-network.org/

Study Registration Studies should be registered according to current guidelines. It is expected that clinical trials and systematic reviews/meta-analyses are registered in nationally recognized registries before data collection.

Introduction

The introduction should clearly state the purpose of the article and summarize the rationale for the study. Only pertinent references should be included; the introduction should serve only to introduce the study and why it was done. The specific purpose, research objective, and/or hypothesis should conclude the study.

Methods

The methods should be clearly written so that the study could be duplicated.

The selection and description of participants, technical information, and statistics used should be reported clearly and follow current and relevant guidelines (eg, CONSORT, PRISMA, MOOSE, QUOROM, STARD, TREND, etc.).

For studies involving humans, the Methods section must 1) include information aobut the institution that approved the study, 2) state that the study was performed in accordance with relevant named guideline, and 3) state that informed consent was obtained from all participants and/or their legal guardians. When reporting experiments on animals, indicate the institution's or National Research Council's guide for the care and use of laboratory animals was followed and what ethics guidelines were followed (eg ARRIVE guidelines).

If statistics are used, use the SAMPL Guidelines, which may be found here: https://www.equator-network.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/SAMPL-Guidelines-3-13-13.pdf. The statistical methods should be described in sufficient detail to allow a knowledgable reader with acess to the original data to verify the results. Findings should include appropriate indicators of measurement error or uncertainty, such as confidence intervals. Examples of statistical details that should be included in the methods section are: the eligibility of experimental subjects, details about randomization, methods for blinding, complications of treatment, numbers of observations, dropouts from a clinical trial, the statistical programs used. In the results section, state the statistical methods used to analyze the results. All statistical terms, abbreviations, and symbols should be defined. Include numbers of observations and the statistical significance of the findings when appropriate. Detailed statistical analyses, mathematical derivations, and the like may sometimes be suitably presented in the form of one or more appendices.

Results

The results should be presented in logical sequence within the text, tables, and figures. Do not repeat findings in multiple places (eg, do not include the same data in both text and tables). Emphasize or summarize only important observations, do not discuss findings in the results section.

Discussion

The discussion should emphasize the important aspects of the study and include conclusions that follow from these observations. Do not repeat data presented in the Results section and do not include information or work that is not directly relevant to the study. State new hypotheses when indicated, but clearly label them as such. Statements that are unsupported, that generalize, or that over-extrapolate the findings should not be included. Deductions that may be drawn from the study may be included in the discussion; however, they may be more appropriately presented in a separate section. The principal statements should be directly linked to the goals of the study. Unqualified statements not supported by the findings should not be included. Avoid claiming priority or referring to work that has not been completed or published. Recommendations (for further study, etc), when appropriate, may be included.

Limitations

Place the limitation subsection at the end of the Discussion section. List and discuss the limitations of the study, possible sources of bias, and any reasonable alternate explanations for the findings and interpretation for the study. This section may also include recommended future studies.

Conclusion

The conclusion of a manuscript should provide insightful statements about the importance and relevance of the study without generalizing beyond the study's findings. It is not meant to replicate the abstract or other areas already mentioned in the manuscript. The conclusion should not interject author opinions, make unsupported claims, or give statements that go beyond the limits of the study findings. This section should be brief, and provide clear answers and summarize how the research thesis or hypothesis presented in the introduction was addressed. Do not include references in the conclusion section. Do not discuss future studies or state that more research is needed in the conclusion.

Acknowledgments

Acknowledgement is only for those who have made substantive contributions to the study itself; this includes support personnel such as statistical or manuscript review consultants, but not people assessed in the study or clerical staff. Clearly state what each contributor has provided. Authors are responsible for obtaining the signed written permission (to be included at time of submission) that is required from persons, institutions, or businesses being acknowledged by name as readers may infer their endorsement of the data and conclusions.

References

Reference style should be in accordance as specified the AMA manual of style (11th edition). Authors are responsible for accurate reference and citation information, especially accuracy of author names, journal titles, volume numbers, and page numbers. References should be numbered consecutively when they are first used in the text. Reference citation in the text should be in superscript format and after punctuation (eg, The quick fox jumped over the dog.1). References should be listed in numeric order (not alphabetically) following the text pages. The original citation number assigned to a reference should be reused each time the reference is cited in the text, regardless of its previous position in the text: do not assign it another number. References should not be included in abstracts. References that are only used in tables or figure legends should be numbered in the sequence established by the first use of the table or figure in the text. Only references that provide support for a particular statement in the text, tables, and/or figures should be used.

Do not include the following sources in the references

  • Unpublished works
  • Unavailable works
  • Personal communications
  • Retracted research

Excessive use of references should be avoided. Each reference should only be listed in the reference section once. Authors are responsible for verifying references against the original document and not from reading the abstract alone. Care should be taken to accurately represent the original work and not misconstrue the original meaning of the study.

Do not include citations in the abstract or conclusion section. Do not use footnotes.

Unacceptable Reference Sources

The Journal does not accept "unpublished observations." Unpublished references (submitted but not accepted) should not be listed as references. Manuscripts that are accepted but not yet published may be included in the references with the designation "in press." The author should obtain written permission to cite these papers and may be requested by the editor to provide documentation to verify the paper was accepted for publication. For the most part, sources of information and reference support for a bioscientific paper should be limited to journals (rather than books) because that knowledge is generally considered more recent and (in the case of refereed journals) more accurate.

Data references

This journal encourages authors to cite underlying or relevant datasets in your manuscript by citing them in your text and including a data reference in your Reference List. Data references should include the following elements: author name(s), dataset title, data repository, version (where available), year, and global persistent identifier. Add [dataset] immediately before the reference so we can properly identify it as a data reference. This identifier will not appear in your published article.

Example:
[dataset] Oguro, M, Imahiro, S, Saito, S, Nakashizuka, T. Mortality data for Japanese oak wilt disease and surrounding forest compositions, Mendeley Data, v1; 2015. http://dx.doi.org/10.17632/xwj98nb39r.1.

Tables

Tables should be placed at the end of the blinded manuscript file at the time of submission. Tables should be numbered as they appear in the text (eg, Table 1). Identify statistical measures of variation, such as standard deviation and standard error of mean. If data are used from another source, the author should acknowledge the original source in the text and include the written permission from the copyright holder to reproduce the material with the submission. Using Arabic numerals, number each table consecutively (in the order in which they were listed in the text in parentheses) and supply a brief title to appear at the top of the table above a horizontal line; place any necessary explanatory matter in footnotes at the bottom of the table below a horizontal line and identify with footnote symbols a, b, c, d. etc.

Do not submit tables as images or photographs. Avoid the use of too many tables in relation to length of the text, as this may produce difficulties in layout of the pages. Table contents and number of tables may be subject to editing. Legends for tables should be included above each table. Include expanded versions of all acronyms and symbol meanings in a legend. Identify each table with Arabic numerals in the same manner and sequence as it was indicated in the text in parentheses (eg, Table 1). Include in the manuscript text where the table should be placed. For example "call out" where the table should be located using (Table 1) in the text.

Terminology

The Journal uses AMA style for terminology. Standard spelling and terminology should be used whenever possible. Avoid creating new terms or acronyms for entities that already exist. Technical terms that are used in statistics should not be used as non-technical terms, such as "random" (which implies a randomizing device), "normal," "significant" (which implies statistical significance), and "sample."

Unit of measurement

In most countries the International System of Units (SI) is standard, or is becoming so, and bioscientific journals in general are in the process of requiring the reporting of data in these metric units. However, insofar as this practice is not yet universal, particularly in the United States, it is permissible for the time being to report data in the units in which calculations were originally made, followed by the opposite unit equivalents in parentheses; ie, English units (SI units) or SI units (English units). Nevertheless, researchers and authors considering submission of manuscripts to the Journal should begin to adopt SI as their primary system of measurement.

Abbreviations and symbols

Use only standard abbreviations for units of measurement, statistical terms, biological references, journal names, etc. Avoid abbreviations in titles and abstracts. The full term should precede its abbreviation for the first use in the manuscript, unless it is a standard unit of measurement. For standard abbreviations, consult the following: 1) Uniform requirements for manuscripts submitted to biomedical journals (Ann Intern Med 1997;126:36-47); 2) American Medical Association manual of style. 10th ed. Baltimore: Williams and Wilkins; 2007; 3) Scientific style and format, the CBE manual for authors, editors, and publishers. 6th ed. Cambridge (UK): Cambridge University Press; 1994.

Figures

Figures include images, charts, graphs, and lists of information (eg, inclusion criteria).

Figure requirements

  • Do not embed figures in the manuscript file. Upload figure files separately.
  • Images must be uploaded as at least 200 dpi resolution in JPEG format.
  • Figure files should be 2MB or less.
  • Photographs of people or patients should not be masked and require permission from the person in the photo.
  • Illustrations (including lettering, numbering and/or symbols) must be of professional quality.
  • Rough sketches with freehand or typed lettering are not acceptable.
  • Resolution must show all details, so they are clearly readable.
  • Each figure should be saved using the figure number in its file name (eg, Fig1).
  • Original data (eg, Excel file) for graphs or charts is preferred.
  • Include legends for figures are preferred. The color version of the figures in the electronic version are free. If the author wishes color figures in the hard copy, color printing fees will be incurred by the authors.
  • Typically, no more than eight figures are acceptable (eg, Fig 1A and Fig 1B are considered two figures).

Include in the manuscript text where the figure should be placed. For example, "call out" where the figure should be located using (Figure 1) in the text. After the reference section in the blinded manuscript file, include the figure descriptions/legends. Identify each figure with Arabic numerals in the same sequence as it appears in the text in parentheses. Do not type legends in the image file. When symbols, arrows, numbers, or letters are used to identify parts of the illustrations, identify, and explain each one clearly in the figure description/legend.

If photographs are of people, the submission must be accompanied by signed written permission to publish the image. If a figure has been previously published, acknowledge the original source and submit written permission from the copyright holder to reproduce the image. Permission is required, regardless of authorship or publisher, except for documents in the public domain, in which case the source of the image should be clearly labeled. Since articles appear in both the print and online versions of the Journal, and wording of the letter should specify permission in all forms and media. Failure of the author to obtain electronic permission rights will result in the images not appearing in the paper or rejection.

Assignment of copyright and permissions

At the time of initial submission, all manuscripts must be accompanied by a properly completed and signed authorship form for all authors. Upon submission, authors will not disseminate of any part of the material contained in the manuscript without prior written approval from the editor. Nonobservance of this copyright stipulation may result in rejection of the submission for publication. The assignment of copyright should be submitted in order to initiate manuscript processing for peer review. Multiple authors should submit separate versions of the form (all signatures should not be on the same form).

Funding

All source(s) of support in the form of funds, grants, equipment, or other real goods should be clearly stated in the title page form.

Conflict of interest

At the time of initial submission, all manuscripts must be accompanied by a properly completed declaration of competing/conflict of interest form for all authors. The form may be found here: https://www.editorialmanager.com/jmpt/default.aspx

Permissions

All permissions should be submitted at the time of initial manuscript submission. It is the corresponding author's responsibility to secure all permissions and provide these to the Journal editorial office. Permissions include but are not limited to permission to reprint previously published works, to state names or institutions in the acknowledgements, to include images of models who are identifiable in figures, and to publish information from patients of case reports (when applicable), etc. Illustrations or content from other publications (print or electronic) must be submitted with written permission from the copyright holder and must be acknowledged in the manuscript as delineated by the permission granting publisher. For animal or human studies, evidence of board approval should be submitted at the initial time of submission. Please upload a jpeg or pdf scan of the approval/exemption letter. Permissions letters require signatures (eg, emails are not sufficient) and clear letterhead with the permission giver's name and affiliation.

Supplemental digital files

The journal supports supplementary video and data files. Supplemental digital files associated with your manuscript, such as video or data files, may be uploaded at the time of submission. For any questions regarding supplemental files, please contact the editor.

RESEARCH DATA

The Journal encourages and enables authors to share data that supports your research publication where appropriate, and enables authors to interlink the data with your published articles. Research data refers to the results of observations or experimentation that validate research findings. To facilitate reproducibility and data reuse, the Journal also encourages authors to share their software, code, models, algorithms, protocols, methods and other useful materials related to the project.

Below are ways in which authors can associate data with your article or make a statement about the availability of your data when submitting a manuscript. If authors are sharing data in one of these ways, authors are encouraged to cite the data in your manuscript and reference list. Please refer to the "References" section for more information about data citation. For more information on depositing, sharing and using research data and other relevant research materials, visit the research data page.

Data linking

If authors have made research data available in a data repository, authors may link the article directly to the dataset. Elsevier collaborates with a number of repositories to link articles on ScienceDirect with relevant repositories, giving readers access to underlying data that give them a better understanding of the research described.

There are different ways to link your datasets to your article.

When available, authors may directly link your dataset to the article by providing the relevant information in the submission system. For more information, visit the database linking page.

For supported data repositories a repository banner will automatically appear next to your published article on ScienceDirect.

In addition, authors may link to relevant data or entities through identifiers within the text of the manuscript, using the following format: Database: xxxx (e.g., TAIR: AT1G01020; CCDC: 734053; PDB: 1XFN).

Mendeley Data

This journal supports Mendeley Data, enabling authors to deposit any research data (including raw and processed data, video, code, software, algorithms, protocols, and methods) associated with your manuscript in a free-to-use, open access repository. During the submission process, after uploading your manuscript, authors will have the opportunity to upload your relevant datasets directly to Mendeley Data. The datasets will be listed and directly accessible to readers next to your published article online.

For more information, visit the Mendeley Data for journals page.

Data statement

To foster transparency, we encourage authors to state the availability of their data in your submission. This may be a requirement of your funding body or institution.

If your data is unavailable to access or unsuitable to post, authors will have the opportunity to indicate why during the submission process, for example by stating that the research data is confidential. The statement will appear with your published article on ScienceDirect. For more information, visit the Data statement page.

Instructions for authors updated: February 2023.