JAB Submission Guidelines

Instructions for Authors, Revised November 2008

The primary criteria on which manuscripts submitted to the Journal of Applied Biomechanics (JAB) are judged include (1) the adherence to accepted scientific principles and methods, (2) the significant or novel contribution of the work to the area of biomechanics, (3) the clarity and conciseness of the writing, and (4) the interest to the readership.

Original Research. Original Research articles present the results of a hypothesis-driven study or, in some cases, a descriptive study, the results of which are considered novel and important. Original research articles should not exceed 4,000 words and should not include more than eight figures.

Technical Note. Technical Notes are short articles that present results related to a new or modified method or instrument, or an important experimental observation. Technical notes should not exceed 2,000 words and should not include more than four figures.

Reviews. Reviews are critical and inclusive presentations of important aspects of biomechanics. The role of review articles in the Journal of Applied Biomechanics is to provide a stimulus for further systematic biomechanical inquiry on a particular topic of scientific and/or clinical importance. This requires that a presumably large body of accumulated literature is summarized so as to illuminate gaps in the state of knowledge. These gaps can be revealed by identifying conflicting evidence, problems borne of methodological disparities and/or inadequacies, the influence of invalid or unproven assumptions, and the potential for alternative interpretations. Collectively, these gaps should lead to establishing explicit and testable hypotheses. Such reviews should be forward looking and not merely report the current state of the art. Please e-mail Editor-in-Chief Thomas S. Buchanan (buchanan@udel.edu) if you are interested in writing a review article. Reviews may be up to 6,000 words in length.

Proceedings. The publication of symposia or workshop proceedings, which consist of brief papers based on individual presentations that were part of a larger program, are solicited by the JAB Editorial Board members. In addition, authors may directly contact the editor-in-chief (e-mail: buchanan@udel.edu) regarding the suitability of symposium or workshop manuscripts.

Target Articles. Target Articles present a summary of current scientific thought from the unique perspective of an experienced scientist on a matter of significance to the field of biomechanics. Invited responses to the Target Article and the author’s rebuttal are normally published along with the Target Article.

Manuscript Format. The manuscript should begin with a page identifying the article type (e.g., Original Research or Technical Note); the title; the full names, e-mail addresses, and institutional affiliations of all authors; three or more keywords not used in title; and a word count. Any financial interest in the research should be stated.

Please double-space the text, add line numbers, and organize it in the following order:

In the main text, headings should be unnumbered and limited to Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion. With the exception of the Methods section, subheadings should be avoided.
Studies involving humans must include a statement regarding institutional approval of protocol and informed consent. Studies involving animals must include a statement regarding institutional approval and compliance with government regulations on animal welfare.
Following peer review, editorial decisions will be provided promptly. Upon acceptance, authors will be required to transfer the copyright for publication in JAB to Human Kinetics, Inc.

Scientific Notation Style and Reference Style. It is imperative that authors follow an established style manual when preparing the manuscript. One such manual that is relatively brief, inclusive, and widely available is fifth edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. It covers most particulars of scientific notation, such as in the treatment of mathematics, statistics, and units of measure, as well as the use of italics and boldface. Copies can be found in most university libraries and bookstores. Some abridged versions are freely available via the Internet.

In particular, the citation style must reflect all the guidelines found in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association with one exception: For works written by three or more authors, list only the first author’s surname plus “et al.” at the first and all subsequent occurrences:

Figure Preparation. Each figure should have a brief caption that is self-explanatory and that defines author-created acronyms or nonstandard abbreviations used in the figure. Figures should be professional in appearance and have clean, crisp lines that are not too thin. Figures must be no larger that approximately 6 inches (16 cm) in width by 8 inches (21 cm) in height, not including the caption. In bar graphs, stripe patterns, cross-hatching, or solids (black or white) are best; shades of gray should be avoided. Upon acceptance, high-resolution figures should be uploaded to Manuscript Central. Ideally, electronic figures (or tables, only if necessary) should be in high-quality JPEG or TIFF at a resolution of 300 dots per inch (dpi). Be sure to identify each figure by including its number and the corresponding author’s name within the file name.

Only if absolutely necessary to convey meaning, color figures can be published at a cost to the author of $600 per page. Likewise only if necessary, color figures may be used in JAB’s electronic version but at no cost to the author (the corresponding print version will be in black & white or grayscale).
Motion picture imaging (movies) may be submitted for display as part of JAB’s electronic version. Flash video format (file extensions: .flv, .f4v, .f4p, .f4a, .f4b) of the highest resolution is preferred.

Table Preparation. Tabular material should not duplicate the text. Each table should be numbered and should have a brief title. Any author-created acronyms or other nonstandard abbreviations must be defined in a table footnote. Explanatory notes, which should not repeat the text, should be given in footnotes below the table. Tables must be concise and no larger than approximately 8 inches (21 cm) in width by 6 inches (16 cm) in height, including the table title and footnote. Tabular material should be formatted, if at all possible, using Microsoft Word’s table-building functions.

Manuscript Format. The manuscript should begin with a page identifying the article type (e.g., Original Research or Technical Note); the title; the full names, e-mail addresses, and institutional affiliations of all authors; three or more keywords not used in title; and a word count. Any financial interest in the research should be stated. Please double-space the text, add line numbers, and organize it in the following order:

In the main text, headings should be unnumbered and limited to Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion. With the exception of the Methods section, subheadings should be avoided. Studies involving humans must include a statement regarding institutional approval of protocol and informed consent. Studies involving animals must include a statement regarding institutional approval and compliance with government regulations on animal welfare. Following peer review, editorial decisions will be provided promptly. Upon acceptance, authors will be required to transfer the copyright for publication in JAB to Human Kinetics, Inc.

Only if absolutely necessary to convey meaning, color figures can be published at a cost to the author of $600 per page. Likewise only if necessary, color figures may be used in JAB’s electronic version but at no cost to the author (the corresponding print version will be in black & white or grayscale). Motion picture imaging (movies) may be submitted for display as part of JAB’s electronic version. Flash video format (file extensions: .flv, .f4v, .f4p, .f4a, .f4b) of the highest resolution is preferred.