Manuscripts: Every manuscript must be in English, must be typed double-spaced with wide margins, and must include a structured abstract of no more that 150 words. Clearly label any tables and figures and include them on separate pages. Number all pages in this order: title page, abstract, text, references, acknowledgments (if any), figure captions, tables, and figures.  Manuscripts should be submitted electronically via ManuscriptCentral as a MS Word document. Author information should not be included in the manuscript but should be entered in the on-line submission process. Please remove author information from your manuscript and add it to the cover page section to the on-line process.  Carefully proofread the final revision and keep a copy of the manuscript. Do not submit the manuscript to another journal at the same time. 

Manuscripts are read by the editor and two reviewers through a blind review process. This process will take 7 - 10 weeks. The manuscript must have a separate cover sheet including title of the manuscript, name(s) of author(s), institutional affiliation(s), short title for running head, mailing address, e-mail address, and fax and phone numbers of the author who is to receive the proofs. Authors of manuscripts accepted for publication are required to transfer copyright to Human Kinetics, Inc.

Copyright Assignment Form

Abstracts: Abstracts must be structured as described in the AMA Manual of Style, 10th edition, and contain 150 words or fewer. For reports of original data, include the following headings: Context, Objective, Design, Setting, Patients or Other Participants, Intervention(s), Main Outcome Measures, Results, and Conclusions. Structured abstracts for literature reviews or meta-analyses should use the following headings: Objective, Data Sources, Study Selection, Data Extraction, Data Synthesis, and Conclusions.

Parts of the Manuscript: Reports of original data should include the following parts: Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion and Conclusions. In the introduction, build the problem and specifically state the purpose of the study. Do not label the introduction section.

The Methods section should include a description of the design, subject information (including a statement that IRB approval was granted and that the research was carried out in accordance with the spirit of the Helsinki declaration), interventions, outcome measures, and statistical analyses.

The Results section should include a presentation of results relevant to the stated objectives. Do not explain why the results turned out as they did or justify the use of a specific statistical procedure in this section.

The Discussion section is a formal consideration and critical examination of the study. The research hypotheses of the study should be addressed and considered in the context of other published works. The study's limitations and generalizability should also be addressed.

The Conclusions section should summarize the most clinically pertinent findings of the study. Conclusions should be directly supported by the data and should highlight the clinical importance of the work that was performed while avoiding overgeneralizations.

References: Each citation in the text must be designated by a superscripted numeral, and full information must appear in the reference list. Reference information must be accurate. References must be limited to directly pertinent published works or papers that have been accepted for publication; usually this can be achieved with less than 30 references, although review papers might have more extensive reference lists. An abstract properly labeled (Abstract) may be cited only when it is the sole source. The reference list is to be double-spaced, arranged in the order the works are first cited, and numbered serially, with only one reference per number. Entries in the reference list should follow the AMA Manual of Style, 9th edition, as follows:

Journal Articles: Surname of first author, initials, then surname and initials of each coauthor; title of article (capitalize only the first word and proper nouns), name of the journal (italicized and abbreviated according to style of Index Medicus), year, volume, and inclusive page numbers:

Jacobs C, Mattacola CG.   Gender Comparison of Eccentric Hip Abductor Strength and Knee Joint Kinematics when Landing from a Jump. J Sport Rehabil. 2005;14:346-355.

Book References: Author(s) as above, title of book (italicized and all major words capitalized), city and state/province of publication, publisher, and year:

Starkey C, Johnson G. Athletic Training and Sports Medicine. Salisbury, MA: Jones & Bartlett Publishers;2005.

Editorial Ethics Policy