ISSN 1413-3555 printed version
ISSN 1809-9246 online version

INSTRUCTIONS TO AUTHORS

• Scope and policies
• Manuscript form and presentation
• Electronic submission
• Review process
• Areas of expertise

The Brazilian Journal of Physical Therapy (BJPT) publishes original research articles on topics related to the areas of physical therapy and rehabilitation, including clinical, basic or applied studies on the assessment, prevention, and treatment of movement disorders.

Our Editorial Board is committed to disseminating quality scientific investigations from many areas of expertise.

The BJPT accepts the following types of study, which must be directly related to the journal's scope and expertise areas:

a) Experimental studies: studies that investigate the effect(s) of one or more interventions on outcomes directly related to the BJPT's scope and expertise areas. Experimental studies include single-case experimental studies, quasi-experimental studies, and clinical trials. The World Health Organization defines clinical trial as any research study that prospectively allocates human participants or groups of humans to one or more health-related interventions to evaluate the effect(s) on health outcome(s). Therefore, any study that aims to analyze the effect of a given intervention is considered as a clinical trial. Clinical trials include single-case studies, case series (a single group without a control group for comparison), non- randomized controlled trials and randomized controlled trials. Randomized controlled trials must follow the CONSORT (Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials), recommendations, which are available at: http://www.consort-statement.org/consort-statement/overview0/. On this website, the author must access the CONSORT 2010 checklist, which must be completed and submitted with the manuscript. All manuscripts must also contain a CONSORT Statement 2010 Flow Diagram. From 2014, the entire submission process of experimental studies should address this recommendation.

b) Observational studies: studies that investigate the relationship(s) between variables of interest related to the BJPT' scope and expertise areas without direct manipulation (e.g. intervention). Observational studies include cross-sectional studies, cohort studies, and case-control studies.

c) Qualitative studies: studies that focus on understanding needs, motivations, and human behavior. The object of a qualitative study is guided by in-depth analysis of a topic, including opinions, attitudes, motivations, and behavioral patterns without quantification. Qualitative studies include documentary and ethnographic analysis.

d) Literature reviews: studies that analyze and/or synthesize the literature on a topic related to the scope and expertise areas of the BJPT. Critical or narrative reviews will only be published by invitation from the editors. Systematic reviews that include meta-analysis will have priority over other systematic reviews. Those that have an insufficient number of articles or articles with low quality and do not include an assertive and valid conclusion about the topic will not be considered for peer-review analysis.

e) Methodological studies: studies centered on the development and/or evaluation of psychometric properties and clinimetric characteristics of assessment instruments. They also include studies that aim to translate and/or cross-culturally adapt foreign questionnaires into Brazilian Portuguese. The authors' permission for translation and/or adaptation of the original instrument must be included in the submission process.

The EQUATOR Network website (http://www.equator-network.org/resource-centre/library-of-health-research-reporting) includes a full list of guidelines available for each type of study, such as the STROBE (STrengthening the Reporting of OBservational Studies in Epidemiology) for observational studies, the COREQ (Consolidated Criteria For Reporting Qualitative Research) for qualitative research, the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) for systematic reviews and meta-analyses, and the GRRAS (Guidelines for Reporting Reliability and Agreement Studies) for reliability studies. We recommend that the authors check these guidelines and adhere to the appropriate checklist before submitting their manuscripts.

Studies that report electromyographic results must follow the ISEK (International Society of Electrophysiology and Kinesiology) Standards for Reporting EMG Data, available at http://www.isek-online.org/standards_emg.html.

Ethical and legal aspects

Submitting a manuscript to the BJPT implies that the article, in whole or in part, has not been published by another source of communication and that it is not being considered for publication by another journal.

The use of patient initials, names or hospital registration numbers must be avoided. Patients must not be identified in photographs, except with their express written consent attached to the original article at the time of submission.

Studies in humans must be in agreement with ethical standards and have the informed consent of the participants in accordance with National Health Council (NHC) Resolution 196/96 of the Brazilian Ministry of Health, which oversees the Human Research Ethics Code. Authors outside Brazil must follow the guidelines set forth by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

Animal experiments must comply with international guidelines (such as, the Committee for Research and Ethical Issues of the International Association for the Study of Pain [Pain, 16:109-110, 1983]).

For studies involving human and animal research, the manuscript must include the approval number given by the Research Ethics Committee. The study must be registered in the National Health Council of the university or hospital or by the National Health Council nearest to your area. The BJPT reserves the right not to publish manuscripts that do not adhere to the legal and ethical rules for human and animal research.
For clinical trials, any registration that satisfies the requirements of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), e.g. http://clinicaltrials.gov/ and/or http://www.actr.org.au will be accepted. In Brazil, the authors must access the Brazilian Clinical Trial Registry at http://www.ensaiosclinicos.gov.br/. The complete list of all clinical trial registries can be found at: http://www.who.int/ictrp/network/primary/en/index.html.

From 01/01/2014 the BJPT will effectively adopt the policy suggested by the International Society of Physiotherapy Journal Editors (ISPJE) and will require a prospective registration number (i.e., clinical trials that have begun the recruitment from this date must register the study BEFORE the recruitment of the first patient) by the time of the manuscript submission. For studies that have started recruitment up to 31/12/2013 retrospective registration will be accepted.

Authorship criteria

The BJPT accepts submissions of manuscripts with up to six (6) authors. The BJPT's authorship policy follows ICMJE requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals (www.icmje.org), which state that "authorship credit should be based on 1) substantial contributions to conception and design, acquisition of data, or analysis and interpretation of data; 2) drafting the article or revising it critically for important intellectual content; and 3) final approval of the version to be published." Conditions 1, 2, and 3 should all be met. Grant acquisition, data collection and/or general supervision of a research group do not justify authorship and must be recognized in the acknowledgements.

All authors are solely responsible for the content of the submitted manuscripts. All published material becomes property of the BJPT, which will retain the copyrights. Therefore, no material published in the BJPT may be reproduced without written permission from the editors. All authors of the submitted manuscript must sign a copyright transfer agreement form from the date of the acceptance of the manuscript.

The editors may consider, in exceptional cases, a request for submission of a manuscript with more than six (6) authors. The criteria for analysis include the type of study, potential for citation, methodological quality and complexity, among others. In these exceptional cases, the contribution of each author must be specified at the end of the text (after Acknowledgements and right before References), according to the guidelines of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors and the Guidelines for Integrity in Scientific Activity widely disseminated by the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq; http://www.cnpq.br/web/guest/diretrizes).

The BJPT accepts the submission of manuscripts with up to 3,500 words (excluding title page, abstract, references, tables, figures, and legends). Information contained in appendices will be included in the total number of words allowed.

The manuscript must be written preferably in English. Whenever the quality of the English writing hinders the analysis and assessment of the content, the authors will be informed.

It is recommended that manuscripts submitted in English be accompanied by certification of revision by a professional editing and proofreading service. This certification must be included in the submission. We recommend the following services, not excluding others:

• American Journal Experts (www.journalexperts.com);
• Scribendi (www.scribendi.com);
• Nature Publishing Groups Language Editing (https://languageediting.nature.com/login).

The manuscript must include a title and identification page, the abstract, and keywords before the body of the manuscript. References, tables, and figures and appendices should be inserted at the end of the manuscript.

Title and identification page

The title of the manuscript must not exceed 25 words and must include as much information about the study as possible. Ideally, the terms used in the title should not appear in the list of keywords. The identification page must also contain the following details:

Full title and short title of up to 45 characters to be used as a legend on the printed pages;

Author: author's first and last name in capital letters without title followed by a superscript number (exponent) identifying the institutional affiliation (department, institution, city, state, country). For more than one author, separate using commas;

Corresponding author: name, full address, email, and telephone number of the corresponding author who is authorized to approve editorial revisions and provide additional information if needed.

Keywords: up to six indexing terms or keywords in Portuguese and English.

Abstract

The abstract must be written in a structured format. A concise presentation not exceeding 250 words in a single paragraph, in English, must be written and inserted immediately after the title page. Do not include references, footnotes or undefined abbreviations.

Introduction

This part of the manuscript should give information on the subject of investigation, how it relates to other studies in the same field, and the reasons that justify the need for the study, as well as specific objective(s) of the study and hypotheses, if applicable.

Method

Clear and detailed description of the study participants and the procedures of data collection, transformation/reduction, and data analysis in order to allow reproducibility of the study. The participant selection and allocation process must be organized in a flowchart containing the number of participants in each phase as well as their main characteristics (see model of CONSORT flow diagram).

Whenever relevant to the type of study, the author should include the calculation that adequately justifies the sample size for investigation of the intervention effects. All of the information needed to estimate and justify the sample size used in the study must be clearly stated.

Results

The results should be presented briefly and concisely. Pertinent results must be reported with the use of text and/or tables and/or figures. Data included in tables and figures must not be duplicated in the text.

Discussion

The purpose of the discussion is to interpret the results and to relate them to existing and available knowledge, especially the knowledge already presented in the Introduction. Be cautious when emphasizing recent findings. The data presented in the Methods and/or in the Results sections should not be repeated. Study limitations, implications, and clinical application to the areas of physical therapy and rehabilitation sciences must be described.

References

The recommended number of references is 30, except for literature reviews. Avoid references that are not available internationally, such as theses and dissertations, unpublished results and articles, and personal communication. References should be organized in numerical order of first appearance in the text, following the Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals prepared by the ICMJE.
Journal titles should be written in abbreviated form, according to the List of Journals of Index Medicus. Citations should be included in the text as superscript (exponent) numbers without dates. The accuracy of the references appearing in the manuscript and their correct citation in the text are the responsibility of the author(s).

Examples: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/bsd/uniform_requirements.html.

Tables, Figures, and Appendices

A total of five (5) combined tables and figures is allowed. Appendices must be included in the number of words allowed in the manuscript. In the case of previously published tables, figures, and appendices, the authors must provide a signed permission from the author or editor at the time of submission.

For articles submitted in Portuguese, the English version of the tables, figures, and appendices and their respective legends must be attached in the system as a supplementary document.

Tables: these must include only indispensable data and must not be excessively long (maximum allowed: one A4 page with double spacing). They should be numbered consecutively using Arabic numerals and should be inserted at the end of the text. Small tables that can be described in the text are not recommended. Simple results are best presented in a phrase rather than a table.

Figures: these must be cited and numbered consecutively using Arabic numerals in the order in which they appear in the text. The information in the figures must not repeat data described in tables or in the text. The title and legend(s) should explain the figure without the need to refer to the text. All legends must be double-spaced, and all symbols and abbreviations must be defined. Use uppercase letters (A, B, C, etc.) to identify the individual parts of multiple figures.

If possible, all symbols should appear in the legends. However, symbols identifying curves in a graph can be included in the body of the figure, provided this does not hinder the analysis of the data. Figures in color will only be published in the online version. With regard to the final artwork, all figures must be in high resolution or in its original version. Low-quality figures may result in delays in the acceptance and publication of the article.

Acknowledgements: these must include statements of important contributions specifying their nature. The authors are responsible for obtaining the authorization of individuals/institutions named in the acknowledgements.

Manuscript submission must be done electronically via the website http://www.scielo.br/rbfis. Articles submitted and accepted in Portuguese will be translated into English by BJPT translators, and articles submitted and accepted in English will be forwarded to BJPT English proofreaders for a final review.

It is the authors' responsibility to remove all information (except on the title and identification page) that may identify the article's source or authorship.

When submitting a manuscript for publication, the authors must enter the author details into the system and attach the following supplementary documents:

1. Cover letter;
2. Conflict of interest statement;
3. Copyright transfer statement signed by all authors.
4. Other documents when applicable (e.g. permission to publish figures or excerpts from previously published materials, checklists, etc.).

Fast Track Submission

In the Fast Track submission, the BJPT receives and evaluates manuscripts that have been submitted to and rejected by other journals indexed in Journal Citation Reports (JCR). To be eligible, the manuscript must be in accordance with the BJPT's Scope and Policies section and with sections 2 and 3 of this document, and it must meet the following requirements:

• The international journal to which the manuscript was previously submitted must have a JCR impact factor higher than 0.80;
• The manuscript must have completed the full peer-review process in the previous journal. Manuscripts rejected in the initial editor review will not be accepted;
• Fast Track submission must include: a) the manuscript with highlighted changes; b) point-to-point responses to the reviewers' comments; c) a letter with the name and impact factor of the previous journal and the justification for publication in the BJPT, explaining (if needed) the items that were not satisfied regarding the reviewers' comments and/or the journal's editorial decision of the international journal; d) the official email from the other journal (reviewer and editor letters with detailed review), which must be forwarded in full WITHOUT EDITING, i.e., the response e-mail must be forwarded to the BJPT (rbfisio-aw@ufscar.br); e) any additional information requested by the BJPT.

With the exception of Fast Track manuscripts, submissions that meet the standards established and presented in accordance with the BJPT editorial policies will be forwarded to the area editors, who will perform an initial assessment to determine whether the manuscripts should be peer-reviewed. The criteria used for the initial analysis of the area editor include: originality, pertinence, clinical relevance, and methodology. The manuscripts that do not have merit or do not conform to the editorial policies will be rejected in the pre-analysis phase, regardless of the adequacy of the text and methodological quality. Therefore, the manuscript may be rejected based solely on the recommendation of the area editor without the need for further review, in which case, the decision is not subject to appeal. The manuscripts selected for pre-analysis will be submitted to review by specialists, who will work independently. The reviewers will remain anonymous to the authors, and the authors will not be identified to the reviewers. The editors will coordinate the exchange between authors and reviewers and will make the final decision on which articles will be published based on the recommendations of the reviewers and area editors. If accepted for publication, the articles may be subject to minor changes that will not affect the author's style. If an article is rejected, the authors will receive a justification letter from the editor. After publication or at the end of the review process, all documentation regarding the review process will be destroyed.

1. Physiology, Kinesiology, and Biomechanics; 2. Kinesiotherapy/therapeutic resources; 3. Motor development, acquisition, control, and behavior; 4. Education, Ethics, Deontology, and Physical Therapy History; 5. Assessment, prevention, and treatment of cardiovascular and respiratory disorders; 6. Assessment, prevention, and treatment of aging disorders; 7. Assessment, prevention, and treatment of musculoskeletal disorders; 8. Assessment, prevention, and treatment of neurological disorders; 9. Assessment, prevention, and treatment of gynecological disorders; 10. Assessment and measurement in Physical Therapy; 11. Ergonomics/Occupational Health.