Author Guidelines of the Australian Occupational Therapy Journal - revised 2017

Abstract

In 2017, the ‘Author Guidelines’ for the Australian Occupational Therapy Journal were revised so as to better inform prospective contributors of the journal's aim and scope; submission and reporting format requirements; ethical considerations; manuscript types available; governing copyright principles; and publishing processes. The guidelines now align minimum information requirements with the increasingly complex and rapidly evolving regulatory, standards and technical context of scholarly publishing. The ‘Author Guidelines’ set out principles and procedures used by the Australian Occupational Therapy Journal Editorial Board to make decisions about the eligibility, suitability and priority of submissions for review and publication. In doing so, the ‘Author Guidelines’ provide the Editorial Board with the means to advance the scholarly reputation and standing of the official publication of Occupational Therapy Australia. The guidelines also explain how the principles of authorship operate in the Australian Occupational Therapy Journal, thus clarifying author responsibilities and accountabilities. For prospective contributors, the Australian Occupational Therapy Journal 2017 revised ‘Author Guidelines’ are detailed, specific and prescriptive to assist potential authors as they prepare their work for dissemination. There are three reasons for this. First, an inclusive set of guidelines provides contributing authors of diverse backgrounds and experience levels with a standardised reference to frame expectations, format requirements and minimum standards. Specificity is particularly helpful to novice contributors. Second, the honorary nature of Australian Occupational Therapy Journal Editorial Board and reviewer roles limits the capacity for individualised guidance provided to authors about manuscript conventions – written guidelines provide consistent and equivalent advice to prospective contributors. Third, with limited ‘page-space’, an increasing number of manuscript submissions and mounting demands placed on manuscript reviewers, detailed author guidelines are a prospective strategy to assure minimum quality standards are maintained. New features of the Australian Occupational Therapy Journal ‘Author Guidelines’ include: a checklist for authors which is published on the website and included in the online submission form, making explicit the minimum format and style requirements in advance and at the point of submission; an updated and expanded ‘Aims and Scope’ statement to help inform prospective authors about the journal, the topic areas that will be considered and the types of papers that will be given preference; a description of the editorial process; an expanded statement on ethics in research; and revised publication categories and formats. In relation to paper categories, innovations of note include: an extended abstract length to recognise the important role that abstracts play as easy-to-access information resources for practitioners, students and researchers; specific guidelines for review papers including online publication of review-tables which are commonly long, detailed and limit the opportunity for other papers to be published in a restricted paper-pdf/print-only issues format; use of online production for Letters to the Editor; and the introduction of invitation or screened proposals for Viewpoint articles. The latter was introduced to better align this journal ‘department’ with other peer-review publications and the role of the journal as the official publication of Occupational Therapy Australia. Critically Appraised Papers will remain as a unique feature of the Australian Occupational Therapy Journal with an evaluation of the readership, download and use scheduled for late 2018. The Australian Occupational Therapy Journal 2017 revised ‘Author Guidelines’ provide prospective authors with a framework to inform paper development and thereby promote the publication of high-quality research that further develops the profession of occupational therapy nationally and abroad.