The ISPJE, with the support of some of the member journals, recommends the policy of mandatory prospective clinical trial registration in physiotherapy journals. For more information please refer to these editorials:
Costa LOP, Lin C-WC, Grossi DB, Mancini MC, Swisher AK, Cook C, Vaughn D, Elkins MR, Sheikh U, Moore A, Jull G, Craik RL, Maher CG, Guirro RRdJ, Marques AP, Harms M, Brooks D, Simoneau GG, Strupstad JH. (2012). Clinical trial registration in physiotherapy journals: recommendations from the International Society of Physiotherapy Journal Editors. Physiotherapy 98,273–276.
Costa LOP, Lin C-WC, Grossi DB, Mancini MC, Swisher AK, Cook C, Vaughn D, Elkins MR, Sheikh U, Moore A, Jull G, Craik RL, Maher CG, Guirro RRdJ, Marques AP, Harms M, Brooks D, Simoneau GG, Strupstad JH. (2012). Clinical trial registration in physiotherapy journals: recommendations from the International Society of Physiotherapy Journal Editors. Journal of Physiotherapy 58,211-213.
Costa LOP, Lin C-WC, Grossi DB, Mancini MC, Swisher AK, Cook C, Vaughn D, Elkins MR, Sheikh U, Moore A, Jull G, Craik RL, Maher CG, Guirro RRdJ, Marques AP, Harms M, Brooks D, Simoneau GG, Strupstad JH. (2012). Clinical trial registration in physiotherapy journals: recommendations from the International Society of Physiotherapy Journal Editors. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther 42,978-981.
Costa LOP, Lin C-WC, Grossi DB, Mancini MC, Swisher AK, Cook C, Vaughn D, Elkins MR, Sheikh U, Moore A, Jull G, Craik RL, Maher CG, Guirro RRdJ, Marques AP, Harms M, Brooks D, Simoneau GG, Strupstad JH. (2012). Clinical trial registration in physiotherapy journals: Recommendations from the International Society of Physiotherapy Journal Editors. Manual Therapy http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.math.2012.10.009.
Costa LOP, Lin C-WC, Grossi DB, Mancini MC, Swisher AK, Cook C, Vaughn D, Elkins MR, Sheikh U, Moore A, Jull G, Craik RL, Maher CG, Guirro RRdJ, Marques AP, Harms M, Brooks D, Simoneau GG, Strupstad JH. (2012). Clinical trial registration in physiotherapy journals: Recommendations from the International Society of Physiotherapy Journal Editors. Journal of Physiotherapy & Sports Medicine 1,60-66.
Editing process
- Alley M (2000) The Craft of Editing. New York: Springer Science+Business Media
- Wager E, Middleton P (2007) Technical editing of research reports in Biomedical Journals. The Cochrane Libarary, 1ss 2
- Professional editing
- Checklists for increasing the quality of publications
General
- Hames I (2007) Peer review and Manuscript Management in Scientific Journals. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing.
- Smith R (2006) The Trouble with Medical Journals. London: Royal Society of Medicine Press.
Good scientific writing
- Zeiger M (2000) Essentials of Writing Biomedical Research Papers (2nd Ed) McGraw-Hill, USA
- Day R and Gastell B (2006) How to Write and Publish a Scientific Paper. (6th Ed) Oryx Press: Phoenix Arizona
- Matthews JR and Matthews RW (2008) Successful Scientific Writing: A Step-by-Step Guide for the Biological and Medical Sciences. (3rd Ed) Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
- Yang JT and Yang JN (1999) An Outline of Scientific Writing: For Researchers With English As a Foreign Language. Singapore: World Scientific Publishing
- Fowler A (2006) How to Write. Oxford: Oxford University Press
- Kapp RO (1973) The Presentation of Technical Information. (2nd Ed) Tiptree in Essex: The Anchor Press
Mentorship
ISPJE has a system of mentorship. Editors who would like assistance in developing editorial processes should contact the secretary (secretary@ispje.wcpt.org). If you are seeking a specific sort of support (for example, assistance in preparing a submission for listing on Medline) make that clear. Also, if you would like a particular ISPJE member to act as a mentor, or would like a mentor with a specific set of skills (for example, electronic publication), make that clear.
Once a mentor and mentee are paired up, it will be up to them to negotiate how the mentoring will work. For example, the mentee might ask for advice on specific issues, or they might ask the mentor to review specific procedures. Alternatively, the mentor could participate in one or more of the mentee’s editorial board meetings. Contact could be by telephone, email or in person – the format and extent of the mentor’s involvement is entirely up to the two parties to negotiate. The mentor will spell out how they are and are not prepared to assist the mentee, and perhaps even set explicit upper limits to time commitments (this could be as little as a few hours) in the first discussion.
There should only be one mentee from each journal. The mentee must be an ISPJE member. In effect, a mentor will be assigned to assist a journal, not an individual editor. The mentee will be the primary contact person for the journal.
Review process
- Weller AC (2001) Editorial Peer Review – Its Strengths and Weaknesses. ASIST Monograph Series, Information Today, Meford, New Jersey.
- Godlee F and Jefferson T (Eds) (2003) Peer review in Health Sciences (2nd Ed) BMJ Books: London.
- Godlee F (2002) Making reviewers visible: openness, accountability, and credit. JAMA, 287: 2762-2765.
- Schroter S, Tite L, Hutchings A and Black N (2006) Differences in review quality and recommendations for publication between peer reviewers suggested by authors or by editors. JAMA 295: 314-317.
- Download an overview of the review process of Medline-listed physiotherapy journals
Useful websites
- Association of Learned and Professional Society Publishers, ALPSP, www.alpsp.org
- Committee on Publication Ethics, COPE, www.publicationethics.org.uk
- Council of Science Editors, CSE, www.councilscienceeditors.org
- European Association of Science Editors, EASE, www.ease.org.uk
- International Association of Scientific, Technical and Medical Publishers, STM, www.stm-assoc.org
- International Committee of Medical Journal Editors, ICMJE, www.icmje.org
- International Council for Science, ICS, www.icsu.org
- International Publishers’ Association, IPA, www.ipa-uie.org
- Society for Scholarly Publishing, SSP, www.sspnet.org
- World Association of Medical Editors, WAME, www.wame.org

