StructureofaScholarlyManuscript66TipsforWhatGoesWhereKennethLKnightPhD - PDF document

1 StructureofaScholarlyManuscript:66Tipsfo
StructureofaScholarlyManuscript:66TipsforWhatGoesWhereKennethL.Knight,PhD,ATC;ChristopherD.Ingersoll,PhD,ATCObjective:Tosharewithpotentialauthorstipsforconstruct-ingascholarlymanuscriptandfororganizinginformationinvarioustypesofscholarlymanuscripts:experimentalreports,literaturereviews,casereports,andclinicaltechniques.Description:Thegoalofwritingascientific/technical/medicalarticleistocommunicatenewinformationthathope-fullyhasclinicalrelevanceandwillimprovehealthcare.ThisinformationmustbeorganizedandpresentedclearlyandTherearethreemajorelementstoajournalmanuscript:content,structure,andclarityofpresentation.Amanu-scriptmayhaveNobelPrizecalibercontent,butifitisnotpresentedlogicallyandwithclarity,readersmaynotunderstandthecontent.Logicaldeliveryenhancescomplete-ness(ie,allinformationisthere)whileavoidingredundancy.Therearemanydifferenttypesofscholarlymanuscripts,eachwithaslightlydifferentstructureorformat.Inthisarticle,wewilladdressthestructuresofthefourtypesofmanuscriptsmostcommonlypublishedintheJournalofAthleticTraining:ExperimentalReports,LiteratureReviews,CaseStudies,andClinicalTechniques.Besuretoconsultandadheretothe"Authors'Guide"ofthespecificjournal.Wehavechosentoorganizethismaterialinanumberddlistformattofacilitatereferenceofspecificpointsbyeducatorsandeditorsastheyworkwithauthors.Ourexperienceisthatnumberedpointsareeasiertolocatethanconceptswithinthetext.ORGANIZATION1.Allmanuscriptsshouldcontainthefollowing,organizedintheorderlistedbelow,witheachsectionbeginningonaseparatepage:a.Titlepage(Tips3-6)b.Acknowledgmentsc.Abstract,includingKeyWords(firstnumberedpage)(Tips7-11)d.Text(bodyofmanuscript)(Tips12-40)e.References(Tips41-48).f.Tables,eachonaseparatepage(Tips52-58)g.Legendstoillustrationsh.Illustrations(Tips59-64)KennethL.KnightisaprofessorofPhysicalEducationatBrighamYoungUniversityinProvo,UTandRetiringEditor-in-ChiefoftheJournalofAthleticTraining.ChristopherD.IngersollisanassistantprofessorandChairoftheAthleticTrainingDepartmentatIndianaStateUniversityinTerreHaute,IN47809.logically.Wepresent66tipsfororganizingascholarlymanu-script.Wetellnotonlywhatgoeswhereinthemanuscriptbutalsohowtoconstructeachoftheelementssoastologicallycommunicatetheauthor'smessage.Thetipsarenumberedtofacilitatereferencing.Conclusion:Bybecomingfamiliarwiththesetips,potentialauthorscanavoidmakingmistakesthatmayhinderpublicationoftheirmanuscripts.Theonlydifferenceamongmanuscripttypesishowtext(bodyofthemanuscript)ishandled.2.AllpagesfromAbstract(page1)throughIllustrationsshouldbenumbered.TITLEPAGE3.Titlesshouldbebriefwithindescriptivelimits(a16-wordmaximumisrecommended).Thenameofthedisabilitytreatedshouldbeincludedinthetitleifitistherelevantfactor;ifthetechniqueortypeoftreatmentusedistheprincipalreasonforthereport,itshouldbeinthetitle.Oftenbothshouldappear.4.Currentthoughtamongscientific/technical/medicaledi-torsistoreflectthestudy'soutcomeinthetitle.Forexample,"Coolingtheperonealsdoesnotaffectagilitytesttimes."5.Thephrases"TheEffectsof,""AComparisonof,""TheTreatmentof,"and"ReportsofaCaseof'shouldnotbeusedinthetitle.16.Thetitlepageshouldalsoincludethenames,credentials,titles,andaffiliationsofeachauthor,andthename,address,phonenumber,faxnumber,ande-mailaddressoftheauthortowhomcorrespondenceistobedirected.ABSTRACT7.Acomprehensiveabstractof75to300wordsisrequiredbymostscholarlyjournals.Numbertheabstractpageone,typethecompletetitle(withouttheauthors'names)atthetop,skiptwolines,andbegintheabstract.ItshouldbestructuredasoutlinedinTip8andshouldsuccinctlysummarizethemajorintentofthemanuscript,themajorpointsofthebody,andtheauthor'sresultsand/orconclu-sions.8.StructuredAbstractsa.LiteratureReviewsObjective-Whatwasthepurposeofthereview?JournalofAthleticTraining201 DataSources-Whatsourcesdidyousearchtofindthestudiesyoureviewed?Includekeywordsandyearssearched.DataSynthesis-Summaryofthemajorthemes,orga-nizedbythemes-notbyau

2 thors.Conclusions/Recommendations-Advice
thors.Conclusions/Recommendations-Advicefortheath-letictrainerandotherrelatedprofessionalsandclinicalapplicationsoftheinformation.KeyWords-Threetosixwordstodescribethearticle.b.ExperimentalReportsObjective-Problemsorneedforthestudy.DesignandSetting-Howwasthestudysetup?Wheredidittakeplace?Subjects-Characteristicsofthesubjects.Measurements-Whatwasbeingmeasured?Whattypesoftestswereused?Howwerethesubjectsdistributedwithinthestudy?Results-Ofthetestsandmeasurements.Conclusions-Majorconclusions,particularlyrelatedtotheoryandclinicalapplicationoftheinformation.KeyWords-Threetosixwordstodescribethearticle.c.CaseReportsObjective-Problemorneedforthecasetobepre-sented.Background-Ontheparticularinjuryorillness.DifferentialDiagnosis-Whatwasitorwhatcoulditpossiblyhavebeen?Treatment-Whatwasdoneforit?Whatisnormallyexpectedforthiscondition?Uniqueness-Whatwasdifferentfromtheexpected,orwasitthesame?Conclusions-Clinicalapplicationsoftheinformation.KeyWords-Threetosixwordstodescribethearticle.d.ClinicalTechniquesObjective-Problemorneedfortheinformation.Background-Injuryorillness,andnormaltreatmentandrehabilitation.Description-Ofthetechnique,purposeofuse.ClinicalAdvantages-Whyandwhenshouldthistech-niquebeused?Howdoesthetechniquecomparewithstandardpractice?KeyWords-Threetosixwordstodescribethearticle.9.Donotconfusetheabstractwiththeintroduction;theabstractisasummaryoftheentiremanuscriptwhiletheintroductiondevelopsandproposesthemanuscript'sprob-lemorpurpose.10.Itisunacceptabletostateintheabstractwordstotheeffectthat"thesignificanceoftheinformationisdiscussedinthearticle."Instead,succinctlytellthereaderwhytheinformationisimportant.11.Followingyourabstract,listthreetosixkeywordsorphrasesthatcanbeusedinasubjectindextorefertoyourpaper.INTRODUCTION12.Inascientificmanuscripttheintroductionservestwopurposes:tostimulatethereader'sinterestandtooutlinethereasonforthestudy,thatis,thecontroversyor"knowledgegap"thatpromptedthestudy.13.Beginthetextofthemanuscriptwithanintroductoryparagraphortwoinwhichthepurposeorhypothesisofthearticleisclearlydevelopedandstated.Tellwhythestudyneededtobedoneorthearticlewrittenandendwithastatementoftheproblem(orcontroversy).14.Introductionsareusuallymuchtoolong.Authorstendtofollowthetraditionalthesisformat,whichincludesacompletereviewoftheliteraturebeforethemethods.Whilethisisgoodpolicyfornoviceresearchers,itisnotrecommendedforscientificmanuscripts.3'415.Theintroductionisnottheplaceforgreatdetail.High-lightsofthemostprominentworksofothersasrelatedtothesubjectathandareoftenappropriatefortheintroduc-tion,butadetailedreviewoftheliteratureshouldbereservedforthediscussionsection.Identifyanddevelopthemagnitudeandsignificanceofthecontroversy(orproblem)withbriefspecificstatements(referenced,ofcourse).Thisisoftendonebypointingoutdifferencesamongothers'results,conclusions,and/oropinions.Re-membertokeepthedetailinthediscussion.16.ThefollowingtwoexamplesfromThomas&Nelson4illustratetheaboveprinciples.Theyclearlyandconciselyacquaintthereaderwiththeproblem,providesomebackgroundandnecessaryinformation,bringoutareasofneededresearch,andthenskillfullyandlogicallyleadtothespecificpurposeofthestudy.(NOTE:Inthisandotherexamples,thereferencesareforexampleonly.Theydonotrefertothereferencesattheendofthispaper.)*"Verticaljumpingabilityisofconsiderableimportanceinnumerousathleticevents,andcoachesandphysicaleducatorshaveusedvarioustrainingmethodstoim-provethisability.Twoofthemostrecenttrainingmethodsareisokineticandplyometricexercises.Thepurportedadvantageofisokineticexercisesisthattheyallowthemusclestoworkatmaximalforcethroughouttheentirerangeofmotionforeachandeveryrepetition,therebyprovidingagreatertrainingstimulus.Theeffectivenessofsuchexercisesinimprovingverticaljumpingperformancehasbeendemonstratedinseveralstudiesduringthepastdecade(7,11,25,27)."*"Plyometricexerciseisarelativelynewconceptoftrainingthatappliestheinf

3 ormationspecificityprinci-pleregardingth
ormationspecificityprinci-pleregardingthepresetstretchconditionofthemusclebeforeexplosivecontraction(18).Theeffectsofplyo-metricexercisesinincreasingverticaljumpingperfor-mancehavebeenstudiedexperimentally(3,7,22),butnoattempthasbeenmadetodetermineiftheyaremoreeffectivethanisokineticexercises."202Volume31*Number3*September1996 BODYOFMANUSCRIPT17.Thebodyormainpartofthemanuscriptvariesaccordingtothetypeofarticleyouarewriting(examplesfollow);however,regardlessofthemanuscripttype,thebodyshouldincludeadiscussionsectioninwhichtheimpor-tanceofthematerialpresentedisdiscussedandrelatedtootherpertinentliterature.Liberaluseofheadings,sub-headings,charts,graphs,andfiguresisrecommended.18.Thebodyofanexperimentalreportconsistsofamethodssection,apresentationoftheresults,andadiscussionoftheresults.Methods19.Theterm"methods"ismoreappropriatethan"methodol-ogy.""Methodology"suggestsastudyofmethods,whereas"methods"suggestsadescriptionofmethodsused,whichiswhatthesectionis.20.Beginwithadescriptionoftheexperimentaldesign,whichwillserveasaroadmaptotheentiresection.Followwithdescriptionsofsubjects,instruments,procedures,andstatisticalanalysis.Confusionisoftenintroducedwhenauthorscombinetheinstrumentsandproceduressections.Describetheinstrumentsusedintheinstrumentssection,butdescribehowtheywereusedintheproceduressection.21.Themethodssectionshouldcontainsufficientdetailcon-cerningthemethods,procedures,andapparatususedsothatotherscanreproducetheexperiment.22.Methodsusedbyotherstostudyproblemssuchasyoursshouldbereviewedandreferencedinyourpaper.Refer-encethemethodsofothersaswellasreliabilityandvalidityinformationinthemethodssection.Theprosandconsofvariousmethodsandwhyyouchoseoneoveranothershouldbediscussedandreferencedinthediscus-sionsection.Results23.Writingresultsissimilartowritingareviewofliterature;youstatefactsandthenreferenceyoursource.Inaresultssection,thestatisticsareyourevidenceorreferenceforthefacts(conclusions)youreach.Theresultsshouldsum-marizetheimportantresultsoftheexperiment,usingdescriptiveandinferentialstatisticsandafewwell-plannedandcarefullyconstructedillustrations.24.Reportresultsbystatingyourconclusionsinclear,concisestatementsthatalaypersoncouldunderstand.Don'tusejargonorstatisticalterms.25.Toooftenwritersmakethestatisticaltestthefocusofthesentence(asinthe"statisticalese"examplefollowing).Writinginstatisticaleseoftenobscurestheconclusionsyouderivefromtheresultsbyemphasizingthemethodratherthanthemeaning.Theimportantinformationisthemeaningoftheresultsthemselves,notthestatisticaltestsusedtoanalyzethem.Thosereaderswhoareinterestedinthestatisticscanreadthemethodsthatdescribethestatisticaltestsusedandthestatisticaltestresultsattheendofthesentence.*Statisticalese:Tukeypost-hoctestingrevealedasig-nificantdecrease(p.05)inperceivedpainingroupsthatreceivedcold,TENS,orthecombinedtreatment.*Clearer:Perceivedpainwaslessinthecold,TENS,andcombinedtreatmentgroupsthaninthecontrolgroup(Tukeypost-hoc,p.05).26.Referenceyourevidenceformakingtheconclusion(ie,yourstatistics)inparenthesesfollowingeachconclusion.Notethatthereferenceincludesthestatisticaltest,degreesoffreedom(inparentheses),thetestresults,andthedegreeofprobability.Thisformatgivesthemostimportantinformationfromthetestandeliminatestheneedforastatisticaltable.Forexample:*Therewasnodifferencebetweenthethreetraininggroups(F(2,32)=1.09,p=.23).*Footballplayershadhighertestanxietyscoresthanbasketballplayers(t(15)=4.62,p.01);or(F(3,25)=3.62,p=.003).27.Ifyouhavemanyvariables,theycanusuallybepresentedmoreclearlyintables(seeTips52-58forinformationoncompiling).Statistics28.Statisticsdon'tindicateorproveanything;theysimplyprovideyouwithsupportformakingadecision.Whenyouarereviewingliterature,youmakeastatementandreferenceothers'writingstosupportyourstatement.Useananalogousapproachwhenreportingresults;makeastatementandthenreferencethatstatementwithyourstatisticalresultsa

4 sillustratedinTip26.29.Statisticaltestsd
sillustratedinTip26.29.Statisticaltestsdon'tfinddifferences.Theyprovideevi-dencethatadifferencebetweengroupsisprobablyreal.Lookingatthegroupmeanstellsyouifthegroupsaredifferent;however,youmustdecideifthedifferencesarerealoriftheyoccurredbychance.Realdifferencesmeantheywerecausedbyyourexperimentalintervention(ie,theindependentvariable)andnotbychance.Bychancemeansthedifferenceswerecausedbyvariablesotherthanyourindependentvariable.30.Thesymbol"p,"whenusedtorefertothelevelofprobability,iswrittenitalicizedandinthelowercase.31.Whenindicatingthelevelofsignificanceorprobability,useonlytwonumbersifthefirstisnotazero(ie,.36not.364).Ifthefirstnumberisazero,continuenumbersuntilthefirstnonzero(ie,.0002;not.00or.00023).Discussion32.Putyourresultsinperspectivewithyourexpectationsandcompareyourresultswiththerestoftheworld.Don'trepeatorrehashtheresults;discussthem.JournalofAthleticTraining203 33.Theemphasisofadiscussionshouldnotbeonotherauthorsbutratheronwhattheyreportedandhowitrelatestoyourwork.0Forexample:"Thegreateruseof...byathletesinmystudyagreeswithothers(1,7)whoreported...butdisagreeswiththose(4)who...."34.Thediscussionmustaddressthecontributionthestudymakestowardtheory.Anotherbrickinthebrickyardisoflittlevalue;itshouldbeplacedintothesidewalkofunderstanding.35.Thelastpartofthediscussionmustsuggesthowreadersmightapplytheinformationpresented.Whiletheappli-cationmaybeapparenttoyou,itmaynotbeapparenttofirst-timereadersunlessyoupointitout.BodiesofOtherTypesofManuscripts36.Thebodyofareviewoftheliteraturearticleshouldbeorganizedintosubsectionsinwhichrelatedthoughtsofothersarepresented,summarized,andreferenced.Eachsubsectionshouldhaveaheadingandbriefsummary,possiblyonesentence.Sectionsmustbearrangedsothattheyprogressivelyfocusontheproblemorquestionposedintheintroduction.37.Thebodyofacasestudyshouldincludethefollowingcomponents:personaldata(age,sex,race,maritalstatus,andoccupationwhenrelevant-butnotname),chiefcom-plaint,historyofpresentcomplaint(includingsymptoms),resultsofphysicalexamination(example:"Physicalfind-ingsrelevanttotherehabilitationprogramwere..."),medicalhistory(surgery,laboratoryresults,exam,etc.),diagnosis,treatment,andclinicalcourse(rehabilitationuntilandafterreturntocompetition),criteriaforreturntocompetition,anddeviationfromtheexpected(whatmakesthiscaseunique).NOTE:ItismandatorythattheJournalofAthleticTrainingreceive,withthemanuscript,areleaseformsignedbytheindividualbeingdiscussedinthecasestudy.Casestudiescannotbereviewedifthereleaseisnotincluded.38.Thebodyofaclinicaltechniqueshouldincludeboththehowandwhyofthetechnique,astep-by-stepexplanationofhowtoperformthetechniquesupplementedbyphoto-graphsorillustrations;andwhythetechniqueshouldbeused.Thediscussionofwhyshouldreviewsimilartech-niques,pointouthowthenewtechniquediffers,andexplaintheadvantagesanddisadvantagesofthetechniqueincomparisonwiththeothertechniques.SUMMARY39.Themanuscriptdoesnotneedaseparatesummarysection;theabstractservesasasummary.Itisappropriate,however,totiethearticletogetherwithasummaryparagraphorlistofconclusionsattheendofthediscus-sionsection.40.Someauthorswriteasummaryasthelastpartofthemanuscriptandthencompareitwiththeabstract.Ifinformationispresentinthesummarythatisabsentfromtheabstract,theyaddit.Thentheythrowawaythesummary.REFERENCES/CITATIONS41.Eachcitationinthetextofthemanuscripttakestheformofasuperscriptednumberthatindicatesthenumberassignedtothecitation.Itisplaceddirectlyafterthereferenceorthenameoftheauthorbeingcited.Refer-encesshouldbeusedliberally.Itisunethicaltopresentothers'ideasasyourown.Also,usereferencessothatreaderswhodesirefurtherinformationonthetopiccanbenefitfromyourscholarship.42.Thereferencepage(s)accompanyingamanuscriptshouldlistauthorsnumericallyandinalphabeticalorderandshouldbeinthefollowingform:a)Articles:author(s)(listall)withthefamilynamestheninitials,titleofarticle,journaltitlewithabbreviati

5 onsasperIndexMedicus(italicizedorunderli
onsasperIndexMedicus(italicizedorunderlined),issuemonthifjournalisnotconsecutivelypagedfromissuetoissue,year,volume,inclusivepages;b)Books:author(s),titleofbook(itali-cizedorunderlined),cityandstateofpublication,pub-lisher,year,inclusivepagesofcitation.Examplesofreferencestoajournal,book,andpresentationatameetingareillustratedbelow.SeetheAMAManualofStyleforotherexamples.a.KnightKL,IngersollCD.Optimizingscholarlycom-munication:30tipsforwritingclearly.JAthlTrain.1996;31:209-213.b.DayRA.ScientificEnglish:AGuideforScientistsandOtherProfessionals.2nded.Phoenix,AZ:OryxPress;1995:73-74.c.LeadbetterWB.Anintroductiontosport-inducedsoft-tissueinflammation.In:LeadbetterWB,BuckwalterJA,GordonSL,eds.Sport-InducedInflammation.ParkRidge,IL:AmericanAcademyofOrthopaedicSur-geons.1990:3-23.d.StoneJA.Swissballrehabilitationexercises.Presentedatthe47thAnnualMeetingandClinicalSymposiumoftheNationalAthleticTrainers'Association;June12,1996;Orlando,FL.43.Allstatementsandideasofothersmustbereferenced.Iftheauthor(s)is(are)notmentionedbyname,thereferenceshouldbeplacedafterthephraseorfirstmentionoftheidea.44.Anytimeyoumentionanotherauthorbynamehe/shemustbereferencedimmediatelyafterhis/hername.0"Jones(21)reported...four.",not"Jonesreported...four."(21).45.Whenreferringbynametoaworkwithmultipleauthorsdothefollowing:Iftwoauthors,usebothnames.204Volume31*Number3*September1996 *"SmithandJones"(21)or"Smith&Jones"(21)Iftherearethreeormoreauthors,usethenameofthefirstauthorand"etal,"whichmeans"andothers."*"Blacketal(5)reported..."46.Whenthereferenceisattheendofasentence,itshouldbeplacedaftertheperiodandafteranyquotationmarks.*"body."(23)not"body(23)."47.Itisoftenappropriate,especiallyinanintroductionordiscussion,torefertoideasorresultsfromnumerousauthorsinthesamesentence.Thefollowingillustrateshowtodoso:*"Mostpeoplepreferredapples,(6,9,21,33)butsomepreferyellow(6,10,21)orgreen(6,9,24,30)ones."Note:Allthreeoftheideasinthissentencewerementionedbyreference#6,andtwoofthethreeideaswerementionedbyreference#21.48.Alwaysrefertotheresearchandwritingofothersinthepasttense("Jonesbelieved"not"Jonesbelieves";"Smithreported"not"Smithreports").Maybethatpersonhaschangedhismindsincethearticlewaswritten.OTHERINFORMATIONDepartmentofRedundancyDepartment49.Putthingswheretheybelonganddon'trepeatthemelsewhere.Forinstance,don'trehashresultsinthediscus-sion-section.Headings50.Subheadingsshouldbeusedliberally.Mainorfirstlevelheadersshouldbeplacedflushleft,typedinallcapitals,bolded,andnotunderlined.Iftheinformationunderaheaderneedstobesubdividedintotwoormoresections,usesecond-levelorsubheaders.Theseshouldbeflushleftandboldedwiththefirstletterofeachwordcapitalized.Ifthird-levelheadersareneededtofurthersubdivideinfor-mation,theyshouldbeidenticaltoasecond-levelheaderexcepttheyareindentedandpartoftheparagraph.Thefirstsentenceoftheparagraphbeginsonthesameline,immediatelyaftertheheader.PageNumbering51.Beginnumberingthepagesofyourmanuscriptwiththeabstractpageas#1;then,consecutivelynumberallsuc-cessivepagesincludingillustrations.Tables52.Thepurposesoftablesaretocentralizelargeamountsofdata,tosavespace,andtoeliminatelongparagraphsofforcedandredundanttext.53.Tablesmustnotberedundantoftext.Putyourinformationeitherinthetextoratable,notboth.Youmustreferthereadertothetable.Youshouldpointoutthehighlightsinthetablesoastostimulateinterest,butdonotrambleoninthetextconcerninginformationthatisinthetable.54.Don'tputinformationinatablethatcanmoreeasilybepresentedinthetext.Forinstance,height,weight,andageofsubjectsareoftennecessarybutshouldbeplacedinthetextratherthaninaseparatetableasillustratedinthefollowingsentence:*Tenmalevolunteers(age=21.3+2.1yr,ht=67.34.2in,wt=183.4±10.3lb)werethesubjectsforthisstudy.55.Readersmustbeabletounderstandtheinformationinthetablewithoutreferringtothetext.56.Tablesshouldcontainnoverticallinesandonlythreefull-lengthhorizontallines(onebetwee

6 nthetitleandheaderdescriptions,onebetwee
nthetitleandheaderdescriptions,onebetweenthecolumnheadersandthefirstlineofdata,andonefollowingthelastlineofdata).Smallerhorizontallinesmaybeusedintheheadertoseparateageneralheadingfromsubheadingsunderit,orincolumnsofdatatoindicateabreakbetweenacolumnofnumbersandatotaloraverageofthatcolumnofnumbers(seeTable).57.Identifytheunitsofmeasurementofthetableddatainthemostgeneralwaypossible.Ifalldatainthetablehavethesameunitofmeasurement,thatunitshouldbeinparen-thesesfollowingthetabletitle.Ifthecolumnsorrowshavedifferentunitsofmeasurement,butalldatainaparticularcolumnorrowhavethesameunit,identifytheunit(withinparentheses)aspartofthecolumnheaderorrowidentifier.ExampleofaTable(WithUnitsofMeasure)*Header2Header3Header1Sub2aSub2bSub2cSub3aSub3bHeader4RowidentifierInfoInfoInfoInfoInfoInfoRowidentifierInfoInfoInfoInfoInfoInfoRowidentifierInfoInfoInfoInfoInfoInfoTotalInfoInfoInfoInfoInfoInfo*SeeTip57concerningunitsofmeasure.JournalofAthleticTraining205 58.Whenatablecontainsdatathathavebeenaveraged,reportthemeanSD(orSE)[eg,24.6±3.7].ILLUSTRATIONS59.Illustrationsareoftenhelpfulinpresentingconceptsthataredifficulttodescribe,suchastestingset-ups,x-rayabnormalities,andtrendswithindata.60.Eachillustrationshouldhavealegendthatdescribestheillustrationandemphasizesitsimportantpoints.Legendsshouldbeconsecutivelynumberedaccordingtotheillus-tration'splacementinthetext.Alistoflegendsshouldbetypedonaseparatepagefollowingthelasttable.61.Photographsshouldbeglossyblackandwhiteprints.Graphs,charts,orfiguresshouldbeofgoodqualityandclearlypresentedonwhitepaperwithblackinkinaformthatwillbelegibleifreducedforpublication.Donotusepaperclips,writeonphotos,orattachphotostosheetsofpaper.Carefullyattachawrite-onlabeltothebackofeachphotographsothatthephotographisnotdamaged.62.Allartworktobereproducedshouldbesubmittedascamera-readyblackandwhitelineart.Ifartworkistobereproducedinblackplusasecond(ormore)color,itshouldbesubmittedasblackandwhitelineart.Clearlymarkeachareaofcolor,orareasofshadingorscreening(apercentortintofblackoracolor),onaseparatephotocopy.Theauthorpaysforcolor.63.Ifpreparingillustrationsonthecomputer,donotincludeframes,titles,orothermarkingsthatarenotusedbythejournal.Consultarecentissueofthejournalyouaresubmittingtoifunsureaboutwhatisincluded.64.Onlyoneoriginalcopyofillustrationsisnecessary;however,includexeroxcopiesofallillustrationswitheachcopyofthemanuscript,includingtheoriginal.HELPFULRESOURCES65.Thefollowingthreetextsamplifytheabovetipsandpresentmuchmorehelpfulinformationforwritersofallskilllevels.Infact,skilledwritersaretheoneswhoconsultsuchresourcesmostoften.Weencourageyoutobecomefamiliarwiththem.*Day'sHowtoWriteandPublishaScientificPaper.3Thisisthebest"how-to"manualonwritingwe'veseen.Itshouldberequiredreadingforeverywriter.Timespentreadingthiswillberepaidintimesavedinwritingandrevisingyourmanuscript.*Astylemanualisacollectionofrulesandregulationsthateditorsgettiredofrepeatingtoauthors.Theanswerstomostquestionscanbefoundhere.TheAMAManualofStyle'hasbeenadoptedastheofficialstylemanualfortheJournalofAthleticTraining.However,ScientificStyleandFormat:TheCBEManualforAuthors,Editors,andPublishers2hassomeinformationnotfoundintheAMAManualofStyle.Weoftenconsultitalso.66.Structureisonlyhalfthebattle.Grammarandstyleareequallyimportant.Seetheaccompanyingarticle,"Opti-mizingScholarlyCommunication:30TipsforWritingClearly,"forclearwritingtips.REFERENCES1.IversonC,DanBB,GlitmanP,etal.AmericanMedicalAssociationManualofStyle.8thed.Baltimore,MD:Williams&Wilkins;1989.2.StyleManualCommittee,CouncilofBiologyEditors.ScientificStyleandFormat:TheCBEManualforAuthors,Editors,andPublishers.6thed.Cambridge,UK:CambridgeUniversityPress;1994.3.DayRA.HowtoWrite&PublishaScientificPaper.4thed.Phoenix,AZ:OryxPress;1994.4.ThomasJ,NelsonJ.ResearchMethodsinPhysicalActivity.2nded.Champaign,IL:HumanKineticsBooks;1990:54-56.206Volume31*Number3*Septembe