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Physical Therapy Information for Reviewers of Books, Software, and Multimedia

Introduction
Roles and Responsibilities of Editors
Guidelines for Reviewers
Elements of Review
Submitting the Review
Did You Also Remember To?
Reviewer Survey (pdf file) [Requires Acrobat Reader. Download free software here.]
Minimum Criteria for Review of Books, Software, and Multimedia

Introduction

Critical reviews of books and other resources are published in Physical Therapy as guides for our readers. Reviews summarize the theme and purpose of the book, software program, or multimedia item; provide a critical evaluation of its scope, applicability, and educational value; and comment on its suitability for clinical, teaching, and reference purposes. We rely on our reviewers to provide Journal readers with fair and honest assessments of these resources. We appreciate your participation in this process, and we thank you on behalf of the Journal.

We hope this information will make your job easier as you prepare reviews for submission to the Journal. We welcome any suggestions you may have that would help us improve these instructions. We look forward to working with you. Welcome.

Rebecca L Craik, PT, PhD, FAPTA
Editor in Chief, Physical Therapy

Charles D Ciccone, PT, PhD
Editor for Reviews
Editorial Board, Physical Therapy

Roles and Responsibilities of Editors

The Editor in Chief is responsible for the scientific/technical content of the Journal and has final responsibility for decisions regarding the publication of reviews. The Editor in Chief also appoints the Journal's Editorial Board and designates a member of that group to serve as Editor for Reviews.

Editor for Reviews

The Editor for Reviews (henceforth called the Editor) is responsible for maintaining a list of reviewers and is responsible for selecting and assigning materials to be reviewed. The Editor screens all books, software, and multimedia submitted to the Journal Editorial Office and also designates several potential reviewers for each item approved for review. The Editor also works with the Editor in Chief and the Managing Editor to generate policies and procedures for reviews.

• If there are questions about your review, you will be contacted by the Editor or the Production Manager.



• If you are asked to rewrite a review and have questions about content, you may contact the Editor directly at:

ciccone{at}ithaca.edu
Professor
Ithaca College
Smiddy Hall
Ithaca, NY 14850
607/274-3739

The Production Manager serves as a liaison between reviewers and the Editor, sends materials to the assigned reviewers, and also copyedits the reviews.

• If you have questions about procedure or scheduling, you may contact the Production Manager at:

lizhaberkorn{at}apta.org
APTA
Physical Therapy Editorial Office
1111 North Fairfax St
Alexandria, VA 22314
800/999-2782 ext 3158
FAX: 703/706-3169

• If you have changes in your address or phone number, please contact the Production Manager.



• If you find that material you have been assigned is not worthy of being reviewed, you may call the Editor and explain why you believe the material is not worthy. If the Editor agrees with your assessment, he or she will contact the Editorial Office. You may then discard or keep the review material for your own use.

Guidelines for Reviewers

Critical reviews of books, commercial software, and videotapes are published in the Journal to inform readers about the suitability of these resources for clinical, educational, and reference purposes. Reviews should:

1. summarize the theme and purpose of the book, software program, or multimedia item
2. provide a critical evaluation of its scope, applicability, and educational value
3. not merely recapitulate their contents.

Reviewers should comment on the commendable and noteworthy aspects of the resource as well as its shortcomings. Criticisms and negative comments should be tactful and should identify the specific items that were objectionable or deficient and how these affected the material’s overall quality. Reviewers should refrain from making statements about the cost and affordability of material. Reviews that do not adequately address the contents and educational value of the assigned material or provide documentation to support the statements made will be returned to the reviewer, with suggestions for revising the review prior to resubmission.

Reviewers are invited to keep the books, software, and videotapes they review, with our thanks. The deadline is usually 2 months after the item is sent out.

Reviews are written by invitation only. The Journal does not publish unsolicited reviews. Reviewers who find books, software, or multimedia that they would like to review should first contact the Production Manager at the Editorial Office. The reviewer should provide the following information: the title (including edition), author(s) name(s), publisher, publication date, and ISBN #. (See the Journal’s Minimum Criteria for Review.) The request will be forwarded to the Editor. If the material is determined to be worthy of review and it has not been assigned for review already, the reviewer will be notified of acceptance. If necessary, the Production Manager will order the material. Once the material arrives at the Editorial Office, it will be logged into the database and sent to the reviewer.

Note: For the sake of impartiality and to avoid any conflicts of interest, you should have no contact with the authors or editors of the material, nor should you have made any contribution (advisory, financial, research, review, etc) to the work. If you have made any contribution to the work or will benefit personally from the work, you should inform the Editorial Office and decline to review the work.

Reviewers should use the following guidelines when writing reviews. You may also find it helpful to refer to reviews published in recent issues of the Journal.

Guidelines for Book Reviews

Guidelines for Software Reviews

Guidelines for Multimedia Reviews

Elements of Review

The heading and text of a review should be typed and double-spaced. Reviews should be as concise as possible and should not exceed 3 double-spaced pages (approximately 750 words). Use acceptable references for word choice and spelling: Dorland's Illustrated Medical Dictionary, 29th edition; Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 10th edition; and the American Medical Association (AMA) Manual of Style, 9th edition. Reviews should contain the following elements:

Headings

Book headings (see sample headings for punctuation) should include the following information: (1) Exact title of the book (including subtitle, edition, volume number, and series name); (2) Last name and initials of the authors or editors (for works with up to 4 authors/editors, include all author/editor names; but for works with 5 or more authors/editors, list the first 3 names followed by "et al"); (3) Publisher’s city, state, and ZIP code; (4) Full name of the publisher; (5) Year of publication; (6) Type of cover (hardcover, spiralbound, or paperback); (7) if the book has a companion CD-ROM or DVD, include it in parentheses in the entry for the type of cover [ie, hardcover (with CD-ROM)]; (8) Number of pages (followed by "pp"); (9) The designation "illus" if the book has illustrations (photographs, line drawings, diagrams); (10) ISBN number; and (11) Price.

Software headings should include the following: (1) Full title of the program (including the version or number); (2) Last name and initials of authors/producers (see format for book reviews for details); (3) City, state, and ZIP code of the publisher; (4) Name of the publisher; (5) Year of publication; (6) Format of software (eg, CD-ROM); (7) ISBN number; (8) Price; and (9) Equipment needed to use the program (ie, system requirements).

Mulitmedia headings should include: (1) Full title of the multimedia item (including videotape/DVD number and name of series); (2) Last name and initials of the writers/producers (see format for book reviews for details); (3) City, state, and ZIP code of the publisher; (4) Name of the publisher; (5) Year of production; (6) Format (VHS, DVD); (7) Running time; (8) ISBN number; and (9) Price.

Reviewer's Name, Degrees, and Address

Your name, physical therapy and/or doctoral-level academic degrees, professional certification(s), and work address should appear at the end of the review, with each line in flush-left format. The first line should include your name, the professional degree (PT, if appropriate), doctoral-level academic degree (eg, DPT, PhD, EdD, ScD), and ABPTS professional certification(s). The name of your principal institutional affiliation should appear on the second line. The city and state in which that institution is located should then appear on the third line. If you prefer not to list an institutional affiliation, simply put the city and state in which you live on the second line.

Submitting the Review

You can submit your review to the Editorial Office in several ways:

By e-mail: This is the preferred method for submitting reviews. Send the review as a Microsoft Word file to the lizhaberkorn{at}apta.org.

By mail: Send one paper copy and an electronic file (Microsoft Word) on a 3.5-inch floppy disk to:

Production Manager
Physical Therapy Editorial Office
American Physical Therapy Association
1111 North Fairfax Street
Alexandria, VA 22314-1488

By fax: Send one copy to the Production Manager at 703/706-3169.

Be sure to retain a copy of the review for your files. If we have questions about your review, we may ask you to send information to us. Questions about reviews should be directed to the Production Manager at the Editorial Office.

Did You Also Remember To:

• Double-space your review?
• Include a complete heading in proper format (please see Headings)?


• Provide 1 copy of the review and 1 file in Microsoft Word?