Author Information

Manuscript Submission

TSCIR follows the uniform submission requirements of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE; www.icmje.org) and the reporting guidelines for health research (Enhancing the Quality and Transparency of Health Research [EQUATOR]; www.equator-network.org.

TSCIR uses the Editorial Manager online manuscript submission system. To access Editorial Manager click here. Registration is required. During submission, authors will be required to confirm their adherence to all ethics and reporting requirements. Forms and additional information are available in the Editorial Manager system. If you have any problems uploading your manuscript or have any questions about the process, you can contact [email protected]

Incomplete submissions will be returned to the author for correction prior to editor assignment.

• Manuscript Submission Checklist
• Manuscript Preparation Guidelines

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Required Forms

Please be sure to familiarize yourself with the “Instructions for Authors” and to include all required forms. Do not insert figures and tables into the main manuscript Word document. Submit all figures and tables in separate documents. Use a standard word processing format for your manuscript submission and do not submit the manuscript as a PDF file. Details are available in “instructions for authors.”

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Register

Login or Register to access the Editorial Manager portal for complete author information including:

• Instructions for Authors
• Conditions for submission form
• ICMJE conflicts of interest form
• Reprint permission request form

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TSCIR  uses a double-blind peer-review process. All manuscripts are reviewed by one of the Editors and at least two outside reviewers for clinical relevance, originality, scientific quality, and statistical accuracy. The Editor will make the final determination as to the acceptability of a submission, after collecting the referee’s comments. Contributors may recommend reviewers they deem especially well-qualified, however, the Editor will not be bound to follow such suggestions. Reviewers receive manuscripts that have the author and affiliation information blinded from the pdf to ensure an unbiased review.

Conditions for Submission

The Conditions for Submission form must be signed by all authors and accompany the manuscript at the time of submission. It should be uploaded electronically with the manuscript.

Click here for the Conditions for Submission form.

This form stipulates the following: author(s)’ warranty of responsibilities, author(s)’ rights, copyright transfer agreement, exclusive publication statement, disclosure of conflict of interest, adherence to reporting guidelines, adherence to Institutional Review Board (IRB) or animal care committee policies (if applicable), device status (if applicable), and identification of funding source (including National Institutes of Health status, if applicable).

The ICMJE Form for Disclosure of Possible Conflicts of Interest also must be submitted with the manuscript. Click here for the ICMJE form.

YOUR MANUSCRIPT WILL NOT PROCEED WITH THE REVIEW PROCESS UNTIL THE COMPLETED FORMS ARE RECEIVED FROM ALL AUTHORS.

Corresponding Author: A single author of the manuscript is required to serve as the primary correspondent with the TSCIR  editorial office, to accept responsibility for addressing revision recommendations from TSCIR  reviewers and editors, to review final page proofs, and to make decisions regarding release of information to media outlets or government agencies. The corresponding author is also responsible for providing statistical data if requested by the Editor and is responsible for identifying names, addresses, and affiliations of all undisclosed writers who have contributed to this submitted manuscript. All authors must agree to the identity of the corresponding author designee before manuscript submission.

Author(s)’ Warranty: Any person listed as a manuscript author should have made substantive intellectual contributions to the study as established by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE, www.icmje.org). The authors warrant that the entire manuscript is an original product of the author(s) and represents honest and valid work.

The order of authorship is a joint decision of, and must have been agreed to by, all of the authors. All authors should meet all of the following conditions with regard to the manuscript: (1) substantial contributions to conception and design, or acquisition of data, or analysis and interpretation of data; (2) drafting the article or revising it critically for important intellectual content; (3) final approval of the version to be published; and (4) taking public responsibility for its content. Please note that acquisition of funding, collection of data, or general supervision of a research group, alone, does not justify authorship.

Contributors who do not meet the criteria for authorship should be listed in the Acknowledgments section. For example, persons providing technical help or writing assistance or a department chair providing general support should not be included as authors, but should be listed in the Acknowledgments section.

Author(s)’ Rights: TSCIR   hereby licenses the following rights back to the author(s):
(1) Patent and trademark rights to any process or procedure described in the article;
(2) The right to photocopy or make single electronic copies of the article for their own personal use, including for teaching purposes within an educational environment, or for the personal use of colleagues, provided that the copies are not sold or systematically distributed in paper or electronically. Posting of the article on a secure network (not accessible to the public) within the author(s)’ home institution is permitted;
(3) The right, subsequent to electronic or print publication, to use the article or any part thereof, free of charge in a printed compilation of works of their own, such as collected writings or lecture notes.

Note:  All copies, paper or electronic, or other use of the information must include an indication of the TSCIR   copyright and a full citation of the journal source.

Copyright Transfer Agreement: We work to assure the integrity of the scholarly record and to protect copyright and associated author rights. Your article, when submitted for consideration to TSCIR  , will be subject to rigorous peer review and authorial revision. Then the article in its accepted form will be published as a final, definitive, and citable version, for the first time, by TSCIR  .

In addition to facilitating peer review, we add value to your accepted manuscript by editing the manuscript to a style consistent with community and journal conventions, converting it to a suitable digital form, incorporating digital reference links and metadata tags for feeds to abstracting and indexing services, registering the digital object identifier (DOI), and monitoring electronic usage and citation.

 

In consideration of these actions by TSCIR, the author(s) agree to transfer, assign, or otherwise convey all copyright ownership, including any and all rights incidental thereto, exclusively to TSCIR, in the event that this work is published in TSCIR. If the manuscript is not accepted for publication, then all said rights return to the author(s). For officers or employees of the US government, TSCIR   recognizes that works prepared as part of their official government duties are in the public domain, but they must still sign the Conditions for Submission form.

Exclusive Publication Statement: The author(s) certify that this manuscript and the material within this manuscript have not been previously published in print or electronic formats in part or in whole and this manuscript and materials within this manuscript are not currently under consideration for publication elsewhere. This includes symposia, transactions, books, journals, invited articles, and preliminary publications. This restriction does not apply to abstracts of fewer than 500 words.

Disclosure of Conflicts of Interest: Authors must state all possible conflicts of interest, including financial, consultant, institutional and other relationships that might lead to bias or a conflict of interest. If there is no conflict of interest, this should also be explicitly stated as none declared. All sources of funding should be acknowledged in the manuscript. All relevant conflicts of interest and sources of funding (including grant number) must be included on the title page that accompanies the manuscript, and the ICMJE Form for Disclosure of Possible Conflicts of Interest must be submitted with the manuscript.

Reporting Guidelines: Authors should follow the appropriate guidelines for reporting health research and address all items recommended by the guidelines. The authors must affirm that the manuscript is an honest, accurate, and transparent account of the study being reported; that no aspects of the study have been omitted; and that any discrepancies from the study as planned (and, if relevant, registered) have been explained.

Inclusive Language and Content Description: ASIA and TSCIR stand firmly against all forms of racism and discrimination throughout our communities, among our membership, and within our staff. We are committed to addressing issues on diversity, equity, and inclusion and as such, developed an ASIA subcommittee on Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion and a TSCIR subcommittee consisting of Erin Kelly, PhD, Anne Bryden, PhD, OTR/L, Alicia January, PhD, and Beatrice Ugiliweneza, PhD, MSPH. We strive to ensure high-quality research and encourage authors to promote inclusivity and discuss research strategies that reflect diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Fostering Equity and Inclusion through Words and Content: Inclusive language fosters diversity, conveys respect to all people, is sensitive to differences, and promotes equal opportunities. Content should make no assumptions about the beliefs of any reader; contain nothing which might imply that one individual is superior to another on the grounds of age, gender, gender identity, race, ethnicity, national origin, culture, sexual orientation, ability, health condition, or career stage (early vs. late); and use inclusive language throughout. Authors should ensure that writing is free from bias, stereotypes, slang, references to dominant culture, and/or cultural assumptions, unless representing for example verbatim quotes from participants. Authors should seek gender neutrality by using plural nouns ("clinicians, patients/clients, participants/volunteers, they") wherever possible to avoid using "he, she," or "he/she." Further, authors should only use personal descriptors that refer to personal attributes such as age, gender, gender identity, race, ethnicity, culture, sexual orientation, ability, health condition, or career stage when they are relevant and valid. While we understand that preference for person-first language may not be universally shared, TSCIR endorses person-first language, in that “person with SCI” should be used rather than “SCI individuals” or “paraplegics/ tetraplegics.” Authors should be mindful of the use of the word “patient;” this term implies a power differential and should only be used when appropriate (for example, “patient” should not be used to describe a group of individuals with SCI in the community). In addition, race and ethnicity should be discussed as a social construct rather than as genetic or biological categories. The use of racial and/or ethnic categories in models and analyses, and the selection of comparison groups should be explicitly justified. In general, research questions and interpretation of results should consider the successes of members of marginalized groups, the effects of racism and other forms of oppression, and histories of exclusion, mistreatment, and exploitation. Further, research questions and interpretation of results should not focus on presumed deficits of individuals from marginalized and excluded groups, their individual behaviors, or perceived mistrust. These guidelines are meant as a point of reference to help identify appropriate language but are by no means exhaustive or definitive.

Patient Anonymity and Informed Consent: It is the authors’ responsibility to ensure that a patient’s anonymity is carefully protected and to verify that any experimental investigation with human subjects reported in the manuscript was performed with informed consent and following all the guidelines for experimental investigation with human subjects required by the institution(s) with which all the authors are affiliated. Authors from US institutions must comply with regulations of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996. Authors should mask patients’ faces and remove patients’ names from figures (and videos where applicable) unless they obtain a signed Model Release from the patients and submit it with the manuscript.

Protection of Human Subjects and Animals in Research: When reporting work with human subjects, authors must indicate whether the procedures followed protocol and accord with the ethical standards of the responsible institutional review board, ethics committee, or with the Declaration of Helsinki, as appropriate for the country where the research took place. A statement of such must also be included in the Methods section of the article. Manuscripts that report research involving animals must include a statement that either the protocol was approved by an institutional animal care board or that the animal care complied with the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals (Institute for Laboratory Animal Research).

Device Status: A statement appearing on the title page of the manuscript regarding the presence or absence of the use of any medical devices in the study is required. The first mention of the device in text should include the manufacturer’s name and location. If a medical device(s) is discussed, then a statement regarding its legal/regulatory status is required, including FDA status (eg, approved for indicated use, investigational, exempt from regulations [and why], not approved, or unknown).

Funding Source: All manuscripts must include in the title page a statement of the source of funding of the study (if applicable). This information will appear in the Acknowledgments section of the article.

Compliance with NIH Accessibility Requirements

For works that have received NIH funding (confirmed by NIH grant number), TSCIR  deposit the final, published manuscripts to PubMed Central (PMC) on behalf of the authors no later than 12 months after publication. This service will help authors comply with the revised NIH Public Access Policy.

 

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Original Articles
Articles should consist of an introductory/ background section (but not headed ‘Introduction’), followed by ‘Method’ (with optional subheadings, such as ‘Participants’ and ‘Statistical analysis’), ‘Results’, and ‘Discussion’ sections. The Discussion section should include the limitations of the study and as applicable, clinical implications and future directions. Papers longer than 3,000 words may be published at the Editors’ discretion.

Clinical trials: Clinical trials should take into consideration information in the CONSORT (CONsolidated Standards of Reporting Trials) statement: www.consort-statement.org/ Please include the clinical trial registration number.

Observational studies: Observational studies should carefully consider wording with regards to the difficulty in establishing causation, and should consult the STROBE (STrengthening the Reporting of Observational studies in Epidemiology) statement: https://strobe-statement.org/

Multivariate predictive prognostic or diagnostic models: Should consider Transparent Reporting of a multivariable prediction model for Individual Prognosis or Diagnosis guidelines: https://www.tripod-statement.org/

Review Articles
Types of review articles may include systematic, scoping, and invited reviews. Submissions must be accompanied by the appropriate checklist, fully completed with page numbers where applicable.

Systematic reviews and meta-analyses should utilize appropriate quantitative summary approaches when possible. For all systematic reviews, please consult PRISMA (http://prisma-statement.org/) or AMSTAR-2 for systematic reviews of interventions (https://amstar.ca/Amstar_Checklist.php).

Clinical Practice Guidelines
Clinical practice guidelines are systematically developed statements for health care professionals to facilitate informed decision making for specific clinical circumstances. They are based on rigorous systematic review and synthesis of the best available evidence, and provide recommendations on assessment, diagnosis, and treatment management.

Clinical practice guidelines should follow established development standards such as those from the Institute of Medicine (https://nap.nationalacademies.org/resource/13058/Clinical-Practice-Guidelines-2011-Report-Brief.pdf) or the Guidelines International Network (https://g-i-n.net/). Quality and reporting should be assessed with AGREE-II (https://www.agreetrust.org/resource-centre/).

Perspectives
A perspective article provides a forum for disseminating new and original lines of thinking in spinal cord injury rehabilitation. These articles should present original ideas based on current knowledge and adequately grounded by published scientific evidence/ literature. Perspectives must be authored by experts in the field as demonstrated by original research published by the author(s) in peer-reviewed journals indexed in the major services. These articles allow authors to challenge current dogmas and will be considered for publication based on scientific merit after being submitted for peer review. Invited and unsolicited articles are welcome.

Case Report
TSCIR accepts a very limited number of case reports. These should significantly add to our understanding of a condition or present a unique finding. The CARE checklist (https://www.care-statement.org/checklist) should be used when writing case reports.

Commentaries
Commentaries are by invitation only and aim to comment on a published TSCIR paper or report on new issues related to spinal cord injury and disease. A Commentary should present the wider context of the published article in a format that makes the subject accessible to a broad audience and encourage debate.

TSCIR Statistical Guidelines
Submitted manuscripts with quantitative analyses should be accompanied by appropriate analytic techniques and transparent reporting of them. Information about the choice of analytic approach should be included in the ‘Methods’ section. This should include rationale for the choice of analytic procedure, details of treatment and consideration of relevant assumptions of the approach, and description of any other relevant considerations (e.g., missing data, outliers, skew). Also, the significance level, whether tests were 1- or 2-sided and the statistical software used should be noted.

All quantitative results should be reported with measure of variability. Confidence intervals are highly recommended. Please remember that P-values do not provide evidence of the strength of an effect, so appropriate effect size metrics should be included whenever quantitative results are reported to quantify their meaningfulness.

Much recent attention has been placed on the use of p-values and statistical significance testing in science. Although significance tests and p-values can provide information regarding the incompatibility with a relevant null hypothesis, the potential for Type I errors remain in such tests. This is particularly true when multiple significance tests are conducted. As such, appropriate corrections should be utilized to minimize the chances of such errors. Exploratory studies should clearly be defined as such, and should include corrections for multiple comparisons designed for such studies if more than a few comparisons are being conducted. Additionally, when used, p-values should be reported as continuous values to ensure transparency and provide relevant information about the potential compatibility or incompatibility of a result with a null hypothesis. Authors should avoid dichotomous reporting (e.g., p < .05 or p > .05) and provide exact values generated by the analytic approach instead. Finally, p-values above some established threshold (e.g., .05), and thus considered ‘nonsignificant,’ do not constitute evidence of lack of association or lack of differences between conditions. If the authors’ a priori goals for an analysis involve establishing such equivalence or lack of association then appropriate non-inferiority or equivalence testing methods should be utilized.