There are no fees payable to submit or publish in this journal.

Figures submitted in color will be published in color in the online version of the journal at no cost. If you wish to have color figures in the printed version, the following fees apply: The first color image is $800, and it is $200 for any additional color images within the same contribution.

Optional open access publishing is available for a fee via the Sage Choice program, and Open Access agreements, where authors can publish open access either discounted or free of charge depending on the agreement with Sage. Find out if your institution is participating by visiting Open Access Agreements at Sage. Open Access agreement eligibility is determined by the corresponding author’s affiliation matching an agreement at acceptance. For more information on Open Access publishing options at Sage please visit Sage Open Access.

For information on funding body compliance, and depositing your article in repositories, please visit Sage’s Author Archiving and Re-Use Guidelines and Publishing Policies.

Open access fees do not cover color charges and are charged separately.

Your article must be within the scope of the journal and be of sufficient quality. If not, it will not be reviewed. Please read the journal’s Aims and Scope to see if your article is appropriate.

The manuscript must be your original work, you must have the rights to the work, and you must have obtained and be able to supply all necessary permissions for the reproduction of any copyright works not owned by you, including figures, illustrations, tables, lengthy quotations, or other material previously published elsewhere.

Click here to download a Word version of the manuscript guidelines for the journals.

Article types

Please visit the Sage Journal Author Gateway for guidance on producing visual and/or video abstracts.

OTJR: Occupational Therapy Journal of Research publishes:

• Full-length original research articles, which include empirical translational or basic research studies with quantitative, qualitative, or mixed methods designs.
• Review articles, including systematic reviews, meta-analyses, scoping reviews, or other scholarly reviews that adhere to rigorous reporting guidelines.
• Brief Reports that represent a short report of original research that is pilot or exploratory in nature or addresses a discrete research question and lacks broad implications
• Letters to the editor, and
• Forum proceedings that inform and/or advance the science of occupational therapy. Submissions will be determined by invitation from the Editor-in-Chief, or topic proposals may be submitted directly to the Editor-in-Chief for consideration.
• Invited reviews or commentaries, by invitation from the Editor-in-Chief. Topic proposals may be submitted directly to the Editor-in-Chief for consideration.

OTJR does not accept research protocol or occupational therapy education focused manuscripts.

Word Limit per Submission Type Word limits for manuscript submissions vary by submission type, as outlined below. Words contained in Tables, Figures, References, or Supplementary Files are NOT included in the word count.

Word Limit Exceptions

OTJR recognizes that some manuscripts require additional content to comply with established reporting guidelines (e.g., CONSORT, PRISMA, STROBE). In such cases, authors may request a word limit exception at the time of submission by emailing the Editor-in-Chief. Exceptions will be considered to ensure full adherence to reporting standards while maintaining the clarity and quality of the manuscript.

Original Research Article and Occupational Science Section

Full-length research articles may include data-driven quantitative, qualitative, or mixed-methods designs. When the journal announces a call for a Special Issue, the Special Issue should adhere to the guidelines listed here, in addition to in the information stated in the call for papers. 
Introduction: The introduction should include: a literature review of the topic, clearly defined objectives/hypotheses/aims/research questions, and a rationale for conducting the study. Objectives should identify the specific aim or outcome of the study.
Methods: The methods section shoudl clearly outline the: study design, setting and location, process of participant selection and eligibility criteria, participant consent, measures/variables/assessments, outcomes, data collection and analyses. Please state whether an ethics or institutional review board approval was obtained; if not, provide a rationale.
Results: The results section should provide a clear interpretation of the results, consistent with the quantitative, or qualitative, or mixed methodology used.  
Discussion: The discussion section should: restate the purpose of the study, explore the study findings in comparison to the current literature, address study limitations and strengths. Discussion should include an emphasis on the implications of the research to occupational therapy practice or occupational science.
Conclusions: The conclusion section should: answer the study’s objectives/hypotheses/aims/research questions, include how the manuscript contributes to the further improvement/ understanding of occupation, participation and/or health, and address how the manuscript contributes to the evidence base of occupational therapy practice and/or the advancement of occupational science.

Brief Reports

A Brief Report is a short report of original research that is typically pilot or exploratory in nature or that addresses a discrete research question and lacks broad implications. The research can be of any design. A brief report may present an update on previously reported work if it includes new data, results, etc. Authors should follow author guidelines for reporting original research to the extent possible, given the established word limit.

Forum Proceedings

Forum Proceedings should include the following: 
Introduction: The introduction should include a literature review of the topic, the history and purpose of the present forum, information on prior forums on this topic (if applicable), the rationale for conducting a forum on this topic (e.g., why this format, why now, and why with these stakeholders), and outline the objectives of the forum. Objectives should identify the specific aim or outcome of the forum.
Methods: The methods section should outline participants, partners, and organizations, specifically: who convened the forum, and who were the invited participants and/or stakeholders at the forum, and their roles. Descriptive statistics of participant demographics (e.g., discipline area, credentials, levels of expertise, etc.) should be provided if possible. The setting and procedures for the forum should be outlined, specifically: the location, duration, and description of forum agenda and areas of focus; how were panels convened, and by whom; and whether there is an external reference/archive to the forum contents and/or presentations. Please note whether an ethics or institutional review board approval was obtained; if not, provide a rationale. Data evaluation should be outlined, specifically with regards to how participant feedback was obtained, evaluated, and integrated into the outcome of the forum; and how consensus was reached.
Results: The results section should summarize specific outcome recommendations and the level of consensus for each, as applicable.
Discussion: Discussion should further explore each outcome/recommendation for future directions and priorities, pertaining to clinical practice, research, public health, and/or policy. Discussion should further situate outcomes in relation to existing evidence or literature when feasible.
Conclusions: Conclusions should be completed as per the guidelines for full-research article submissions.

Letters to the Editor

Letters should provide thoughtful scientific criticism, rebuttal, or personal data relating to research articles or commentary published in OTJR: Occupational Therapy Journal of Research. No more than five citations and references can be included. Unless specifically indicated to the contrary, all letters will be assumed to be for publication and will be subject to the same editorial revision policies as other manuscripts.

All manuscript submissions must be typed in Times New Roman, with a 12-point font size. The line spacing must be double-spaced throughout the manuscript, including the title page, abstract, main document, references, acknowledgments, figure legends, and tables. Each page should be numbered sequentially. Each page should have 1-inch margins on all sides, with the right side of the text unjustified.

cmscontent/OTJ/OTJR-MSG-2024

Reporting guidelines

The relevant EQUATOR Network reporting guidelines should be followed depending on the type of study. The EQUATOR wizard can help you identify the appropriate guideline (. Below are some examples:

• Randomized trials: All randomized controlled trials should include a completed CONSORT flow chart as a cited figure and the completed CONSORT checklist as a supplementary file. Additionally, OTJR requires authors to provide sufficient detail on interventions to support replication, implementation, and translation of research into practice. Authors reporting on intervention studies should use theTemplate for Intervention Description and Replication Rehabilitation checklist (TIDieR - Rehab)  in conjunction with the appropriate reporting guideline (e.g., CONSORT). The completed TIDieR checklist should be submitted as a supplemental file, and relevant details should be integrated into the manuscript text as appropriate. This ensures interventions are clearly described for clinicians, educators, researchers, and policy makers who may seek to apply findings in occupational therapy practice.
• Systematic reviews: Systematic reviews should include a completed PRISMA flow chart as a cited figure and a completed PRISMA checklist as a supplementary file.

Other resources can be found at NLM’s Research Reporting Guidelines and Initiatives

If your research involves animals, you will be asked to confirm that you have carefully read and adhered to the ARRIVE guidelines.

As part of the submission process you will need to confirm that this is your original work, that you have the rights in the work, that this is for first publication in this Journal, that it is not being considered for/has not already been published elsewhere, and that you have obtained and can supply all necessary permissions for the reproduction of any copyright works not owned by you. 

Please see our guidelines on prior publication and note that the journal may accept submissions of manuscripts that have been posted on preprint servers.

Inclusive Language Guidelines OTJR: Occupational Therapy Journal of Research recommends:

• Names of conditions are more specific than categories of conditions or general references, such as "people with disabilities." The language to use for disability is evolving. The important part is to maintain the integrity of all individuals as human beings and also use the naming convention that is acceptable to the population in your study.
• Person-first vs. identity-first language:
  • Person-first language emphasizes the person, not individual's disabling or chronic condition (e.g., person with paraplegia, people with substance use disorders, people with intellectual disabilities)
  • Identity-first language can be used when the disability becomes the focus, which allows the individual to claim the disability and choose their identity rather than permitting others to name it or select terms with negative implications (e.g., blind person, autistic person, amputee)
  • It is permissible to use either approach or to mix person-first and identity-first language unless, or until, you know that a group or individual clearly prefers a specific approach.
  • Neurodiversity is a term that has been embraced by many advocacy movements by, and on behalf of, affected individuals, such as people with autism spectrum disorders and learning disabilities, because it shows there are natural variations in brain differences.
  • Refer to individuals with disabilities as “patients” or “clients” within the context of a health care setting.

OTJR: Occupational Therapy Journal of Research requests that authors avoid: Avoid “othering” terms, slurs, and excessively negative labels. Avoid pictorial metaphorics or negativistic terms that imply restriction (e.g., “wheelchair bound”), excessive and negative labels (e.g., “AIDS victim”), and slurs (e.g., “cripple”). Avoid euphemisms that are condescending when describing individuals with disabilities (e.g., “special needs,” “physically challenged,” “handi-capable”). Avoid reducing people with disabilities to a list or group of deficiencies.

Submission site

Submit your manuscript online via Sage Track.

IMPORTANT: Please check whether you already have an account in Sage Track before trying to create a new one. If you have reviewed or authored for the journal in the past year it is likely that you will have had an account created. For further guidance on submitting your manuscript online please visit ScholarOne Online Help.

Manuscripts should only be submitted with the consent of all contributing authors. The individual responsible for submitting the manuscript should carefully check that all those whose work contributed to the manuscript are listed as authors.

Ensure you upload all relevant manuscript files, including any additional supplemental files (including reporting guidelines where relevant).

Authorship

Please view our authorship policies, which includes information on criteria for authorship, who should be the corresponding author and more.

Please note that AI chatbots, for example ChatGPT, should not be listed as authors. For more information see the policy on Use of ChatGPT and generative AI tools.

Files

• Cover letter. Every manuscript submission must be accompanied by a cover letter, addressed to the Editor-in-Chief. In the cover letter, please make sure to specify the type of submission (e.g., full-length research article, book review, letter to the editor, or forum proceeding). Include a general description of the submission and its content. Also, provide a rationale for why the submission will make a substantive contribution to the journal. During the submission process, copy and paste, and upload the cover letter into the designated section.
• Title Page with all required identifying information as laid out in Preparing your manuscript for submission (above). This will not be sent to the peer reviewers.
• Your manuscript, properly formatted and anonymized according to all stipulations above, and within the scope of the journal. Any information that compromises the anonymity of the author(s) should be removed or anonymized and included on the Title Page instead. See above for more information on anonymization. This version will be sent to the peer reviewers.
• Figures and images.
• All figures must be numbered consecutively in the order in which they appear in the text – they will appear in the published article in the order they are numbered.
• Figure resolution is 300dpi. More information on figure/image preparation can be found here.
• Supplemental material. This journal can host additional materials online (e.g. datasets, podcasts, videos, images, etc) alongside the full-text of the article. Your supplemental material must be one of our accepted file types. For that list and more information please refer to our guidelines on submitting supplemental files.
• Randomized trials:  All randomized controlled trials should include a completed CONSORT flow chart as a cited figure and the completed CONSORT checklist as a supplementary file.
• Systematic reviews: Systematic reviews should include a completed PRISMA flow chart as a cited figure and a completed PRISMA checklist as a supplementary file.
• Pre-submission Checklist: Please upload the Pre-submission Checklist document as a supplementary file. 

Author Guidelines for Revisions Authors may submit a revised version of their manuscript to the journal if they receive a decision that requests revision and resubmission. Revised manuscript submissions must include at least three documents: (1) cover letter with full information on author information; (2) anonymous response letter to reviewers; and (3) a revised version of the manuscript that clearly identifies all changes made.

Cover letter:  Submit the cover letter as a separate document. Address the cover letter to the Editor-in-Chief. In the cover letter, state that you are resubmitting the manuscript and that you have addressed all of the reviewers’ comments. The cover letter may be unblended.
Response letter to reviewers:  Submit the response letter to reviewers as a separate document. This document must be separate from the cover letter and must not include any identifying information, as it will undergo peer review. The response letter should be itemized, clearly indicating how each piece of reviewer feedback was addressed. Upload this document to the ‘Manuscript Files’ section of the submission site, and ensure it is labeled as a ‘Response to Reviewers’ document.
Revised version of the manuscript that highlights all changes made:  Submit the revised version of the manuscript as a separate document. Highlight all changes made; for example, through using track changes, highlighting the text, or using a different font color. Do not include any identifying information, as the revised manuscript will be peer reviewed. Do not submit a clean copy of the revised manuscript. Ensure you adhere to all guidelines listed under Manuscript Preparation (e.g., maximum word count as outlined above, dependent on submission type).

• Complete list of authors, with their institutional affiliations.
• The author information you enter at submission must exactly match what is included on your manuscript and/or title page, including full names, academic affiliations, and corresponding author contact details.
• The listed affiliation should be the institution where the research was conducted. If an author has moved to a new institution since completing the research, the new affiliation can be included in a note at the end of the manuscript.
• All listed authors must meet the criteria for authorship (above).
• All persons eligible for authorship must be included at the time of submission.
• All authors must have given consent for the manuscript to be submitted in its current form.
• Keywords: During submission, you may be asked to select or enter keywords for your manuscript. These keywords are used to match appropriate reviewers to your manuscript.
• The number of figures, tables, and words in your manuscript.
• Funder information: Name, grant/award number.
• You may be required to enter your declaration of conflicting interest as part of the submission process, in addition to listing it on your manuscript and/or title page. Please have it on hand.

• If you have posted your manuscript to a preprint server, you will be asked to supply the DOI (this does not prohibit submission, but no changes should be made to the preprint version while your manuscript is under evaluation in this journal). Please see our guidelines on prior publication. If the article is accepted for publication, the author may re-use their work according to the journal's author archiving policy. If your manuscript is accepted, you must include a link in your preprint to the final version of your published article.

The following summary describes the peer review process for this journal:
Identity transparency: Double-anonymized
Reviewer interacts with: Editor
Review information published: None

Your manuscript will undergo an initial evaluation. If it does not conform to the requirements laid out in these guidelines, it will be returned to you for amendments prior to peer review. Manuscripts may be desk rejected without peer review at this point if they are out of scope for the journal or otherwise unsuitable.

After passing the initial evaluation, your manuscript will then be peer reviewed. You can log in at any time to check the status of your manuscript. We will notify you when a decision has been reached.

OTJR: Occupation, Participation and Health adheres to a rigorous double-anonymized reviewing policy in which the identity of both the reviewer and author are always concealed from both parties. At least Two independent reviews are required for a manuscript to reach a Revise or Accept decision.

To ensure the integrity of the peer review process we assign reviewers and cannot accept author recommendations.

All manuscripts are reviewed as rapidly as possible, while maintaining rigor. Reviewers make comments to the author and recommendations to Associate Editor and/or Editor. The Editor then makes the final decision on all manuscripts, including those appearing in a special issue or special collection. The average time to first decision is published annually in the January Editorial. The Editor or members of the Editorial Board may occasionally submit their own manuscripts for possible publication in the Journal. In these cases, the peer review process will be managed by alternative members of the Board and the submitting Editor/Board member will have no involvement in the decision-making process.

Read Sage's complete peer review policy.

Plagiarism

The journal and Sage take issues of copyright infringement, plagiarism or other breaches of best practice in publication very seriously. Please read Sage's complete policy on plagiarism and the actions we may take.

Contributor’s Publishing Agreement

Before publication, we require the author as the rights holder to sign a Journal Contributor’s Publishing Agreement. Sage’s Journal Contributor’s Publishing Agreement is an exclusive license agreement which means that the author retains copyright in the work but grants Sage the sole and exclusive right and license to publish for the full legal term of copyright. Exceptions may exist where an assignment of copyright is required or preferred by a proprietor other than Sage. In this case copyright in the work will be assigned from the author to the society. For more information please visit the Sage Journal Author Gateway.

Preprints

If your manuscript was posted on a preprint server prior to acceptance, you must include a link in your preprint to the final published version of your published article.

Production

Your Sage Production Editor will keep you informed as to your article’s progress throughout the production process. Proofs will be made available to the corresponding author via our editing portal, Sage Edit, or by email, and should be returned promptly to avoid delaying publication. Authors are reminded to check their proofs carefully to confirm that all author information, including names, affiliations, sequence, and contact details are correct, and that Funding and Conflict of Interest statements, if any, are accurate. This is the final opportunity to make changes to your manuscript. Further corrections will not be possible after publication. Changes to the author list are not permitted at this stage.

Publication

OnlineFirst publication: This enables us to publish final articles online immediately, without waiting for assignment to a future issue of the Journal. This usually significantly reduces publication lead time. Visit the Sage Journals help page for more details, including how to cite OnlineFirst articles.

Access to your published article: We provide you with online access to your published article. The online access link is provided to the corresponding author for sharing with their co-authors.

Promoting your article

Publication is not the end of the process. Between us, we can ensure that your article is found, read, downloaded and cited as widely as possible. Many of the most effective tactics are those you can do quickly and easily to your network of contacts and peers. Visit the Promote Your Article page on the Sage Journal Author Gateway for numerous resources to help you promote your work.

The Sage Journal Author Gateway has some general advice on how to get published, plus links to further resources. Sage Author Services also offers authors a variety of ways to improve and enhance your article including English language editing, plagiarism detection, and video abstract and infographic preparation.

If you have any questions about publishing with Sage, please visit the Sage Journals Solutions Portal.

You can view our complaints and appeals procedure.

Contact us

You can direct any questions to the journal’s editorial office:

Melanie Tkach, Assistant Editor
melanie.tkach@health.missouri.edu

Melissa Knott, Assistant Editor
mknott@uwo.ca