NATA Research &
Education Foundation
The mission of the NATA Research and
Education Foundation Free Communications Program is to advance the discovery,
dissemination, and application of scientific knowledge in athletic training
domains through written and oral forum. This
mission is realized by communicating scientific knowledge to the athletic
training community through the sharing of peer-reviewed unique clinical case
reports and original research reports during our annual symposium, as well as
their publication in the Journal of Athletic Training. To assure the exchange of valuable
information, the NATA Foundation utilizes a blinded peer-review process for
abstracts following standardized guidelines and written to a level worthy of
publication.
CALL FOR ABSTRACTS
for the
National Athletic Trainers'
Association Annual Meeting & Clinical Symposia
San Antonio, Texas; June 17 to June
20, 2009
DEADLINE FOR ABSTRACT SUBMISSION IS
DECEMBER 1, 2008
(All abstracts
submitted for presentation must be submitted ONLINE.)
Instructions for Preparation and Submission of All Abstracts
for the Peer Reviewed Track:
For Either Oral or Poster Presentation
Please
read all instructions before preparing and submitting the abstract. Individuals may submit only one Original
Research Abstract or Clinical Case Report Abstract as the primary
(presenting) author, but may submit unlimited abstracts as a secondary author. All abstracts will undergo blind review. All presentations must be of original work
(not previously presented). This
restriction includes any electronic/internet postings. Exceptions to this restriction are limited to
state and district meetings of athletic training organizations, and the NATA
Athletic Training Educators' Conference.
The Original Research Abstract must be written to the generally accepted
scientific standards of a research area and should present findings pertaining
to healthcare issues related to the athletic training profession. The Clinical Case Report Abstract
should present a unique individual athletic injury case of general interest to
the NATA membership.
1. Prepare your abstract (on your computer) in accordance with the following
instructions. You will later be directed
to upload two versions of your abstract file from your computer to the Abstract
Manager system. One version will be the 'complete' abstract (as outlined below),
and the other version will be a 'blinded' abstract (as outlined below, but
deleting items 3. and 4.). Both versions should be included in one WORD
document. The 'blinded' version should begin at the top, left margin of
the next page after the end of the 'complete' version.
2. Top, bottom, right, and left margins of the body of the abstract (in a
WORD file) should be set at 1" using the standard 8.5" x 11"
format. Use either Arial or Helvetica 12pt. font with
single spacing. Provide the title of
the paper or project starting at the top left margin.
3.
On the next line, indent 3 spaces and provide the names of all authors, with
the author who will make the presentation listed first. Enter the last name, then initials (without
periods), followed by a comma, and continue the same format for all secondary
authors (if any), ending with a colon.
4.
On the same line following the colon, indicate the name of the institution
(including the city and state) where the research was conducted. If primary author is not at the institution
where the work was completed place an * after their name and following the
institution where the research was conducted the primary author can indicate
there present institution (including the city and state). For collaborative projects where portions of
the project were conducted at different institutions, list all authors as
described above (#3), then list institutional affiliations using the following
consecutive symbols (*, †, ‡, §, ║, ¶, #, **, etc.)
5.
Double space and begin entering the body of the abstract flush left in a single
paragraph with no indentions. The
text of the body must be structured (with the headings as indicated in
the various formats below). Do not
justify the right margin. Do not include
tables or figures. The body of the abstract for Original Research is limited to 450
words. The
body of the abstract for a Clinical Case Report is limited to 600 words. A word count generated by MS Word must be
included at the bottom of the abstract. The
word count should include the body of the abstract and structured headings.
6. The required formats for the structured
abstracts are listed below. For further
clarification, authors should consult the AMA Manual of Style 9th
edition.
7. Abstracts fall into one of the following 5 categories;
the author is responsible for determining the most applicable category for
structuring their abstract: Basic Research,
Qualitative Research,
Survey Research, Meta-Analysis
Research or Clinical Case Report.
Review Criteria for All Original Research Abstracts:
Basic Research, Qualitative Research, Survey
Research and Meta-Analysis Research
· Completeness of requested information in each
structured heading.
· Overall clarity of writing
· Originality of research
· Methods and results address the primary objective
·
Consistency between data and conclusions
·
Adequacy of sample size to support
conclusions
Common
Reasons Leading To Rejection Of Original Research Abstracts
Format For Basic Research Abstracts (e.g. experimental and epidemiological)
Context: Write a sentence
or two summarizing the rationale for the study, providing a reason for the
study question and/or uniqueness of study. Objective:
State the precise objective(s) or question(s) addressed in the report, including
a priori hypotheses if applicable. Design:
Describe the overall study design of the project reported (e.g., randomized
controlled trial, crossover trial, cohort or cross-sectional). Setting: Describe the environment
in which the study was conducted to help readers understand
the transferability of the findings, (e.g., patient clinic, research laboratory
or field). Patients or
Other Participants: Describe the underlying target population, selection
procedures (e.g., population based sample, volunteer sample or convenience
sample) and important aspects of the final subject pool (e.g., number, average age, weight, height and measures of variance,
years of experience or gender). Appropriate sample size should be evident.
Interventions: Interventions are the independent variables
in the study. Describe the essential pieces of the experimental
methods, types of materials, measurements and instrumentation utilized, data
analysis procedures and statistical tests employed. Provide validity and reliability information
on novel instrumentation. Main
Outcome Measures: Clearly identify primary or critical dependent variables
that support the primary objective(s) of the study. Indicate the statistical
analysis employed to answer the primary research objective(s). Results:
The main results of the study should be given. Comparative reports must*
include descriptive data (e.g., proportions, means, rates, odds ratios or
correlations), accompanying measures of dispersion (e.g., ranges, standard
deviations or confidence intervals) and inferential statistical data. Results should be accompanied by the exact level
of statistical significance. The P value should not exceed 3 digits to the
right of decimal. When the exact significance
is below P < .001, the exact
significance should be reported as P < .001. Conclusions:
Summarize or emphasize the new and important findings of the study. The conclusion
must be consistent with the study objectives and results as reported and should
be no more than three to four sentences. If
possible, relate implications of the findings for clinical practice. Word
Count: Limited to 450 words including headings.
* The purpose of having both descriptive and inferential data is that it provides the reader with the ability to judge
the concluding statements. Descriptive data provides confidence that
the data are ‘reliable’ and provides a gauge to determine whether the inferential
statistics and conclusions are meaningful. Studies reporting analysis
of larger data bases with multiple variables do not need to report all descriptive
data, but should provide descriptive data for those variables which the author(s)
believe to be the primary outcome(s) and support the overall conclusions of
the study.
Format For Qualitative Research Abstracts
Examples of Acceptable
Qualitative Research Abstracts
Format For Survey Research Abstracts
Context: Write a sentence
or two summarizing the rationale for the study, providing a reason for the
study question. Objective:
State the precise objective(s), purpose or question(s) addressed in the report.
Design: Describe the overall study design of the project
reported (e.g., cross sectional, case-control, longitudinal or controlled intervention
trial). Setting: Describe the environment in which the
study was conducted to help readers understand the transferability
of the findings, (e.g., population-based, patient clinic, classroom
or athletic event). Patients or Other Participants:
Describe the underlying target population, sample selection procedures
(e.g., population based, volunteer or convenience sample, random
or systematic sample, or stratified or cluster sampling) and important aspects
of the final subject pool (e.g., number, average age,
years of experience or gender). Provide
the final response rate. Interventions: Interventions are the independent variables in the study.
Describe the essential pieces of the experimental methods, the mode of survey
administration (e.g., in-person interview, telephone, self- administered,
online or computer-assisted), details of the survey development
(formative research or pre-testing for new instruments), execution
and data collection process, and instruments utilized. Provide validity and reliability information
for all new instruments. Main
Outcome Measures: Clearly identify primary or critical
dependent variables that support the primary objective(s) of the study. Describe
how any data was manipulated (e.g. scoring process for scaled instruments
or categorization of variables). Indicate the data and statistical analysis
employed to answer the primary research objective(s). Results: The
main results of the study should be given. Reports must* include
descriptive data (e.g., proportions, means, rates, odds ratios or correlations),
accompanying measures of dispersion (e.g., ranges, standard deviations or
confidence intervals) and inferential statistical data. Results should be accompanied by the exact level
of statistical significance. The P value should not exceed 3 digits to the
right of decimal. When the exact significance
is below P < .001, the exact
significance should be reported as P < .001. Conclusions: Summarize or emphasize the new and important findings of the study and
relate implications of the findings for clinical practice. The statement
of your findings must be consistent with the results as reported and should
be no more than three to four sentences. Word
Count: Limited to 450 words including headings.
* The purpose of having both descriptive and inferential data is that it provides the reader with the ability to judge
the concluding statements. Descriptive data provides confidence that
the data are ‘reliable’ and provides a gauge to determine whether the inferential
statistics and conclusions are meaningful. Studies reporting analysis of larger
data bases with multiple variables do not need to report all descriptive data,
but should provide descriptive data for those variables which the author(s)
believe to be the primary outcome(s) and support the overall conclusions of
the study.
Examples of Acceptable Survey
Research Abstracts
Format
For Meta-Analysis Research Abstracts
Context: Write a sentence
or two summarizing the rationale for the study, providing a reason for the
study question. Objective: State the precise objective(s)
or question(s) addressed in the report, including a priori hypotheses if applicable. Data Sources: Identify how
relevant research papers were identified - include databases and timeframe, key
words and search limits. Study
Selection: Describe the processes through which studies were selected
for inclusion for further analysis. Data
Extraction: Identify the number of investigators, the descriptive and
measurement data obtained and if and how the quality of study methods was
evaluated. Data Synthesis:
Describe how the data were organized, the statistical procedures applied
(during assessment of heterogeniety) and the results (e.g., effect sizes, odds
ratios and confidence intervals) of the analysis. Conclusions:
Summarize or emphasize the new and important findings of the study and relate
implications of the findings for future research and/or for clinical practice
and offer an indication as to the strength of the evidence provided. The statement of your findings must be
consistent with the results as reported.
Word Count: Limited to 450 words including headings.
Examples of
Acceptable Meta-Analysis Research Abstracts
Review Criteria for All Clinical Case Report Abstracts:
· Completeness of requested information in each
structured heading.
· Overall clarity of writing
· Originality of clinical case report
·
Case managed within the standard of care
Format For Clinical
Case Report Abstracts
All
clinical case report abstracts submitted to Free Communications must have
release of information permission from the athlete/patient prior to submission.
Click here
for example.
Background: Include the individual's
age, sex, sport or activity, pertinent aspects of their medical history, a
brief history of their complaint and physical findings from the examination.
Differential Diagnosis: Include all possible diagnoses
suspected based on the history, mechanism of injury, and the initial clinical
examination prior to physician evaluation and subsequent diagnostic imaging
and laboratory tests. Treatment: Include
the post physician evaluation and state the results of diagnostic imaging
and laboratory results if performed. The final diagnosis of the injury or
condition and subsequent treatment and clinical course followed should be
clearly detailed. Relevant and unique
details should be included, as well as the final outcome of the case. Uniqueness: Briefly describe the
uniqueness of this case. Conclusions:
Your conclusions must be consistent with the final outcome. Statements should
concisely describe the most pertinent points of your clinical case while providing
the reader a clinical learning opportunity.
Word Count: Limited to 600 words including headings.
Examples of Acceptable
Clinical Case Report Abstracts
Common
Reasons Leading To Rejection Of Clinical Case Report Abstracts
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ABSTRACTS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED AFTER DECEMBER 1, 2008
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