Submissions

Author Guidelines

Update in October, 2020

Click here for Manuscript Submission Guidelines in PDF

Publication Fee

There will be no publication fee for articles.

Research Checklist

JFA requires compliance to the following reporting guidelines, please upload your completed checklist with your submission and label it "Research checklist":
Below are the lists of Research Checklist to be used depending on the kind of your Research Article. If your paper does not belong to any below - Please search for the most relevant set of guidelines supplied by the EQUATOR Network (www.equator-network.org) or explain why in your cover letter. Also, a page number must be listed against each criterion in the checklist.

CONSORT statement - Required for all randomized controlled trials and Experimental Studies
PRISMA statement - Required for all systematic reviews
EVEREST statement - Required for all economic evaluations
STARD statement - Required for all diagnostic research papers
STROBE statement - Required for all observational studies
MOOSE statement - Required for all meta-analyses of observational studies
GRRAS - Reliability and agreement studies
BRISQ - Biospecimen reporting

Title page:

The title page must be sent in a separate file and include:

• the title of the paper, which should be both concise and informative, avoid the use of acronyms or abbreviations. The title should be no longer than 12 words (excluding articles and prepositions);
• full names, with no abbreviations, of all the author and all co-authors, and their respective institutional affiliation in full (Institution; city; state, country), address and Zip Code (CEP – Código de Endereçamanto Postal), cell phone number, and e-mail;
• ORCID (Open Researcher and Contributor ID, http://orcid.org/) number of the author and all co-authors;
• place where the study was conducted;
• if the paper was presented at a meeting or conference, the meeting, including its official title, the venue and date of the presentation must be mentioned;
• if the article is part of a thesis or dissertation, the Institution and date of the thesis defense must be mentioned;
• The “Authors’ Contribution”, of the author and all co-authors as per the following model. It is necessary to meet at least two of the following criteria:
  (a) they must have conceived or planned the activities that led to the paper, or they must have interpreted the results achieved, or both;
  (b) they must have written the paper or reviewed the successive versions and participated in the reviewing process;
  (c) they must have approved the final version.

Example:
Each author personally and significantly contributed towards the development of this article:
Alexandre Godoy-Santos: conceived and planned the activities that led to the study, wrote the paper, participated in the reviewing process, approved the final version;
Marcelo Pires Prado: interpreted the results of the study, participated in the reviewing process;
José Antônio Veiga Sanhudo: participated in the reviewing process, approved the final version.

Manuscript Preparation:

The manuscript must be sent in a separate file and include:

1. Abstract

Because abstracts are the only substantive portion of the article indexed in many electronic databases, and the only portion that many readers read, authors need to ensure that they accurately reflect the content of the article. It is important to point out that the abstract should not mention the place where the study was carried out.

A minimum of 3 and a maximum of 5 Keywords must be included. These Keywords may be consulted at:  http://www.nlm.nih.gov.mesh. At the end of the abstract, the Level of Evidence and the Type of Study must be included pursuant with the classification table published by the Center for Evidence-based Medicine, Oxford, the United Kingdom (http://cebm.net). 

• For Original articles: structured, without exceeding 250 words, including: Objective, Methods, Results and Conclusion;
• For Special Articles: structured or not, without exceeding 250 words;
• For Case Report: not structured, without exceeding 100 words, brief description with Objective, Case Description and Conclusion;
• For Technical Tips: not structured, without exceeding 250 words, brief description with Objective, Methods, Results and Conclusion. 

Note: The abstract should also be completed in the submission system.

2. Manuscript Body

No mentioning of the place where the study was conducted or any information that identifies the author(s) should be included.

• For Original or Special Article
  The manuscript must include the following: Introduction; Methods; Results; Discussion; Conclusion; and References.

• For Case Report
  The manuscript must include: a brief Introduction; Case Description; Discussion, Conclusion; and References.

• For Technical Tips
  Introduction, a Technique section (Methods) in which the technique or exam itself is described in detail. This section should contain illustrations; Discussion (consisting of a clinical discussion about the process, procedure, or the actual diagnosis. It should state the problem that led to the use of the process, procedure or diagnosis as well as the reason(s) it is more useful than another process, procedure, or diagnosis); and References.
   

Style and Format

The manuscript must be sent as a Word file and typed using double spacing, in 12 Arial or Times New Roman font, normal margins, sequential pages, and continuous and numbered lines. 

Tables

Tables should only be included to clarify the text, with no redundant information that has already been mentioned in the text, and numbered according to the order in which they appear. Create tables using the Table function in Microsoft Word, in a separate file, double-spaced, and with the same font as is used in the text.  Do not use vertical lines between columns. Use horizontal lines only above and below the legend, at the bottom of the table. They must be numbered in Arabic numerals and have a short title, referencing the source, and they must be self-explanatory, with information that allows readers to understand the table without having to resort to the text. Make sure that each table is mentioned in the text. To have an intelligible table, a minimum of 2 lines is required. 

Figures

Illustrations (graphs, drawings, flow charts, schemata, radiographs and resonances) must be cited as Figures in the text, according to the following recommendations:

• with high resolution (a minimum size of 300dpi);
• in JPEG format;
• sent as separate files from the main file of the text in Word (do not include figures in the manuscript);
• the figures legends should explain their content clearly, independently of the text,
• must be mentioned in the text;
• figures must be numbered using Arabic numerals, in the order in which they appear in the text;
• abbreviations used in the figures must be explained in their legends;
• the journal accepts a maximum of six figures per article.

Permission to Use Figures and Tables Owned by Another Party: Authors are responsible for obtaining permissions. Provide a full citation for the previous publication and a letter from the owner of the copyright granting permission for Journal of the Foot & Ankle to reproduce the copyrighted material OR a completed permissions form stating the date when permission was requested and the approximate date when the permission is expected to be received.

Abbreviations and symbols

Following the ICMJE recommendations, the Journal of the Foot & Ankle only allows the use of standardized abbreviations, since the use of non-standardized ones may confuse readers. When an abbreviation is mentioned for the first time, it should initially be spelled out in full, followed by the relevant abbreviation in parentheses, unless the abbreviation to be used represents a standardized measurement unit.  

Avoid abbreviations in the title of the manuscript.

Measurement units

Measurements of length, height, weight, and volume must be reported in metric units (meters, kilograms or liters) or in their multiples of ten. Temperature measurements must be expressed in degrees Celsius. The results of blood pressure should be measured in mercury millimeters.

For other measurement units, please look up the International Units System (SI, from the French Système International d'Unités).

Medicine concentrations may be described in SI or mass units.

Other information

Always list manufacturer, city and state abbreviation or country of origin for devices and brand names. 

Text citations

In all the paper categories, text citations must be made numerically and sequentially, in the order in which they appear in the text. Should more than two references be mentioned in sequence, only the first and the last should be typed in, separated by a hyphen. For example: ^(7-11).

In the case of alternating citations, all references must be typed in, separated by commas. For example: ^(7,11,16).

References

The presentation of the references should follow the “Vancouver Style” format. In the References section, only papers that were consulted for and actually cited in the text should be included. The references must be numbered sequentially, as they appear in the text. ­­

Up to six authors should be named; if there are more than six authors, cite the first six followed by "et al." The abbreviated title of the periodical must conform to the abbreviations of the Medline periodicals.

Reference models
See below examples of the main types of bibliographic references. For other documents, please consult http://www.icmje.org/.

Printed Material
A Journal article or paper:
Attar F, Selvan D, Machin D, Shariff R, Geary NP. Periopertive changes in the microcircuation in feet after foot and ankle surgery. J Foot Ankle Surg. 2007 ; 46(4):238-41.

Reid KS, Martin BD, Duerksen F, Nicolle LE, Garrett M, Simonsen JN, et al. Diabetic foot complications in a northern Canadian Aboriginal community. Foot Ankle Int. 2006;27(12):1065-73. 

When an institution is an author:
The Foot Society: of Australia and New Zealand. Sciatic nerve injury following intramuscular injection: a case report and review of the literature. J Neurosci Nurs. 2006;38(4):238-40.

When the author is not named:
Orthopedics in South Africa [editorial]. S Afr Med J. 1994;84(1):15.

A chapter of a book:
Mylek WY. Endothelium and its properties. In: Clark BL Jr. editor. New frontiers in surgery. New York: Mc Graw – Hill; 1998. p. 55-64.

A book:
Sutton MG St J, Oldershaw PJ, Ketler MN, editors. Textbook foot and ankle. Cambridge (MA): Blackwell Science; 1996.

A thesis:
Takimura CK. Correlação das variáveis geométricas de lesões do tornozelo com achados ultra-sonográficos [tese]. São Paulo: Universidade de São Paulo; 2003.

An event:
Silva HH. Pé torto congênito. In: 45^o Congresso Brasileiro de Atualização em Cirurgia Ortopédica; 1995; São Paulo. Anais. São Paulo: Associação Brasileira de Medicina e Cirurgia do Tornozelo e Pé; 1995. P.27-9.

Minna JD. Recent advances for potential clinical importance in the biology of lung cancer. In: Annual Meeting of the American Medical Association for Cancer Research: 1984 Sept 6-10. Proceedings. Toronto: AMA; 1984. v. 25. p. 293-4.

Electronic Material

A journal article or paper:
Morse SS. Observations on the fibrous retinacula of the heel pad. Foot Ankle Int [Internet]. 2006 [cited 2006 Dez 5]; 27(8): [about 4 p.]. Available from: http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/EID/eid.htm.

A book:
Tichenor WS. Observations on the fibrous retinacula of the heel pad [Internet]. New York: Health on The Net Foundation; 1996. [cited 2005 May 27]. Available from: http://www.sinuses.com.

A chapter of a book:
Tichenor WS. Radiographic comparison of standing medial cuneiform arch height in adults with and without acquired flatfoot deformity. In: Tichenor WS. Foot : treatment [Internet]. New York: Health on The Net Foundation; 1996. Available from: http://www.sinuses.com/postsurg.htm.

A thesis:
Fernandes TD. Avaliação biométrica comparativa do talus no pé equinovaro congênito [tese]. São Paulo: Universidade de São Paulo; 1994. [citado 2006 Jun 10] Disponível em: http://servicos.capes.gov.br

An event:
Barata RB. Epidemiologia no século XXI: perspectivas para o Brasil [Internet]. In: 4^o Congresso Brasileiro de Epidemiologia; 1998 Ago 1-5; Rio de Janeiro. Anais eletrônicos. Rio de Janeiro: ABRASCO; 1998. [citado 2005 Jan 17]. Disponível em: http://www.abrasco.com.br/epirio98.

A homepage/ website:
Cancer-Pain org [Internet]. New York: Association of Cancer Online Resources, Inc.; c2000 [update 2002 May 16; cited 2002 Jul 9]. Available from: http://www.cancer-pain.org/

Acknowledgements
This is an optional item.
Acknowledgements must be concise and appear at the end of the text (after Conclusion section), , indicating the names of the persons or institutions that contributed to the intellectual or technical phase of the paper, as well as funding agencies that contributed to the research that resulted in the published paper.

Submitting Material

Papers must be submitted exclusively by electronic submission at https://jfootankle.com/JournalFootAnkle and must contain the following documents:

1. Cover Letter addressed to the Editor-in-Chief including:

• title of the article;
• reason why the Journal of the Foot & Ankle was chosen to publish the paper;
• type of paper (Original Article, Case Report or Special Article);
• Level of Evidence;
• word count of the Title;
• word count of the Abstract;
• word count for the paper (excluding the Abstract, Tables, Figures, and References);
• number of Tables;
• number of Figures;
• number of References;
• a declaration from the author that all the co-authors agree with the content expressed in the paper, proclaiming any conflicts of interest, and compliance with any relevant ethical considerations.

2. Authors' contribution on the title page;
   
   
3. Declaration of Conflicts of Interest;
   
   
4. Approval by the local Ethics Committee and, for studies carried out in Brazil, a “Parecer Consubstanciado da Plataforma Brasil",
   
   
5. Title page;
   
   
6. Paper text in Word format (including Abstract);
   
   
7. Figures in separate files from the text;
   
   
8. Tables in separate files from the text.
    

Checklist for Compulsory Documents and Declarations

SUBMITTAL CHECKLIST

As part of the submission process, authors are obliged to verify the conformity of the submission with all the items listed below. Before you submit your article, and to avoid it being sent back, please go through the Checklist.
Submissions that do not comply with the norms herein will be returned to the authors.