Author guidelines

UK English is the sole language of the journal. The editors understand that English is not the mother language of many contributors. Nevertheless, proper grammatical construction, proper use of vocabulary and spelling are the prime responsibility of the authors. Manuscripts requiring rewriting or excessive editing work will be returned.

Submission of manuscripts

Submissions are only possible through the online editing system. You can log into the system by using the following link http://aob.universa.be.
Once you have created your account, you will be able to proceed with your submission.
Please save your account credentials in a secure place, you will need them at a later stage.
You will also receive them by email after creation of your account.

After submission of your manuscript, you will receive a manuscript number/registration code; please use this manuscript number in every correspondence with the Editorial Office or the Editor-in-chief.
Please note that this online editing system is hosted by our publisher Universa anad managed by the editor-in-chief and the associate editors. If you encounter technical problems with the online editing system, you can click on the right of the screen on the “Support” button (orange button), this will create a ticket and a person in charge of the editing system will treat your ticket as soon as possible. You can also click on Contact Us (in the upper left corner of the screen) to see the details of the publisher or send an email to tickets@universa.uservoice.com.

The manuscript

Acta Orthopaedica has a strong focus on original articles that present the results of original research in the form of a full-length study. A case report is rarely accepted, unless this is of exeptional value and extraordinarily instructive.
The text must be precise, clear and concise. A review article or original study should be no more than 4000 words, all included. Pages should be numbered in the lower right corner, starting after the titlepage. In the main text, abbreviations should be kept to a minimum and given within brackets following the fully spelled expression on first use.. Articles should follow the “AIMRAD” structure (Abstract, introduction, materials (or patients) and methods, results and discussion). The manuscript should be submitted exclusively as ONE Microsoft Office Word document, font 12, spacing 2,0 and MUST contain the following sections:

A title page within the main document including the following items :
• Full title without abbreviations, in bold low case letters, maximum 15 words, clearly indicating the content of the article.
• Names of all the authors, starting with the first names (in low case letters) and last names (in capital letters) of the authors. No more than six authors can be listed for an original study.
• The hospital or university affiliation and title of each author.
• The institution where the study was carried out.
• Corresponding author’s name, full address, fax and e-mail.

Abstract

An abstract is required for all contributions, with a total length of 250 words maximum, subdivided as follows for original articles:
• Background and study aims : not more than two sentences outlining previous work in this area and defining the aims of the study.
• Materials (or patients) and methods : relevant data on patients, study design (prospective or retrospective), and parameters.
• Results : presenting the most relevant data.
• Conclusions : one or two sentences with a special emphasis on the clinical conclusions to be drawn from the study
• Keywords : please provide some key words below your abstract.

Introduction

A short review of previous relevant studies and statement of the purpose of the study.

Materials (or patients) and methods

Methods should be detailed only when they are original ; otherwise the source should be given. The authors shall clearly specify whether their study was prospective or retrospective,whether it was a randomized, controlled or cohort study; the proportion of patients lost to follow-up shall be indicated. Statistical methods shall be described in detail.

Results

Results should be described, without comments. As a rule, results of surgery should have a follow-up of more than two years. A p value must be reported for any significant differences presented. When no significant differences are reported, a power study must be done. Correlation coefficients will be reported when applicable.

Discussion

This part includes comments on published data correlated to bibliographical references. No attempt should be made to present a comprehensive literature review. The strengths, weaknesses and limitations of the study must be presented. The conclusions shall be based on the findings reported in the manuscript.

References

References should be the most recent and pertinent literature available. It is essential that they are complete and thoroughly checked. If the reference information is incomplete, good online sites to search for full details are the National Library of Medicine: www.nlm.nih.gov; Books in Print: www.booksinprint.com; PubMed: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/PubMed/; or individual publisher Web sites.
References must be listed in Vancouver style, using Index Medicus journal title abbreviations.

• References follow the article text. Insert a page break between the end of text and the start of references.
• References must be cited sequentially (NOT alphabetically) in the text using superscript numbers.
• By way of exception to Vancouver style, do not italicize book titles or journal title abbreviations and do not put a period at the end of a reference.
• List all author names, up to and including six names. For more than six authors, list the first three followed by et al.
• References should be styled per the following examples:

Citing a journal article:

Guilbert TW, Morgan WJ, Zeiger RS, Mauger DT, Boehmer SJ, Szefler SJ, et al. Long-term inhaled corticosteroids in preschool children at high risk for asthma. N Engl J Med. 2006 May 11;354(19):1985-1997.

Tables

Each table must be referred to in the text of the manuscript and be numbered in roman figures (ex. Table I). Tables and Table titles have to be typed on separate pages, following on the list of references.

Figures

Each figure must be referred to in the text of the manuscript and be numbered with arabic figures, according to the sequence in which they appear in the text. (ex. Fig. 1).
Legends for figures should be typed on a separate page within the main manuscript document, following on the tables.
When submitting an illustration that has appeared elsewhere, its origin must be stated and evidence must be provided that permission has been obtained from the author and publisher to reproduce it. Digital illustrations should have sufficient resolution to permit quality printing (at least 300 dpi). The use of colour prints will be considered only when it is necessary to illustrate a particular feature that cannot be made clear in some other way. The extra cost related with colour prints (ranging from 50 to 250 euros) will be charged to the authors, who shall provide written evidence of their agreement before publication.

Reviewing process

All manuscripts are peer-reviewed by the editors and submitted to one or more reviewers. Names of reviewers may be suggested by corresponding authors. Referees are requested to answer within 30 days or send back the manuscript if they cannot comply with this regulation.

Decisions of the reading committee (reviewers and editorial board) are as follows :

• The paper can be accepted for publication without further changes.
• The paper can be accepted for publication after minor changes that must be addressed.
• The paper can be accepted for publication after a major revision. In this case, the authors should provide a clear point- by-point reply to all remarks of the referee on a separate sheet and provide one copy of the manuscript with the changes highlighted in bold. The paper is then resubmitted to the referees for final decision.
• The paper does not meet priorities of the Journal and is not to be considered for publication in Acta Orthopaedica Belgica.

Reprints

Reprints must be ordered in advance. An order form indicating the cost of the reprints will be provided by the publisher Universa Press, together with the page proofs (pdf).The costs of these reprints depend on the number of pages and of course the number of reprints.
The corresponding author receives, from the publisher Universa Press, the pdf of the accepted article as soon as it is final for publication.

Copyrights

All copyrights are held by Acta Orthopaedica Belgica vzw/asbl, including the right to reproduce all or part of any publication.