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Home > Journals > IJARE

 

For Authors

The International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education (IJARE) is an online, open access, peer reviewed, scholarly and professional publication. It invites the submission of manuscripts reporting original empirical research as well as educational articles focusing on a wide variety of noncompetitive aquatic topics including but not limited to water safety, drowning prevention, water competence, lifesaving/lifeguarding, aquatic exercise, fitness and therapy, aquatic facility design and operation, aquatic legal and risk management, aquatic recreation, and the learning and teaching of aquatic knowledge and skills. The journal typically does not publish articles about nonhuman aspects of aquatics or on issues concerned primarily with improving performance in competitive aquatic sports such as swimming, diving, water polo, and sailing.

In the Original Research section, we welcome manuscripts reporting research conducted under a wide variety of methodologies that studied aquatic health, safety, water competence, and drowning prevention; participation in aquatic exercise, therapies, or fitness, including the factors influencing participation and the consequences of participation on individuals and various populations; aquatic technology including facilities, equipment, and supplies; and learning of aquatic knowledge and skills. Please review the author manuscript submission checklist when submitting a manuscript of original research.

In the Education section, IJARE publishes practitioner-oriented articles about aquatic knowledge and skills. These articles may take the form of experiential reports, clinical and observational studies, reviews of the literature, and statements of opinion. All educational manuscripts are reviewed by expert reviewers and/or members of the Editorial Board for their perceived contribution to the field. Please review the educational manuscript checklist when submitting an educational manuscript.

In addition, letters to the editor, review papers, statements of editorial opinion, position statements from national and international organizations, and media reviews of aquatic publications/DVDs/videos are welcome and encouraged as part of IJARE’s mission to foster discussion and dialogue on diverse non-competitive aquatic topics.

Authors preparing manuscripts to be submitted for review and publication in IJARE must adhere to the guidelines published in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA) (6th ed., 2010). Copies of the APA Publication Manual (6th ed.) are available in most academic libraries (inquire at the reference desk) and can be purchased in most bookstores. Other abbreviated online APA resources such as the Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL) and the BGSU LibGuide are available.

Submitted manuscripts should be original works not previously published or simultaneously submitted to another journal. Authors submit their manuscripts electronically via ScholarWorks. First-time authors first need to create an account by following the directions on the BGSU ScholarWorks home page. No print manuscripts or e-mail attachments can be accepted. Questions about appropriate topics, technical concerns, or other issues can be addressed via email directly to the or the journal editorial assistant.

Authorship

The International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education adheres to the criteria for authorship as outlined by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors*:

Each author should have participated sufficiently in the work to take public responsibility for the content. Authorship credit should be based only on substantial contributions to:

  1. Conception and design, or analysis and interpretation of data; and
  2. Drafting the article or revising it critically for important intellectual content; and
  3. Final approval of the version to be published.

Conditions a, b, and c must all be met.

Individuals who do not meet all of the above criteria may be listed in the Acknowledgements section of the main document of the manuscript, but ordinarily they should not be listed as co-authors.

* International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (1991). Uniform requirements for manuscripts submitted to biomedical journals. New England Journal of Medicine, 324, 424–428.

Rights for Authors and Attribution and Usage Policies

All materials in the International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education are protected by copyright. Authors retain the copyright for their content published in the International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education.

Reproduction, posting, transmission or other distribution or use of the article or any material therein, requires credit to the article author(s) as copyright holder. Permission does not need to be obtained for downloading, printing, or linking to ScholarWorks@BGSU content. Individuals have the right to download and print a personal copy of materials in the International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education. Unless otherwise indicated, individuals do not have the right to make additional copies, post, or distribute any of the materials, unless the use meets a reasonable determination of fair use. Any use of the International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education content that exceeds these exceptions requires permission from the article author who is the copyright holder. Libraries interested in printing a paper from the International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education for their permanent collection should contact the journal editors responsible for posting the paper. The requesting library can then gain copyright clearance from the paper's author(s). People seeking an exception, or who have questions about use, should contact the editors.

Writing Style:

Manuscripts should be written in the first or third person using active voice as much as possible. Keep in mind the audience to whom you are directing Writing should be concise and direct while avoiding jargon and abbreviations except those that are commonly recognized in aquatics (such as using "WSI" to refer to "water safety instructors"). Manuscripts should be written in standard American English. Lead authors who are non-native English speakers should seek the assistance of a colleague or collaborator experienced in writing for English-language scientific journals. Manuscripts must be carefully proofread before submission. Failure to follow these basic writing-style guidelines may result in your manuscript being returned by the Editor, unreviewed.

Main Document File

Both original research and educational manuscripts should include the following elements:

  • A main document file (in .doc, .docx, or .rtf format) with
    • main text double-spaced, paginated, and with continuous page line numbers
    • all tables, figures, photos, or videos in the manuscript in your desired location, not at the end of the manuscript.
    • abstract included in the main text (abstract also needs to be entered separately in a text box as part of manuscript submission). Abstract should be limited to approximately 150 words and formatted as a single paragraph, double-spaced.
    • two-six (2-6) keywords listed on a separate line after the abstract but on the same page.
    • Authors Notes and/or Acknowledgements – as a separate page, double-spaced
    • References — formatted in APA format, double-spaced, and starting as a new page.
  • Do not include in the main document file
    • a separate title page (no author names, institutions, or contact information identified that could compromise the double-blind review process)
    • a Short Title (aka by APA as Running Head) inserted in header. This will be added later

Tables, Figures, and Photographs

Tables, figures, and photos all should be embedded in the body of the main text in their desired locations.

  • Tables must be formatted using Microsoft Word’s table-building functions, and not by using tab keystrokes and line breaks.
    • Place table caption ABOVE the table.
  • Configure table captions as shown here:
    • "Table 1 Text of table label"
    • the word "Table" is capitalized and is bold-faced
    • the word "Table" is followed by two spaces and no punctuation
    • the word "Table" is followed by text of the table caption, bold-faced, upper-case and lower-case

For figures and photographs, you may use either black and white or color as long as the colors used are distinct from each other. Resolution of digital images should be 300 dpi at full size for photographs and 600 dpi for line art in figures.

  • Figures or photos should be provided as .jpeg or .tif file formats.
  • Figure captions are located BELOW the figure and separate from the figure itself.
    • "Figure 1 – Text of figure caption" (or alternatively, "Photo 1 – Text of photo caption"
    • the word "Figure" is capitalized and is bold-faced
    • the word "Figure" is is followed by a bold-faced Arabic number
    • the word "Figure" is is followed by a dash (not bold-faced)
    • the word "Figure" is is followed by the text of the caption, not bold-faced, only first word and proper nouns capitalized

Digital Videos/Streaming Media

Digital videos and streaming media to be included in the manuscript are identified in the Scholarworks submission process — see submission process, Step 2.

Digital video clips and other streaming media may be submitted to illustrate specific examples in your manuscript. In fact, we encourage their use in articles where appropriate. You should indicate in the cover letter accompanying your ScholarWorks submission that you have submitted a video file. Digital material from a source not original to the author must be accompanied by a statement from the copyright holder giving the author permission to publish it; the source and copyright holder must be credited in the manuscript.

Suggested location for the URL of the video needs to be clearly designated in the main document with a statement or a placeholder frame icon.

Video should be submitted in MPEG-4 (.mp4), Quicktime (.m4v, .mov), or Windows Media (.wmv) format with standard frame sizes of 1920 x 1080 pixels (for high definition) or 720 x 480 pixels (for standard definition) and a frame rate of 30 frames per second.

The Editor and editorial assistant will inspect all video submissions for quality and technical specifications. We reserve the right to reject any video submission that does not meet quality standards and specifications or does not comply with copyright law.