Instructors for Authors

The Journal of Performance Enhancement is a professional, peer-reviewed journal. All submissions will be subject to a blind review by 2-3 reviewers prior to publication. Following the review process the Editor-in-Chief will return the manuscript with a recommendation to accept, accept with revisions, or reject the manuscript for publication.  

A signed copy (signed by lead author) of the assignment of copyright must be received prior to the review of each manuscript.  The lead author must also certify that the article is not under consideration elsewhere and is an original, unpublished work. The Journal of Performance Enhancement holds the copyright on each article, but articles may be reproduced without permission provided that full and accurate bibliographic citation and web site location is given.

The Journal of Performance Enhancement will accept for publication brief reviews of the literature on topics related to the enhancement of athletic performance. In addition Short Communications may be used to add information or comment on specific JPE articles (see the bottom of this page for specifics on Short Communications).  Topics may include (but are not limited to) nutritional supplements, training techniques, nutritional approaches, specific training aids, and any other topic that relates to performance enhancement. The journal will not include discussions of illegal techniques, i.e. illegal drugs (except to discourage their use). All arguments and conclusions should be supported with references where possible. In some instances there is no research available to reference when making a specific argument or conclusion. In this instance, presenting your case using good sound physiology and logic would be acceptable. You should avoid statements like "it is a well-known fact that" or "technique X is certainly better than technique Y" unless you can support these statements with references. For example, "According to Smith and Johnson (1989) the addition of caffeine to the ephedrine and aspirin combination is superior to ephedrine alone. " Speculations are ok but if you speculate, say so. For example, "This author speculates that if the study had been 12 weeks instead of 6 weeks, technique X would have proven superior." An exhaustive review of the literature is not necessary. The author should use the review to make a statement or come to a conclusion about the particular topic and not merely to discuss all of the research that has been conducted.

Each manuscript should begin with a 100-200 word abstract summarizing the article.   The abstract should be a concise summary of the review and recommendations and conclusions.  The abstract is followed by a textbook-like discussion of the physiology and terms used in the proceeding review. For example, a review on the effectiveness of creatine supplementation would begin with a lesson on creatine to include structure, purpose, and regulation of body creatine concentration. Remember, the target audience of the journal is the athlete and not necessarily physiologists and physicians. The introductory physiology lesson should explain all of the details that are necessary to understand the proceeding article and should be presented in a way that a lay person can understand. Keep it simple. There is no need to go into tremendous depth or get too technical. The next section is the review of the literature as discussed above. The final section is the conclusions and recommendations section. In this section the author presents conclusions based on the review of the literature and makes any appropriate recommendations. The basic format is:

Title

The Title should be short, specific, and informative and the first words of the title should be useful for classification. Try to avoid non-specific phrases such as "A study of…," or "...especially regarding..." Please do not give the title numbered subtitles or a series number.  Use a 14-point, sans-serif font in upper case and bold.

 

Author(s)

Please list each author with complete name followed by the address. Give complete (current) postal and e-mail addresses. Name the corresponding authors and give postal and e-mail addresses, if different from that given in the author(s) list. Use an 8-point sans-serif font set in italics.

 

Abstract

Each manuscript should begin with a 100-200 word abstract summarizing the article. The abstract should be a concise summary of the review,  recommendations and main conclusions. Each abstract should be brief, informative, and self-contained. Use a 12-point, sans-serif font.

 

Key Words

After the abstract authors should suggest not more than 4 key words, in alphabetical order, characterizing the scope of the paper and/or the main topics treated. Use an 8 point sans-serif font set in italics with each term separated by a semi-colon.

 

Physiology Lesson

The abstract is followed by a textbook-like discussion of the physiology and terms used in the proceeding review. For example, a review on the effectiveness of creatine supplementation would begin with a lesson on creatine to include structure, purpose, and regulation of body creatine concentration. Remember, the target audience of the journal is the athlete and not necessarily physiologists and physicians. The introductory physiology lesson should explain all of the details that are necessary to understand the proceeding article and should be presented in a way that a lay person can understand. Keep it simple. There is no need to go into tremendous depth or get too technical. Use a 12-point, sans-serif font.

 

Review of the Literature

The next section is the review of the literature as discussed above.  Temperatures may be expressed in degrees Celsius, time in seconds (s), minutes (min), hours (h), days (d), etc. Otherwise, the SI should be used wherever possible. The first time any non-standard abbreviation is used, it should also be written out in full. Equations containing any mathematical symbols are difficult to convert to HTML. If possible, please provide the equations as graphics (e.g. GIF, JPEG). Use a 12-point, sans-serif font.

 

Recommendations and Conclusions

The final section is the conclusions and recommendations section. The recommendations and conclusions should be supported by information presented in the review of the literature.  This section should provide a practical application for the information presented in the review.  The use of charts, graphs or figures to clarify ideas is encouraged.Use a 12-point, sans-serif font.

Acknowledgements

If Acknowledgements are necessary, please include them. Use a 12-point, sans-serif font.

 

References

The list of references should include only publications cited in the text. They should be in order of their appearance in the text and should be listed by name of the first author with all authors and the complete title of each work cited. Use a 12-point, sans-serif font.

References should be numbered in order of appearance in text.  In the text, references should be indicated by placing the appropriate number in parenthesis.   For example:  Anaerobic threshold is a better predictor of marathon performance times than VO2 max values (2,3,4).

1.  Smith J. Creatine supplementation affects 100-meter sprint speed. J Appl Physiol 1998; 25:234-44

2.  Jones H, Smith B, Franks B, Thompson J. The effect of fast velocity contraction training on muscle hypertrophy. J Exerci Sci 1978; 34:123-34

3.  Jones H, Smith B, Franks B, Thompson J, Hermann S, Wilson M,  et al. A review of isokinetic training protocols. J Appl Physiol 1998; 77:234-44

Books

1.  Smith J, Jones R. Exercise physiology. Champaign, IL: Smith Press Inc., 1997

1.  Jones R. Metabolism during exercise. In : Smith J and Jones R, Exercise Physiology. Champaign, IL: Smith Press Inc., 1997

Refer to the American Psychological Association (APA) electronic style of citation resources:
http://www.apa.org/journals/webref.html

Questions

Include at least 10 questions.  The questions should have very specific answers which can be found in the article.  The questions can be fill in the blank, multiple choice, true false and matching.

Glossary of Terms

Define any terms that might be unfamiliar to the lay person.

Remember to keep it simple. Keep the journal sub-title in mind, Practical Tarning Science. If you have an idea for submission but are not sure if it is appropriate, send me an e-mail and we will discuss your idea before you put too much work into it. Perhaps we can help you to focus in on the performance enhancement application or help to steer you in the right direction so that it fits the scope of the journal.

All illustrations should be your own or reprinted with permission of the copyright owner. Submit images or figures in the form of a GIF or JPEG file. Manuscripts should be created in MS Word, WordPerfect or HTML. Documents created in MS Word or WordPerfect should be saved as an HTML file if possible.

Short Communications

Short communications are used to comment, add information or contradict information presented in a specific JPE article.  There is no specific format or length for a short communications article.  Ideally, they should be no longer than a couple of standard printed pages and should be titled appropriately.  You may include figures and tables and should include references if necessary.  The short communications will become part of a supplement to the issue in which the original article was published. 

Feel free to e-mail the Editor-in-Chief with any questions.