Las Vegas, Nevada will host next year's meeting of the Association of Chiropractic Colleges (ACC) and the Research Agenda Conference (RAC). The 2004 conference, to be held at the Alexis Park Hotel March 11-13, combines the 11th annual meeting of the ACC and RAC's ninth annual meeting, resulting in a program that brings together the best elements of chiropractic scholarship, research and education.
The ACC has announced a call for scientific papers for the conference, with a submission deadline of Sept. 7. The theme of the 2004 conference is "Best Practices," and while it is not required that papers focus on this topic, it is encouraged.
This year's call for papers solicits manuscripts that fall into one of three areas of focus:
- Research - Basic Science (e.g., experimental trials and quantitative basic science research);
- Research - Clinical (e.g., experimental clinical trials; quantitative clinical research; case reports; and qualitative clinical research); and
- Research - Educational (e.g., experimental classroom research; quantitative educational research; case reports; qualitative educational research; description of innovative teaching methods; evaluation of students; and evaluation of faculty).
All submissions will be peer-reviewed and evaluated for completeness, strength of contribution to the profession and relevance to the conference. Submissions will be reviewed based on the following criteria:
- practical significance;
- originality;
- theoretical/conceptual framework;
- quality of experimental or descriptive design;
- discussion/findings/results - clarity of presentation of findings;
- conclusions, interpretation of results, implications for chiropractic education, theory, research or practice;
- citation of appropriate literature;
- applicability for the chiropractic profession; classroom use; further research; current/critical concerns, etc.;
- completed study; and
- overall rating.
Submission Requirements Submissions must contain the following three items, sent as separate e-mail attachments or combined into one compressed file.
- Blinded submission (2,400 words maximum) - One file in Word or rich-text format (RTF) with the paper title. Do not include author names or institutional affiliations anywhere in title or text. Submission should be 2,400 words or less; submissions exceeding 2,400 words will be rejected. The word count allows for authors to show the scholarship quality of the completed work to the peer review committee. The manuscript should be 12-point-type font, double-spaced, and must include appropriate sections such as: Introduction (e.g., Background, Objectives, Purpose), Methods, Results, Discussion and Conclusion. References also should be submitted and are not included in the word count. You may submit up to two of any combination of the following, embedded in the Word/RTF document: diagrams, figures, pictures (JPEG, TIFF or BMP), graphs or tables (e.g., one graph and one table). Only submit these if they are essential for the peer reviewers to evaluate the proposal. Do not submit tables, graphs or pictures as separate files. Do not submit other visual aids (no videos or PowerPoint presentations).
- Unblinded abstract (600 words maximum) for publication in the Journal of Chiropractic Education proceedings, if the submission is accepted - One file in Word or RTF with the paper title, names and institutional affiliations of speakers or authors, and the text of the abstract. The abstract, which represents the submission, should be 600 words maximum, but may be shorter. No pictures, tables or figures should be included in the abstract. The abstract should be a structured abstract and include appropriate sections such as: Introduction (e.g., Background, Objectives, Purpose), Methods, Results, Discussion and Conclusion. Abstracts will be edited for length if exceeding 600 words.
- Submission form with accurate information typed in. The electronic submission form is available by e-mail request at accsubmissions@chiropractic.freeservers.com. (Editor's note: The submission form also can be downloaded at www.chiropractic.freeservers.com, under the "ACC 2004 Call for Papers" section.)
Once a submission has been cleared for computer viruses and labeled with a blinding number, the primary author will be e-mailed a confirmation receipt with the blinding number by Sept. 30.
Primary authors should submit their materials to the e-mail address noted above. Primary authors will be notified of the results of peer review by Nov. 16. If the submission is accepted, an acceptance form with signatures of all authors and the curriculum vitae/résumé of the presenting author must be returned to the peer review committee by Nov. 25. The curriculum vitae/résumé of the presenting author and the return of all authors' signatures on a completed acceptance form are required or the presentation invitation will be revoked.
Miscellaneous Rules and Regulations
- If the submission does not meet the above requirements, it will be refused without review. It is the responsibility of the primary author to ensure that all of the above requirements are met. The ACC Peer Review Chair will not contact authors if the submissions do not meet the requirements.
- The primary author will be the contact person responsible for submission of all required materials and all correspondence. Do not send communications through a third party or co-author.
- If the Peer Review Board confirms there is an inappropriate submission (e.g., previously presented, duplicate submissions, nonauthors listed as authors, plagiarized work), it will be disqualified.
- If accepted, the curriculum vitae/résumé of the presenting author and the return of all authors' signatures on a completed acceptance form are required, or the presentation invitation will be revoked.
- Concept proposals and incomplete works will be refused without review.
- Only electronic submissions will be considered. No faxed or mailed submissions will be accepted.
For more information on the ACC-RAC call for papers, please contact Dr. Claire D. Johnson at (408) 944-6189, or send an e-mail to
accsubmissions@chiropractic.freeservers.com.
