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INSTRUCTIONS TO AUTHORS

Basic Research Articles

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5BASIC RESEARCH ARTICLES (Fewer than 3000 words)
6DEFINITION: Articles using laboratory methods to explore the mechanisms involved in
7the musculoskeletal system or exploring the effects of treatment.
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Must follow the GUIDELINES in Writing for Clinical Orthopaedics and Related
Research

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Must organize as a QUESTION-DRIVEN text. Authors should pose two to four

specific questions (or purposes or hypotheses) in the Introduction and then have two
to four corresponding paragraphs in Results and Discussion. (Hypotheses are best
reserved for experiments exploring alternative mechanisms.) Questions or purposes
must be posed in terms of study variables to be addressable. Perhaps the best
questions are those that can be unequivocally answered, yes or no by the study
design. These are meant to focus the reader on the messages you think are most
important. Purposes or questions such as what are the results are vague, are not
posed in terms of the study variables, and do not define which findings you think are
most important. Rather ask: does technique x alter outcome y, does factor x improve
expression of y, etc. While all data relevant to the questions should appear in tables
or figures, not all data need be repeated in the text.

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Must use text TEMPLATE for guide: (see below).

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24Authorship (Navigate below)
25We believe it important to document the adequate participation of all authors in at least
26three major elements of a study and report; the number of authors will generally relate to
27the scope of the project. While we have no strict limits, Basic Research Articles
28generally require no more than 5 authors. Exceptions may include authorship for certain
29multidisciplinary studies, multi-institutional studies, and Levels I-II studies (prospective
30studies that involve more planning, organization, and rigor). In all cases, however,
31multiple contributions of each author must be documented in our required form
32addressing copyright transfer, authorship, and conflicts of interest. Authors are
33encouraged to read Thoughts on Authorship Clin Orthop Rel Res 2008; 466:1002-5.
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35Conflict of Interest statement (Navigate below)
36Authors of all manuscripts published in CORR must clarify any and all potential conflicts
37of interest. On the Title Page please note any funding or financial support or potential
38sources of conflict of interest:
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Consultancies, stock ownership, equity interest, patent/licensing arrangements, etc.

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If any author has directly received research funding and/or has potential conflicts of
interest, State "One or more of the authors () has received funding from" and note the
source and the initials of those authors who received funding in the parentheses.

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If your institution received any sort of support state, "The institution of the authors
has received funding from" and note the source.

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If you received no financial support please note, "Each author certifies that he or she
has no commercial associations (eg, consultancies, stock ownership, equity interest,
patent/licensing arrangements, etc) that might pose a conflict of interest in connection
with the submitted article."

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If you or any author have received or may receive any personal payment or in-kind
benefit or other professional benefits from a commercial entity (eg, serve as a
consultant), please note, "Each author certifies that he or she has or may receive
payments or benefits from a commercial entity related to this work."

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54Ethical Review Committee Statement (Navigate below)
55Manuscripts involving humans or human data or animals must be accompanied by a copy
56of the letter from your ethical committee approving your study.
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PLEASE REMOVE ALL INSTRUCTIONS PRIOR TO UPLOADING FINAL

DRAFT TO EDITORIAL MANAGER

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61TITLE PAGE

Template for Basic Research Article

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62This page must include the following:

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Title (containing fewer than 80 characters including spaces)

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Running title (containing fewer than 40 characters including spaces)

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Author name(s) and final degree(s) (must follow authorship guidelines)

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The affiliation(s), and address(es), and e-mail addresses of all author(s)

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Conflict of interest statement

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Ethical review committee statement

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A statement of the location where the work was performed (only if authors from
multiple institutions)

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Word Count (Introduction through Discussion): Generally limit manuscripts to

fewer than 3000 words.

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The Corresponding Author name and e-mail address (must be same as

Corresponding Author in Editorial Manager).

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Template for Basic Research Article
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76Abstract Your Abstract must be structured with the following five sections and contain
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Background

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Questions/purposes (logically follows Background)

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Methods (includes study design and methods)

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Results (answers to questions/purposes)

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Conclusions (synthesis of literature and findings)

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Clinical Relevance

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84Introduction (maximum of 500 words)

Template for Basic Research Article

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All manuscripts must contain an Introduction, typically three to four paragraphs.

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We require a question/purpose format: generally formulate two to four questions or

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purposes.

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We suggest one paragraph of background (citing relevant literature), one or two of

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rationale, and a final paragraph only stating the questions or purposes of the

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study.

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The first question or purpose should be the primary (most important) question or that

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used to determine statistical power when appropriate. These questions/purposes are

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listed in the last paragraph of the Introduction, answered sequentially in the Results,

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and each should be sufficiently important that their answers would also appear in the

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Abstract.

96Materials and Methods

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Study design

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Power analysis (if more than one group)

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Description of experimental manipulations or surgery if any

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Description of outcome measures

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Statistical analysis if any; the description of a statistical analysis must reflect the

102 questions and study design.

103Results (maximum of 500 words)

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Template for Basic Research Article

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Begin with any paragraph needed to persuade the reader of the validity of your

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methods if using a new or unvalidated method.

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Next provide one paragraph for each explicit question. Ensure a one-to-one

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correspondence to the questions raised in the Introduction (one paragraph for

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each question).

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You may end with a paragraph or two of unanticipated results.

110Discussion (maximum of 1000 words)

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Begin with a restatement of background and rationale.

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In the second paragraph briefly explore and justify each major study limitation, listing

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in order of importance.

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Then write one paragraph discussing each question or purpose. Compare and/or

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contrast your results with observations or data from the literature. When comparing

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substantial amounts of data from the literature, provide a table or tables of

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comparative data.

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End with a synthesis of your results and those in the literature rather than only

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conclusions from your own data.

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120Acknowledgments

Template for Basic Research Article

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121Note any nonfinancial acknowledgments. Begin with, We thank and note the nature
122of the contribution.

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123References

Template for Basic Research Article

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Ensure your references are complete and in alphabetical order and proper format

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(modified AMA style - please see our published instructions on our Website).

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In-text citations should appear before commas and periods and located in a sentence

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immediately after the point they are documenting.

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128Legends

Template for Basic Research Article

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Provide brief legends to include the major point.

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Figure legends should be written in complete sentences.

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Illustrations with multiple figures (eg, 1A, 1B, 1C) must be labeled "A," "B," and "C"

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in the lower left hand corner. Each illustration requires a separate legend.

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Figures should be uploaded and separately labeled in Editorial Manager.

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Color illustrations should be used for anatomical photographs, photomicrographs,

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complex graphics; black and white should be used for other illustrations including

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most histograms.