The Rehabilitation Professional (RehabPro) is the peer reviewed quarterly publication of the International Association of Rehabilitation Professionals (IARP). Articles are written with the rehabilitation professional in mind. Articles are suggested for, but not limited to, the following tracks: case management, disability management, forensic/life care planning, ethics and business development. The articles are reviewed by the Managing Editor and will be peer-reviewed by members of the The Rehabilitation Professional editorial board.

Author(s) should follow the most recent edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. The names and mailing addresses of the authors should be included so that a complimentary copy of The Rehabilitation Professional can be sent in appreciation.

Articles should be in Microsoft Word format, using a standard Times New Roman font, and double-spaced. Do not use the tab key or spaces to align text. Only one space should follow any punctuation. Do not include additional spaces at the end of the paragraph. Tables, graphs, and charts need not be camera ready since they are reset to match the style of the journal. Contact the Managing Editor for instructions for sending photographs. and grphics. Graphs, photographs, and figures should be included as separate files and be in a graphic format, e.g., JPG, TIF, BMP. Indicate the correct location of tables and figures in text, enclosed in angle brackets. Articles should be sent to the Managing Editor as an email attachment.

Abstracts of no more than 250 words each should be included. The abstract should include a brief summary of the content of the article. Author notes should conform to the current APA 7th edition format.

Authors should use acceptable language, which respects individuals. Person first language should be used, consistent with APA formatting. For example, “a person with a learning disability” should be used instead of “the learning disabled.”

Upon review, an article is either accepted, accepted with revisions or rejected. Changes requested by the editor or peer-reviewers should be made prior to resubmission. Articles are typically published in the order received.

Guidelines For Manuscript Submissions to The Rehabilitation Professional

We welcome manuscript submissions on topics that are pertinent to the rehabilitation community. If you have not published previously in scholarly journals or are unfamiliar with general guidelines for peer-reviewed scholarly publications, please make sure to review the information below before emailing your manuscript for publication.

Please email all manuscripts, Practitioner Toolkit items, or other correspondence directly to editor-in-chief Scott Beveridge at RehabProEditor@gmail.com.

Scholarly manuscripts accepted for publication in The Rehabilitation Professional generally follow one of three formats: 1) literature review, 2) conceptual paper, or 3) research study results.

Please organize your manuscript as one of the following:

LITERATURE REVIEW

A literature review collects key sources on a topic and discusses those sources. Literature reviews can be standalone pieces as publications. A lit review usually is meant to help make other scholars’ lives easier by collecting and summarizing, synthesizing, and analyzing existing research on a topic. This can be especially helpful for scholars getting into a new research area, or for directing an entire community of scholars and practitioners toward questions that have not yet been answered.

Guidance on how to organize a literature review manuscript.

General structure and organization of a literature or conceptual paper:

1. Introduction and Purpose
2. Relevant Literature
3. Conclusions
4. Implications for Research and Practice

A literature review is always included as part of a scholarly article, usually falling after the introduction in a conceptual or research results paper. In these cases, the lit review just needs to cover scholarship that is important to the topic you are writing about; sometimes it will also cover key sources that informed your research methodology.

CONCEPTUAL PAPER

Typically, a conceptual paper outlines why further research should be conducted on a specific topic, synthesizes literature and/or concepts from other fields to form recommendations for the practice of vocational rehabilitation, or specifically outlines the justification and details for a proposed research study.

The conceptual paper (1) describes the state of known knowledge, usually through a literature review; (2) identifies gaps in our understanding of a phenomenon or problem; and (3) outlines the methodological underpinnings of a research project or provides recommendations for practice, research and/or further study. It is constructed to answer 2 questions: “Why is this research important?” and “What contributions might these findings make to what is already known?”

For guidance, visit this information provided by Springer: Designing conceptual articles: four approaches
By Elina Jaakkola https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13162-020-00161-0
or
Van der Waldt, G. (2020). Constructing conceptual frameworks in social science research. TD: The Journal for Transdisciplinary Research in Southern Africa, 16(1), 1-9. https://td-sa.net/index.php/td/article/view/758/1186

RESEARCH RESULTS PAPER

Manuscripts that share the results of research studies related to vocational rehabilitation are welcomed.

General organization of a Research Results Paper:

• Introduction and literature review
• Purpose including your Research Questions
• Methods (PLEASE INCLUDE IRB APPROVAL INFORMATION AND DETAILS ON HOW CONFIDENTIALITY OF PARTICIPANTS WAS PROTECTED)
• Results
• Conclusions
• Implications for Research and Practice

Further guidance for a conceptual or research results paper.

GENERAL GUIDELINES

Please begin your paper with an introduction section. Your introduction does not have a heading, but it should contain an overview of what you discuss in the paper.

Please do not include language that refers to a conference presentation. Your manuscript should be submitted as a scholarly paper and not a summary of a conference presentation.

Your paper should follow the organization of a literature review, conceptual paper, or research study results as appropriate to include an introduction, thesis statement/research questions, supporting literature/discussion of the concepts and citations supporting your thesis or research questions, a conclusion & recommendations section, and end with your reference section. Manuscripts must follow APA 7 formatting.

Information, language, citations, and references regarding court proceedings and laws must follow APA 7 formatting. Please use Purdue OWL for guidance.

Page counts: Please strive for a manuscript that is under 30 pages including the title page and references.

AUTHOR NOTES SECTION

Please prepare a short bio for each author to be included at the end of your article. For examples, please see the “Author Notes” section following the articles in previously published issues of The Rehabilitation Professional.

Other Options for Publication in The Rehabilitation Professional

Practitioner Toolkit

In each issue of The Rehabilitation Professional we include a one to two-page “Practitioner Toolkit” section that focuses on a brief resource for practitioners. The Practitioner Toolkit resource is not a scholarly article and does not undergo peer review. It is at the discretion of the editor-in-chief what item is selected for publication as a “Practitioner Toolbox” resource.

Book Reviews

We welcome reviews of recently published books not to exceed 10 pages double-spaced. Please follow APA 7 formatting and include a citation of the book in APA 7 format.

At a minimum, please organize the book review as follows:

• Introduction including the title, author, and topic of the book
• Organization of the book
• Noteworthy Themes
• Critique and Conclusions

Additional guidance on how to write a book review.

Tributes to colleagues, relevant reports, and other items of interest to rehabilitation practitioners and scholars are always appreciated and will be considered for publication.

Please email all manuscripts, Practitioner Toolkit, or other correspondence directly to editor in chief Scott Beveridge at RehabProEditor@gmail.com

 

Purpose and Objectives

The Journal of Life Care Planning publishes refereed education and research materials relevant to the practice and processes of life care planning. The specific objectives of the Journal are as follows:

• Publish materials which will add to the growing literature base of the practice of life care planning.
  
• Provide the professional field with information regarding events and developments important to the practice of life care planning.
  
• Provide a forum for the debate and discussion of practice issues.
  
• Promote professional practice by addressing issues relevant to certification, ethics, standards of practice and research methodologies.
  
• Promote advanced practice through the publication of preapproved continuing education feature articles.

Manuscript Preparation

Submission of articles and manuscripts consistent with the objectives of the Journal are welcome. In the preparation of any submission to the Journal, please carefully consider the following:

1. The manuscript should be prepared in APA style. Refer to the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, Sixth Edition. Submit only original work that has not been previously published or copyrighted. Do not submit manuscripts that are under consideration at another source. Quoting from other sources is permissible, but only if carefully documented and referenced. Plagiarism in any form is considered unethical. Place identifying information (Name(s) of authors(s), addresses, employment, etc.) only on a cover page in order to facilitate the blind review process.
   
2. Manuscripts should be submitted to the Journal Editor via email (Preferred format: MSWord 2010 or earlier). It is expected that most manuscripts will need some revision or enhancement following the Journal's review process. The final draft of a revised manuscript should be resubmitted to the Editor via email.
   
3. Use proper language with regard to a person's sex and/or disabling condition.
   
4. All manuscripts, if published, become property of the Journal. Manuscripts that are not published will be returned to the author(s). However, the author(s), not the Journal, are responsible for the views and conclusions of a published manuscript.
   
5. The Editor, and the Editorial Board, have broad latitude in deciding the disposition of an article or manuscript. Issues of relevancy, quality of writing, and adherence to the guidelines for preparation are critical. Manuscripts may be returned without comment to the author, especially if no peer review is involved.
   
6. Submit articles and manuscripts to Tanya Rutherford Owen at tanya@owenvocational.com.