Eligibility Requirements

• Physical therapists who are current members in good standing of the association and were students at the time of publication.
• All articles authored and published in PTJ: Physical Therapy & Rehabilitation Journal during the current year are eligible, except Literature Reviews, Professional Perspectives, and Clinical Perspectives, provided that the studies were undertaken when the principal author was a student in an educational institution. If the paper has more than one student author, each will be considered a co-winner of the award, if otherwise eligible. If more than one article has been written for a study and these articles were published in the same year, then the primary author can designate that the articles be judged as one article for the purpose of this award. If the additional articles have different principal authors then these articles may be considered as separate candidates for the award.
• Any manuscript meeting the criteria will be considered if the primary author is eligible for the award, even when co-authors are not members of the association.

Criteria for Selection

The following criteria will be used to evaluate all nominated articles:

• The article is written clearly and concisely.
• There is a clear theoretical basis for the paper.
• The review of literature and other introductory statements provide evidence for the importance of the paper to physical therapy.
• Elements in the paper are described with sufficient clarity to permit replication by others:
  
  • Conclusions confined to the design, methods, and findings of the study.
  • Reference to the research hypothesis and/or question posed and the basis for that hypothesis/question.
  • Logical and practical relationships of the conclusions to the works of others.
  • Implications of the conclusions for knowledge, decisions, and application in physical therapy.
  • Implications for further research.
• The paper represents a useful contribution to the knowledge base of physical therapy.

What Recipients Receive

An award will be presented to the eligible author(s) by APTA's Board of Directors at an APTA national event, and an official announcement will appear in an association publication. (With the recommendation of the Publication Awards Subcommittee, and at the discretion of the Board of Directors, if a selected article has two or more eligible authors, each will be presented with the award.)

Submission Requirements

During the online submission process, the following documents will be required for upload:

• Eligibility form.
• Abstract.
• Electronic copy of article.

Submit a Nomination

The nominations call for the Honors and Awards program is open Sept. 1-Dec. 1. Nominations must be submitted through our online portal by Dec. 1; late submissions will not be considered. Selected recipients and their nominators will be notified in May.

Additional Resources

For questions regarding the nomination process or the award, please contact APTA Honors and Awards.