Longitudinal evaluation of Journal of Athletic Training author credentials: implications for future research engagement in athletic training.

Purpose: To employ retrospective trend analysis in an attempt to provide a layered description of the relative contribution (per credential) of clinical athletic trainers (those without terminal degrees) to authoring scientific literature in the Journal of Athletic Training (JAT). From these data, our secondary purpose was to evaluate trends relative to changes in journal policy and increased educational rigor or professional limitations over the past decade, discussing how they may affect the potential for clinical athletic trainers to contribute to JAT.

Design: Exploratory study design with trend analysis.

Participants: Data collection and analysis included a trend evaluation of the credentials of clinical athletic trainer authors in JAT and the teams (by credential) of authorship to determine the credentials of authors who published in JAT.

Measurements: Longitudinal tabulation of JAT author credentials from 1995 through 2007.

Results: We noted increases in the absolute number of research articles per volume and the number of authors per article and a decrease in the relative percentage of authors who were athletic trainers. The results also suggested that the bachelor of science degree (BS-ATC, representative of clinical athletic trainers without advanced degrees) and Doctor of Medicine (MD) credential may be underrepresented in JAT authorship.

Conclusions: Postgraduate research training may facilitate scientific article contribution by athletic trainers. Continued evolution in the athletic training evidence-based medicine movement should foster research-based mentorship during education. Cultivating collaborations between clinical athletic trainers and research teams may also promote outcomes assessment trials, which will benefit athletic training practices.