The Journal of Special Operations Medicine is the premier peer-reviewed medical journal for Special Operations, tactical, and emergency medical personnel. We respond to the needs of medics, paramedics, doctors, PAs, and any other medical professional that operates in austere and remote environments. The articles that we publish must meet strict guidelines for academic rigor. To that end we have developed a new ongoing series in the JSOM to address what research is, ethics, how to start doing it, what statistics are appropriate and what they mean, how to critique an article, basics of when and how to go through the IRB.
To that end, we have developed a Research page on our website as a guide for potential authors to follow. The first resource to which you may avail yourself is our Author Requirements document. This will be your guide to manuscript preparation prior to submitting for review. Following is a series of articles, the first of which is authored by Kate Kemplin and. F. Bowling. Dr Kemplin is the assistant professor of Nursing Research and Graduate Statistics Faculty, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, Jonas Foundation Veterans’ Healthcare Scholar. She also serves as director of the Special Operations Medical Association, Research Program Committee. SGM Bowling is the senior enlisted medical advisor of the United States Special Operations Command. Together, they are collaborating on a series of articles to help guide the research methodology to help ensure that our journal remains the premier medical journal in our field.
Please check back regularly, as we will be adding to this page. To access the article, simply click on the title and the PDF will automatically download for you.
Rocklein-Kemplin, K , Bowling, FY . 17(1). xii - xv. (Guideline)
Abstract
Special Operations Forces (SOF) medics do not have preparation in research knowledge that enables them to independently initiate or generate their own studies. Thus, medics rely on evidence generated by others, who are removed from medics’ practice environment. Here, salient literature on research self-efficacy and the genesis of institutional review boards (IRBs) are reviewed and interpreted for contextual applications to medics’ practice and initiation of studies. More publications delving into research methods are warranted to promote medics’ participation and initiation of selfdirected scientific investigation, in collaboration with research scientists.
Keywords: Special Operations ; ethics ; medics, military ; research ; research self-efficacy
Rocklein-Kemplin K, Bowling F. 17(2). 12 - 17. (Journal Article)
Abstract
When we do not know a language, we are at the mercy of an interpreter. The same is true for research: Special Operations Forces (SOF) clinicians not actively involved in research initiatives may rely on scientific interpreters, so it is important to speak some of the language personally. For any clinician, using evidence in practice requires a working knowledge of how that evidence was generated from research, which requires an understanding of research science language. Here we review common basics of research science to reinforce concepts and elements of experimental and nonexperimental research.
Keywords: research; statistics; statistical analysis