Publication Guide
The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) is the definitive professional society for orthopaedic surgery in the United States. Founded in 1933 at Northwestern University and headquartered in Rosemont, Illinois, the Academy serves tens of thousands of orthopaedic surgeons and allied professionals worldwide. Unlike large commercial houses, AAOS publishes a tightly focused portfolio: two peer-reviewed journals, both produced in partnership with Wolters Kluwer under the Lippincott imprint.
The flagship is the Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (JAAOS), launched in 1993 and best known for authoritative clinical review articles that shape orthopaedic practice. Its open-access sibling, JAAOS Global Research & Reviews (GR&R), launched in 2017 as a fully Gold OA venue for original research, case reports, and reviews. This guide covers which journal fits your manuscript, what each costs, how peer review works, and how to submit.
Which AAOS journal fits your paper?
| You're most likely to... | Choose this route |
|---|---|
| Have an invited or high-impact clinical review, or practice-shaping research | JAAOS - the flagship, subscription-based journal; strongest reach among practicing orthopaedic surgeons, no fee to publish the standard route. |
| Have original research, a case report, or a systematic review and want open access | JAAOS Global Research & Reviews - fully Gold OA, MEDLINE-indexed, APC $1,650, CC BY or CC BY-NC-ND licensing. |
| Need to satisfy a funder OA mandate but want the flagship's audience | JAAOS with the hybrid OA option - pay the per-article fee on the current Wolters Kluwer price list, or self-archive via the Green route. |
What AAOS publishes
- JAAOS (Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons) - the Academy's flagship, published since 1993. Emphasis on clinically relevant review articles, plus original research, and instructional content across all orthopaedic subspecialties: trauma, sports medicine, arthroplasty, spine, hand, foot and ankle, pediatric orthopaedics, and oncology. Indexed in MEDLINE/PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science.
- JAAOS Global Research & Reviews (GR&R) - the fully open-access companion, launched in 2017 (eISSN 2474-7661). Publishes original research, case reports, and reviews across the same subspecialty range. Indexed in MEDLINE/PubMed and listed in DOAJ.
Both journals use AMA numbered citation style, and manuscript templates for both are available on SciSpace.
Open access and APCs
| Route | Cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Gold OA - JAAOS Global Research & Reviews | $1,650 per article | Fully OA journal; CC BY or CC BY-NC-ND license (per DOAJ listing) |
| Hybrid OA - JAAOS | Per the Wolters Kluwer price list | Optional; makes an individual article OA in the subscription journal - check the journal's current fees page |
| Subscription (non-OA) - JAAOS | $0 | Standard route; no publication fee for accepted articles |
| Green OA (self-archiving) | $0 | Accepted-manuscript archiving per Wolters Kluwer's standard self-archiving policy, typically with an embargo |
Fee waivers for authors in low- and middle-income countries are handled case-by-case under Wolters Kluwer policy; contact the editorial office before submission if a waiver is essential.
Peer review
Both journals run rigorous specialty peer review managed by orthopaedic surgeon editors. JAAOS Global Research & Reviews uses double-anonymized review (per its DOAJ listing) with plagiarism screening; JAAOS review is editor-managed and anonymized - consult the current author guidelines for the exact model. Decision times are not formally published and vary by article type; original research typically takes longer than invited reviews.
How to submit
- Pick the journal. Reviews aimed at practicing surgeons go to JAAOS; original research and case reports needing OA go to GR&R.
- Read the author guidelines. Each journal's Lippincott page carries title-specific instructions, word limits, and figure requirements.
- Prepare the manuscript. Use AMA numbered citation style; SciSpace hosts formatted templates for both journals.
- Submit via Editorial Manager. Both journals use Wolters Kluwer's Editorial Manager submission portals.
- Complete disclosures. AAOS requires detailed conflict-of-interest disclosure aligned with its own transparency program for all authors.
Ethics and integrity
AAOS journals follow standard biomedical publication ethics: ICMJE authorship criteria, mandatory conflict-of-interest disclosure through the AAOS disclosure program, IRB/ethics approval statements for human-subjects research, and plagiarism screening at GR&R. Retractions and corrections are handled through the Wolters Kluwer publishing infrastructure in line with COPE-style guidance. As a specialty society, AAOS also maintains clinical practice guidelines and standards programs that its journals reference but that are editorially separate.
