MOT Library Resources: Occupational Therapy Journals

Here are some examples of well-known and highly-cited journals that cover occupational therapy. Titles that have some full text coverage in library databases are bold and italicized. This list is NOT exhaustive.

• American Journal of Occupational Therapy*
• Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
• Australian Occupational Therapy Journal
• British Journal of Occupational Therapy*
• Canadian Journal of Occupational Therapy*
• Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation
• Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation
• Occupational Therapy in Health Care
• Occupational Therapy International
• OTJR: Occupation, Participation and Health
• Physical and Occupational Therapy in Geriatrics
• Physical and Occupational Therapy in Pediatrics

*Full text of these journals is available to all AOTA members through their site - see OT Professional Resources section for a link.

In addition, here is a list of journals that have been highly cited in the occupational therapy literature over the years. Information about online full text and print journal availability is also included.

https://docs.google.com/a/net.elmhurst.edu/spreadsheets/d/1SSVK3uwFpp-D0y_ducjOnLryLPmKyjE-dyS7rkjghzw/edit?usp=sharing

The list was compiled from several articles:

• Fell, D. W., Burnham, J. F., Buchanan, M. J., Horchen, H. A., & Scherr, J. A. (2011). Mapping the core journals of the physical therapy literature. Journal of the Medical Library Association, 99(3), 202-207. doi:10.3163/1536-5050.99.3.007
• Potter, J. (2010). Mapping the literature of occupational therapy: an update. Journal Of The Medical Library Association: JMLA, 98(3), 235-242. doi:10.3163/1536-5050.98.3.012
• Reed, K. L. (1999). Mapping the literature of occupational therapy. Bulletin Of The Medical Library Association, 87(3), 298-304.
• Roberts, D. (1992). The Journal Literature of Occupational Therapy: A Comparison of Coverage by Four Bibliographic Information Services. British Journal of Occupational Therapy, 55(4), 143-147. doi:10.1177/030802269205500406
• Rodger, S., McKenna, K., & Brown, T. (2007). Quality and impact of occupational therapy journals: Authors’ perspectives. Australian Occupational Therapy Journal, 54(3), 174-184. doi:10.1111/j.1440-1630.2007.00595.x
• Schroeder, J. (2008). An Overlap Analysis of Occupational Therapy Electronic Journals Available in Full-text Databases and Subscription Services. Journal of Electronic Resources in Medical Libraries, 5(4), 346-361. doi:10.1080/15424060802453720

Empirical Article: Research articles describe and document research conducted by the author(s). Empirical studies are based on data derived from observation or experimentation. Research articles usually comprise an abstract, introduction, methodology, results, discussion, list of references and appendices. 

• It is important to use these "Primary Sources." Primary sources are original materials on which other research is based. They are usually the first formal appearance of results in physical, print or electronic format. They present original thinking, report a discovery, or share new information. Primary sources may vary depending upon the discipline or context.

Literature Review: An article in which the authors present the findings of other scholars studies. A literature review identifies major scholars and studies in a particular research area, summarizes current findings and provides a robust bibliography.