MN507 Abstract and Position Paper

PREPARATION OF THE MANUSCRIPT
***AJN only considers manuscripts prepared in the format specified by the American Psychological Association (APA; www.apastyle.org), so, (author, year) in parentheses in text and alphabetical listing of references. Do NOT use any reference formatting software (eg, End Notes) in your submission.

General Guidelines.  Detailed descriptions of styles for various types of manuscripts are included below. Authors are encouraged to write in active voice, and first and second person are permitted as appropriate. Write for the experienced clinician: AJN readers are experienced and educated: 75% have a bachelor’s degree or higher; 37% have a master’s degree or higher; over 40% are certified in their specialty. These are the nurses other nurses turn to for answers.

Presentation. Margins should be 1½" on all sides, left justified only. Type must be a minimum of 12-point font size. Double-space throughout and arrange the text in the following sequence: acknowledgments page; abstract with key words for indexing; main text; references; and figures, tables, and illustrations when appropriate. Number the pages consecutively, in the upper right-hand corner. Number the lines continuously beginning with the main text. Include a short title in the header of each page, just above the page number.

We encourage authors to use headings and subheadings throughout the manuscript. We also encourage the use of diagrams, tables, charts, illustrations, and photos; however, authors should include these as attachments, as opposed to placing them in the body of the text. Use generic drug names instead of proprietary names whenever possible. If it’s necessary to use trade names, they should be capitalized and inserted within parentheses after the generic name on first mention. Thereafter, the generic name should be used, if possible. Product names should be treated likewise, with the manufacturer’s full name and the city in which the product is manufactured in parentheses

Length. Papers over 10,000 words are discouraged. Do not cut the details of a paper or reduce font size in order to get the manuscript to under that amount. We prefer to advise authors on reducing length after their papers are peer reviewed; we’ve sometimes done split very large articles into two-parts or a series. Columns are shorter, more tightly focused and generally run 2,000 – 3,000 words.

Sourcing .  Authors must provide proper sourcing throughout their papers. Primary sources should be used. In brief: examples of primary sources are journal articles that present new research findings, or articles that are the first to discuss a concept or theory or protocol and are written by the researchers or developer of the work.  Secondary sources are articles that review or interpret previous findings.  Reference or text books, encyclopedias (including Wikipedia) and consumer education information are secondary sources and seldom appropriate references. For more specifics on primary versus secondary sources, see AJN’s policy “Primary and Secondary Sources” under “Author Guidelines.”

References.  Authors are responsible for the accuracy and completeness of their references and for correct text citation (see Sourcing, above). For all manuscripts accepted for publication, the accuracy of the content and references is checked. Authors may be required to submit copies of source materials for fact-checking during the editing phase. Any online citations must include the URL and latest date the author accessed the page to verify its currency. Important: Do NOT use any reference formatting software (eg, End Notes).

**Be judicious in citing references – it is often not necessary to cite multiple references for one fact; use one or two recent primary sources. On average, a 4,000 word paper should have no more than 30-40 references.

Tables, Figures, Illustrations, and Photos .  Legends must accompany all tables and figures. Authors need to indicate whether illustrations are original works or copies. Authors must obtain permissions for reprinting any previously published material. Permission may also be necessary for any adaptations of previously published material. If you are uncertain about whether you need copyright permission for an adapted table, figure, illustration, or other material, please note it in your cover letter and include the original table/figure.

Photographs must be accompanied by written permission of any individuals pictured in the photo, unless the image is historic or considered a “public” photo. Photograph releases from individuals in the photo should include permission to use the photo in print and online versions of the journal and all media forms. Photos should be at least 5" x 7" but not larger than 11" x 14". Resolution of digital images that are 5" x 7" or larger must be at least 300 dpi; a higher resolution is required for smaller images. We can accept Illustrator, Photoshop, or QuarkXPress files saved in JPEG, TIFF, PICT, or PDF format. Authors submitting artwork for the Art of Nursing department should read the author guidelines for that department (see below). Do not embed photos or figures in the word processing program; they must be attached as separate documents on the Web site.

AJN staff must be able to verify the accuracy of photographs published in the journal. Authors will need to state who or what is depicted, who took the photograph, when and where it was taken, and what, if any, changes were made to the photo.

For information on submitting videos to augment papers, or as a primary submission, see the section on “Types of Submission” below.

Anonymity and Patient Confidentiality. We encourage authors to include clinical scenarios or case studies in their manuscripts. It is imperative to protect the anonymity of people described in these scenarios or to obtain the written consent of all such people, even if individuals’ names are not used, whenever the identity of such a person could reasonably be determined.

Descriptions of clinical scenarios involving patients need to be identified as real or composites. Case studies or detailed reports of cases used as data must be accompanied by the written permission of the patient and family included in the case report. Authors may not change the details of a case, but cases can be de-identified to ensure the patient’s anonymity. The journal will work with authors on de-identifying procedures if the manuscript is accepted; however, most patients and families are eager to have their cases shared for learning purposes as long as their names are not used. For patient scenarios, authors may construct composite descriptions that are representative of a patient population but not based upon one real case, or one case can be used providing it does not include details that would jeopardize the patient’s anonymity. When a composite is created, the author needs to state this in the manuscript; for example, “Jane Smith was a 70 year old woman who sustained a fall at home (this case is a composite based upon the author’s experience).” Authors who include cases of any kind in their manuscripts must complete a “Patient Case Permissions Form” available under “Author Forms” or at http://edmgr.ovid.com/ajn/accounts/Patient_Case_Form 2015.doc.

Continuing Education Questions. Do not submit test questions with your manuscript. The editors will determine whether your manuscript is suitable to be a continuing education feature in the journal. If it is, the test questions will be developed independently.

TYPES OF SUBMISSIONS 
Review/Application Papers. AJN welcomes papers that synthesize research and other evidence to describe best clinical nursing practices. Authors should ensure that their papers describe the evidence for practice, including a description of the literature search, existing research that is relevant, and gaps in the current literature. Authors should not feel compelled to include discussion of all research but should focus instead on the most important, best-designed studies. (Papers that include discussion of the findings of a systematic review should include the review’s grading of the evidence in parentheses for each practice recommendation, a statement about the organization that conducted the review, and references to the original review and the grading system.) Clinical papers should clearly define the paper’s focus. Authors should describe in detail how the ideas and information presented can be directly applied in clinical practice.

Clinical papers on health problems should include a discussion of the relevant epidemiology; assessments and diagnostics; medical treatments (including pharmacologic therapies) and their advantages, disadvantages, and nursing implications; the physical, psychosocial, and educational issues confronted by patients, families, and nurses caring for them; and sufficient detail on nursing interventions. Essentially, the reader will ask, “What can I take away from this piece that will improve the care I provide or my patients’ lives?” Provide examples and specific details.

Quality Improvement Studies. AJN welcomes papers on practice innovations and quality improvement (QI) that include detailed descriptions of the innovation or intervention and outcome data. Authors follow the SQUIRE guidelines for QI papers (see www.SQUIRE-statement.org).

Original Research. For original research, authors should refer to the guidelines set forth by the ICMJE ( www.icmje.org ), although references should be submitted in APA format. IRB approval should be noted. Authors need to state IRB status.

All interventional studies should be registered in an approved, publicly accessible clinical trial registry such as  www.clinicaltrials.gov  (see  http://jama.ama-assn.org/misc/authors.dtl  for a list of approved research registries). Authors must include the registration number in the cover letter. Authors of interventional research not registered should contact the editor-in-chief for a waiver before submitting the manuscript.

Original research manuscripts should follow reporting guidelines endorsed by the ICMJE; the CONSORT Group ( www.CONSORT-statement.org ) for randomized clinical trials, including the checklist for authors (which can be found at www.CONSORT-statement.org ); and the TREND Group’s statement on Transparent Reporting of Evaluations of Nonrandomized Designs ( www.TREND-statement.org ) for studies with nonrandomized.

Reports on quantitative studies should include the following sections:

• A structured abstract that includes a statement of the problem and its significance, the study design, the sampling method, the variables examined, the most important finding(s), and most important conclusion(s)

• Introduction stating the problem and its significance

• Background or literature review

• Statement of the study aims, research questions, and/or hypotheses

• Methods, including study design; a statement showing institutional review board approval and procedures for obtaining informed consent from or for subjects; details of the sampling plan and instruments; and protocols or procedures (please include as an attachment a copy of the protocol if the research is an interventional study)

• Findings or Results, including flow of participants throughout the study using the CONSORT Group guidelines (the flow diagram of the CONSORT Group is available at  www.CONSORT-statement.org ); descriptive statistics with absolute numbers as well as summary statistics (for example, mean, SD, and percentages, as appropriate);and inferential statistics (for example, t test = 3.41; df = 10; P = 0.002) for all relationships tested.

• Discussion, including examination of the findings within the context of other research; limitations of the study; and recommendations for practice, policy, and future research.

• All data display charts must include actual data points; for example, bar graphs must include the actual end point datum for the bar. (See “Tables, Figures, Illustrations, and Photos” above.)

Reports on qualitative studies should follow the same format as above but with appropriate detail on and referencing of study approach, including design, sampling determinations, methods of data analysis, findings that include sample demographic data and qualitative data, and discussion of the findings within the context of prior research and theory.

Authors of all study reports should also be mindful of the rules on the ethical conduct of research. During the peer-review or editing processes, questions about the accuracy of the reported data may lead to a request by AJN to have the data independently evaluated by a statistician whose selection is mutually agreed upon by the author and editor-in-chief.

Researchers should refrain from soliciting media coverage of the results of their research prior to publication. AJN follows the Ingelfinger Rule, which limits such coverage to journalists’ reporting on what researchers present at peer-reviewed conferences and meetings without the researcher elaborating beyond the presentation or giving data or slides to the journalists. For more information on the guidelines for researchers’ contact with media prior to publication of their work, go to  http://www.icmje.org/#media .

Systematic Reviews. Authors should follow established guidelines – PRISMA guidelines are available at  http://www.prisma-statement.org/ . Also, see AJN’s series from the Joanna Briggs Institute on writing systematic reviews http://journals.lww.com/ajnonline/pages/collectiondetails.aspx?TopicalCollectionId=25 . Evidence tables should be included with systematic reviews.

Videos. Authors may submit video as their primary submission, and write an accompanying description for publication in AJN.

Authors may also submit videos to enhance their written manuscript. The manuscript must contain references to the video that are clearly labeled as "Supplemental Digital Content," with a brief description of the video and its intended function as a supplement to the manuscript, the videographer's name, participants, length (minutes), and size (MB). Authors must obtain written consent from anyone appearing in the video. Consent should be faxed to associate editor Diane Szulecki at (212) 886-1206 or sent as a scanned attachment to [email protected] .

Video files should be submitted with the following file extensions: .wmv, .mov, .qt, .mpg, .mpeg, or .mp4, and formatted with a 320 X 240 pixel minimum screen size. Video documents are attached the same way as the manuscript and cover letter in the online submission process.

For more information, please contact Diane Szulecki at [email protected] .

Other Types of Submissions
AJN also welcomes submissions of narratives, commentaries, photo essays, and other forms of writing. See specific guidelines for Reflections, Viewpoint, and other columns at www.editorialmanager.com/ajn. Contact Editor-in-Chief Shawn Kennedy at [email protected]  to discuss formats not discussed in these guidelines. 

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
AJN welcomes letters to the editor on items published in AJN in the preceding six months, except for critiques of original research, which may be submitted at any time. Letters that include statements of statistics, facts, research, or theories should include appropriate references, although more than three references are discouraged. Letters that are personal attacks on an author rather than thoughtful criticism of the author’s ideas will not be considered for publication. 

Letters can be no more than 300 words in length. Authors should include a statement at the beginning of the letter stating that it is being submitted for publication (this statement will not be counted in the 300 word length and will not be included in the published letter). Publication is not guaranteed. Anonymous letters will not be considered. Authors who believe that publication of their letter would jeopardize their well-being or livelihood may request that their identity be withheld from readers. Such requests will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Authors must include their city and state of residence or work. No other affiliations will be included unless the authors are writing on behalf of an organization. In such cases, the authors should include a statement that the letter has been approved by the organization they are representing. 

Letters will be edited for clarity and length. Letters that require substantive changes will be sent to the author for approval before publication.

Authors of the original article may be invited to write a response to one or more letters if the editors deem a response is warranted.

Letters should be sent as text in an email (as opposed to an attachment) to [email protected] , not through Editorial Manager. Letters on organizational stationary may be sent as attachments, faxed to 212-886-1206, or mailed to Editor-in-Chief, American Journal of Nursing, 333 Seventh Avenue, 20th Floor, New York, NY 10001. Authors must provide contact information to allow editors to follow up with any questions about a letter; e-mail addresses are preferred. 

CORRECTIONS
Readers who detect errors in AJN are encouraged to notify the editor-in-chief immediately so that a correction can be published. AJN reserves the right to evaluate the reported error and determine whether it is indeed an error or a divergent opinion. Corrections of errors will be published in the next available issue, as well as posted online and linked to the original article in which the error occurred. 

OPEN ACCESS
LWW’s hybrid open access option is offered to authors whose articles have been accepted for publication. With this choice, articles are made freely available online immediately upon publication. Authors may take advantage of the open access option at the point of acceptance to ensure that this choice has no influence on the peer review and acceptance process. These articles are subject to the journal’s standard peer-review process and will be accepted or rejected based on their own merit.

Authors of accepted peer-reviewed articles have the choice to pay a fee to allow perpetual unrestricted online access to their published article to readers globally, immediately upon publication. The article processing charge for AJN: American Journal of Nursing is $3,000. The article processing charge for authors funded by the Research Councils UK (RCUK) is $3,800. The publication fee is charged on acceptance of the article and should be paid within 30 days by credit card by the author, funding agency or institution. Payment must be received in full for the article to be published open access. Any additional standard publication charges, such as for color images, will also apply.

Authors retain copyright
Authors retain their copyright for all articles they opt to publish open access. Authors grant LWW a license to publish the article and identify itself as the original publisher.

Creative Commons license
Articles opting for open access will be freely available to read, download and share from the time of publication. Articles are published under the terms of the Creative Commons License Attribution-NonCommerical No Derivative 4.0 which allows readers to disseminate and reuse the article, as well as share and reuse of the scientific material. It does not permit commercial exploitation or the creation of derivative works without specific permission. To view a copy of this license visit: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0 .

Compliance with NIH, RCUK and other research funding agency accessibility requirements
A number of research funding agencies now require or request authors to submit the post-print (the article after peer review and acceptance but not the final published article) to a repository that is accessible online by all without charge. As a service to our authors, LWW identifies to the National Library of Medicine (NLM) articles that require deposit and transmits the post-print of an article based on research funded in whole or in part by the National Institutes of Health, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, or other funding agencies to PubMed Central. The revised Copyright Transfer Agreement provides the mechanism. LWW ensures that authors can fully comply with the public access requirements of major funding bodies worldwide. Authors who choose the open access option will have their final published article deposited into PubMed Central. 

RCUK funded authors can choose to publish their paper as open access with the payment of an article process charge, or opt for their accepted manuscript to be deposited (green route) into PMC with an embargo. 

With both the gold and green open access options, the author will continue to sign the Copyright Transfer Agreement (CTA) as it provides the mechanism for LWW to ensure that the author is fully compliant with the requirements. After signature of the CTA, the author will then sign a License to Publish where they will then own the copyright.

It is the responsibility of the author to inform the Editorial Office and/or LWW that they have RCUK funding. LWW will not be held responsible for retroactive deposits to PMC if the author has not completed the proper forms.

FAQ for open access
http://links.lww.com/LWW-ES/A48

American Journal of Nursing

Author Guidelines for Policy and Politics

The AJN column Policy and Politics focuses on the politics of health care and important public and health policy issues.

When submitting an article to be considered for the Policy and Politics column, include the following:

• a brief presentation of the policy issue or problem and why it’s pertinent to nurses or nursing (if that’s not obvious)

• background information essential to understanding the issue

• a summary of policy alternatives. Include the pros and cons of each

• a summary of the issue or a policy recommendation

• a resource box with Internet links to reputable sources for readers who would like more information or updates on the topic.

Also consider the following:

1. • relevant legislation at the federal, state, and local levels

   • regulations that interpret or implement related laws

   • who the relevant stakeholders are and their positions

   • resources that are or would be necessary to implement the policy

Citations must be provided for all facts, statistics, and quotations (although they may not be printed by us) for fact-checking. Consider how to organize. The Internet has many resources for writers; check http://webster.commnet.edu/writing/writing.htm for one set of links that may be helpful in determining an outline.

The preferred method of submission is as a Word document via the Internet at http://ajn.edmgr.com. For details on formats that are acceptable for submissions, go to the main page, under “files and resources,” then “system requirements.” To accommodate blinded peer review, do not place authors’ names anywhere in your submission. Authors should enter their information directly into the Web site and it will remain linked with their manuscript. This is a secure site; AJN editors control access to all submissions.

Length of article: 1,200 to 2,000 words; authors should send queries to associate editor Diane Szulecki at [email protected].