Guide for Authors
Official Journal of the Council on Cardiovascular Nursing and Allied Professions
Ethics in Publishing
For information on Ethics
in Publishing and Ethical guidelines for journal publication see
http://www.elsevier.com/publishingethics and
http://www.elsevier.com/ethicalguidelines.
Conflict of interest
All authors are requested to disclose any actual or potential conflict
of interest including any financial, personal or other relationships with other people or organizations within three years of beginning
the submitted work that could inappropriately influence, or be perceived to influence, their work. See also
http://www.elsevier.com/conflictsofinterest.
Submission declaration
Submission of an article implies that the work described has not been published previously
(except in the form of an abstract or as part of a published lecture or academic thesis), that it is not under consideration for publication
elsewhere, that its publication is approved by all authors and tacitly or explicitly by the responsible authorities where the work was
carried out, and that, if accepted, it will not be published elsewhere in the same form, in English or in any other language, without
the written consent of the copyright-holder.
Copyright
Upon acceptance
of an article, authors will be asked to complete a 'Journal Publishing Agreement' (for more information on this and copyright see
http://www.elsevier.com/copyright).
Acceptance of the agreement will ensure the widest possible dissemination of information. An e-mail will be sent to the corresponding
author confirming receipt of the manuscript together with a 'Journal Publishing Agreement' form or a link to the online version of this
agreement.
Subscribers may reproduce tables of contents or prepare lists of articles including abstracts for internal circulation
within their institutions. Permission of the Publisher is required for resale or distribution outside the institution and for all other
derivative works, including compilations and translations (please consult
http://www.elsevier.com/permissions). If excerpts
from other copyrighted works are included, the author(s) must obtain written permission from the copyright owners and credit the source(s)
in the article. Elsevier has preprinted forms for use by authors in these cases: please consult
http://www.elsevier.com/permissions.
Retained author rights
As an author you (or your employer or institution) retain certain rights; for details
you are referred to:
http://www.elsevier.com/authorsrights.
Role of the
funding source
You are requested to identify who provided financial support for the conduct of the research and/or preparation
of the article and to briefly describe the role of the sponsor(s), if any, in study design; in the collection, analysis and interpretation
of data; in the writing of the report; and in the decision to submit the paper for publication. If the funding source(s) had no such
involvement then this should be stated. Please see
http://www.elsevier.com/funding.
Funding body agreements and policies
Elsevier has established agreements and developed policies to allow authors whose
articles appear in journals published by Elsevier, to comply with potential manuscript archiving requirements as specified as conditions
of their grant awards. To learn more about existing agreements and policies please visit
http://www.elsevier.com/fundingbodies.
Language and language services
Please write your text in good English (American or British usage is accepted,
but not a mixture of these). Authors who require information about language editing and copyediting services pre- and post-submission
please visit
http://www.elsevier.com/languagepolishing or our customer support site at
http://epsupport.elsevier.com
for more information. Please note Elsevier neither endorses nor takes responsibility for any products, goods or services offered by outside
vendors through our services or in any advertising. For more information please refer to our Terms & Conditions:
http://www.elsevier.com/termsandconditions.
Submission
Submission to this journal proceeds totally online and you will be guided stepwise through
the creation and uploading of your files. The system automatically converts source files to a single PDF file of the article, which is
used in the peer-review process. Please note that even though manuscript source files are converted to PDF files at submission for the
review process, these source files are needed for further processing after acceptance. All correspondence, including notification of
the Editor's decision and requests for revision, takes place by e-mail removing the need for a paper trail.
Referees
Please submit, with the manuscript, the names, addresses and e-mail addresses of 3 potential referees.
Note that the editor retains the sole right to decide whether or not the suggested reviewers are used.
Manuscripts
Manuscripts
are normally evaluated by three members from an international panel of reviewers. An editorial decision is normally taken within 28 days
of receipt of a manuscript.
Preparation of manuscripts (for regular papers)
The manuscript should be typewritten on
one side only of A4 paper, double spaced using 2.5 cm wide margins all round. The text is arranged as follows: (1) title page (2) abstract
(3) keywords (4) introduction (5) methods (6) results (7) discussion (8) acknowledgment (9) references,(10) Figures and tables.
The maximum length for regular papers is 3,500 words.
Essential title page information
•
Title.
Concise and informative. Titles are often used in information-retrieval systems. Avoid abbreviations
and formulae where possible.
•
Author names and affiliations.
Where the family name may be ambiguous (e.g., a
double name), please indicate this clearly. Present the authors' affiliation addresses (where the actual work was done) below the names.
Indicate all affiliations with a lower-case superscript letter immediately after the author's name and in front of the appropriate address.
Provide the full postal address of each affiliation, including the country name, and, if available, the e-mail address of each author.
•
Corresponding author.
Clearly indicate who will handle correspondence at all stages of refereeing and publication, also
post-publication.
Ensure that telephone and fax numbers (with country and area code) are provided in addition to the e-mail address
and the complete postal address.
•
Present/permanent address.
If an author has moved since the work described
in the article was done, or was visiting at the time, a "Present address" (or "Permanent address") may be indicated as a footnote to
that author's name. The address at which the author actually did the work must be retained as the main, affiliation address. Superscript
Arabic numerals are used for such footnotes.
(2)
Abstract.
An abstract (maximum 250 words) should be typed double spaced on a separate page. It should be structured and include background, aims,
methods and results and conclusion.
(3)
Keywords. No more than 6 keywords are required.
(4)
Introduction. This
section should position the study with regard to objective, rationale and preceding work of other authors.
(5)
Methods. This
section should contain a statement that "The investigation conforms with the principles outlined in the Declaration of Helsinki" (Br
Med J 1964;ii:177). The methods section should be sufficiently detailed for repetition of the study by other scientists. If pertinent,
the section may be divided into headed subsections.
(6)
Results. If pertinent, the section may be divided into headed subsections.
For presentation of data, figures are preferred to tables. Data should not be presented in both figures and tables. Also, extensive numerical
data should appear in legends to the figures rather than in the main body of text. SI units should be used.
(7)
Discussion.
This section should deal with topics that are beyond the scope of the study, compare and interpret the data with regard to previous work
by (other) authors.
(8)
Acknowledgment.
(9)
References.
Regular papers:
Hanumanthu S, Butler
J, Chomsky D, Davis S, Wilson JR. Effect of a heart failure program on hospitalisation frequency and exercise tolerance. Circulation
1997;96:2842-2848.
Books: McCullagh P, Nelder JA. Monographs on Statistics. Generalized Linear Models, 2nd ed. London:
Chapman and Hall, 1989.
Chapter in book:
Sealey JE, Laragh JH. The renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system for normal
regulation of blood pressure and sodium and potassium homeostasis. In: Laragh, JH, Brenner, BM, eds. Hypertension: Pathology, Diagnosis,
and Management. New York: Raven Press, 1990:1287-1317.
Thesis: Veldkamp MW. Potassium channels in the heart. Amsterdam:
University of Amsterdam, 1993 (Thesis).
Abstract: Like regular paper, but add (Abstract) at end.
(10)
Figures/Tables.
Figures should be designed in a way compatible with reproduction of one column width. Figures over two columns should be kept to a minimum.
Tables should not contain data not mentioned in the text. Laser prints of good quality are sufficient for graphs and tables. Glossy prints
are needed for micrographs, etc. Colour printing is at the author's cost. Figure legends should start on a new page of the manuscript,
but one page may contain legends to more than one figure.
Short Reports These reports should not exceed 2,000 words and
should consist of a background section (not to exceed 100 words), abstract (maximum 100 words), aims (not to exceed 50 words), methods
(not to exceed 250 words), results (not to exceed 250 words) and conclusion ( not to exceed 250 words). The editorial team reserves the
right to decide which tables/figures submitted are necessary. No abstract is necessary.
Extended Short Reports An extended
short report is a short report, as described above, but it should contain a conventional "methods and results" section of up to 1200
words. The editorial team reserves the right to decide which tables/figures submitted are necessary. No abstract is necessary.
Randomized Controlled Trials
Randomized controlled trials should be presented according
to the CONSORT guidelines http://www.consort-statement.org. At manuscript submission, authors must provide the CONSORT checklist accompanied
with a flow diagram that illustrates the progress of patients through the trial, including recruitment, enrollment, randomization, withdrawal
and completion, and a detailed description of the randomization procedure. The CONSORT checklist and template flow diagram can be found
on http://www.consort-statement.org. Manuscripts that fail to comply with CONSORT guidelines will not be reviewed for publication.
Manuscripts will not be returned unless a specific request is made at the time of first submission. A covering letter should include
a declaration that "the manuscript, or part of it, has neither been published (except in the form of abstract or thesis) nor is currently
under consideration for publication by any other journal". Secondly, the submitting author should declare that the co-author(s) has (have)
read the manuscript and approved its submission to the E
uropean Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing. Thirdly, in case of colour
figures, the authors should declare that they agree to pay for the cost of printing.
Supplementary Material
Elsevier accepts supplementary material to support and enhance your scientific research. Supplementary
files offer the author additional possibilities to publish supporting applications, movies, animation sequences, high-resolution images,
background datasets, sound clips and more. Supplementary files supplied will be published online alongside the electronic version of
your article in Elsevier Web products, including ScienceDirect:
http://www.sciencedirect.com
In order to ensure that
your submitted material is directly usable, please ensure that data is provided in one of our recommended file formats. Authors should
submit the material in electronic format together with the article and supply a concise and descriptive caption for each file. For more
detailed instructions please visit our artwork instruction pages at
http://www.elsevier.com/authors
Electronic artwork
General points
• Make sure you use uniform lettering and sizing
of your original artwork.
• Save text in illustrations as "graphics" or enclose the font.
• Only use the following
fonts in your illustrations: Arial, Courier, Times, Symbol.
• Number the illustrations according to their sequence in the text.
• Use a logical naming convention for your artwork files.
• Provide captions to illustrations separately.
•
Produce images near to the desired size of the printed version.
• Submit each figure as a separate file.
A detailed guide
on electronic artwork is available on our website:
http://www.elsevier.com/artworkinstructions
You are urged
to visit this site; some excerpts from the detailed information are given here.
Formats
Regardless of the application
used, when your electronic artwork is finalised, please "save as" or convert the images to one of the following formats (note the resolution
requirements for line drawings, halftones, and line/halftone combinations given below):
EPS: Vector drawings. Embed the font or save
the text as "graphics".
TIFF: color or grayscale photographs (halftones): always use a minimum of 300 dpi.
TIFF: Bitmapped line
drawings: use a minimum of 1000 dpi.
TIFF: Combinations bitmapped line/half-tone (color or grayscale): a minimum of 500 dpi is required.
DOC, XLS or PPT: If your electronic artwork is created in any of these Microsoft Office applications please supply "as is".
Please
do not:
• Supply embedded graphics in your wordprocessor (spreadsheet, presentation) document;
• Supply files that
are optimised for screen use (like GIF, BMP, PICT, WPG); the resolution is too low;
• Supply files that are too low in resolution;
• Submit graphics that are disproportionately large for the content.
Submission
checklist
It is hoped that this list will be useful during the final checking of an article prior to sending it to the journal's
Editor for review. Please consult this Guide for Authors for further details of any item.
Ensure that the following items are
present:
One Author designated as corresponding Author:
• E-mail address
• Full postal address
• Telephone
and fax numbers
All necessary files have been uploaded
• Keywords
• All figure captions
• All tables (including
title, description, footnotes)
Further considerations
• Manuscript has been "spellchecked" and "grammar-checked"
•
References are in the correct format for this journal
• All references mentioned in the Reference list are cited in the text,
and vice versa
• Permission has been obtained for use of copyrighted material from other sources (including the Web)
•
Color figures are clearly marked as being intended for color reproduction on the Web (free of charge) and in print or to be reproduced
in color on the Web (free of charge) and in black-and-white in print
• If only color on the Web is required, black and white
versions of the figures are also supplied for printing purposes
For any further information please visit our customer support site
at
http://epsupport.elsevier.com.
Submission Online
Manuscripts should be submitted electronically to:
http://ees.elsevier.com/ejcnurse
Manuscripts are normally evaluated
by three members from an international panel of reviewers. An editorial decision is normally taken within 28 days of receipt of a manuscript.
Use of the Digital Object Identifier
The
Digital Object Identifier (DOI) may be used to cite and link to electronic documents. The DOI consists of a unique alpha-numeric character
string which is assigned to a document by the publisher upon the initial electronic publication. The assigned DOI never changes. Therefore,
it is an ideal medium for citing a document, particularly 'Articles in press' because they have not yet received their full bibliographic
information. The correct format for citing a DOI is shown as follows (example taken from a document in the journal
Physics Letters
B):
doi:10.1016/j.physletb.2003.10.071
When you use the DOI to create URL hyperlinks to documents on the web, they are guaranteed
never to change.
Proofs
One set of page proofs (as PDF files) will be
sent by e-mail to the corresponding author (if we do not have an e-mail address then paper proofs will be sent by post) or, a link will
be provided in the e-mail so that authors can download the files themselves. Elsevier now provides authors with PDF proofs which can
be annotated; for this you will need to download Adobe Reader version 7 (or higher) available free from
http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html.
Instructions on how to annotate PDF files will accompany the proofs (also given online). The exact system requirements are given at the
Adobe site:
http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/acrrsystemreqs.html#70win.
If you do not wish to use the PDF annotations
function, you may list the corrections (including replies to the Query Form) and return them to Elsevier in an e-mail. Please list your
corrections quoting line number. If, for any reason, this is not possible, then mark the corrections and any other comments (including
replies to the Query Form) on a printout of your proof and return by fax, or scan the pages and e-mail, or by post. Please use this proof
only for checking the typesetting, editing, completeness and correctness of the text, tables and figures. Significant changes to the
article as accepted for publication will only be considered at this stage with permission from the Editor. We will do everything possible
to get your article published quickly and accurately. Therefore, it is important to ensure that all of your corrections are sent back
to us in one communication: please check carefully before replying, as inclusion of any subsequent corrections cannot be guaranteed.
Proofreading is solely your responsibility. Note that Elsevier may proceed with the publication of your article if no response is received.
Offprints
The corresponding author, at no cost, will be provided with a PDF file of the article via e-mail.
The PDF file is a watermarked version of the published article and includes a cover sheet with the journal cover image and a disclaimer
outlining the terms and conditions of use. Additional paper offprints can be ordered by the authors. An order form with prices will be
sent to the corresponding author.
For inquiries relating
to the submission of articles (including electronic submission where available) please visit this journal's homepage. You can track accepted
articles at
http://www.elsevier.com/trackarticle and set up e-mail alerts to inform you of when an article's status has
changed. Also accessible from here is information on copyright, frequently asked questions and more. Contact details for questions arising
after acceptance of an article, especially those relating to proofs, will be provided by the publisher.
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