Guide for Authors

Official Journal of the American Association of Colleges of Nursing



Original contributions that have never been published and are not under simultaneous consideration by another publication may be submitted to JOURNAL OF PROFESSIONAL NURSING via the online submission site described below.

The Journal will accept articles concerned with the practice, research, and policy roles of nurses with baccalaureate and graduate degrees, and the educational and management concerns of the universities in which they are educated and the settings in which they practice. Reports of original work, research, reviews, insightful descriptions, and policy papers focusing on professional nursing will be published.

Submissions will be peer-reviewed by eminent professional nurses of diverse backgrounds. Acceptance will be based on the importance of the material for the audience and the quality of the material. Final decisions about publication will be made by the Editor.

All new manuscripts must be submitted through the Journal of Professional Nursing online submission and review Web site ( http://ees.elsevier.com/JPN/ ). Authors are requested to submit the text, tables, and artwork in electronic form to this address. In an accompanying letter, authors should state that the manuscript, or parts of it, have not been and will not be submitted elsewhere for publication. Submission items include a cover letter, the manuscript (including title page, abstract, manuscript text, references, and table/figure legends), tables, and figures. Revised manuscripts should also be accompanied by a unique file (separate from the covering letter) with responses to reviewers' comments. The preferred order of files is as follows: cover letter, suggested reviewers, response to reviews (revised manuscripts only), manuscript file(s), table(s), figure(s). Files should be labeled with appropriate and descriptive file names (e.g., SmithText.doc, Fig1.eps, Table3.doc). Upload text, tables and graphics as separate files. Do not import figures or tables into the text document. Complete instructions for electronic artwork submission can be found on the Author Gateway, accessible through the journal home page.

Authors who are unable to provide an electronic version or have other circumstances that prevent online submission must contact the managing editor (202/463-6930) prior to submission to discuss alternate options. The Publisher and Editors regret that they are not able to consider submissions that do not follow these procedures.


Cover letters should designate the author to whom correspondence should be sent and give that author's current address and telephone number. In compliance with the Copyright Revision Act of 1976, cover letters should contain the following statement: In consideration of the Journal of Professional Nursing's reviewing and editing my submission, the author(s) undersigned transfers, assigns and otherwise conveys all copyright ownership to W.B. Saunders Company in the event that such work is published in the Journal of Professional Nursing.

Please indicate whether the manuscript was prepared while the author(s) was an employee of the US government.

Standard manuscript form, double-spaced, is requested. Each page should be numbered consecutively, beginning with the title page. Include each author's name, highest academic degree earned, and institutional affiliation on the title page as well as the mailing address, telephone number, and e-mail address of the corresponding author. In the text, avoid the use of abbreviations; spell terms out in full.

Abstracts should contain factual information rather than a general description of the manuscript's contents. Abstracts should contain 150 to 200 words stating the topic investigated, methods, results, and conclusions.

References should be styled according to the guidelines in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA).

Examples:

Journal article: Massey, J., & Loomis, M. (1988). When should nurses use research findings? Applied Nursing Research, 1, 32-40.

Journal article in a journal paginated by issue: Mooney, N.E. (1982). Coping with chronic pain in rheumatoid arthritis. Patients behaviors and nursing interventions. Orthopedic Nursing, 1(3), 21-25.

Complete book: Pollack, M.L., Wilmore, J.H., & Fox, S.M., III (1984). Exercise in health and disease. Philadelphia: W.B. Saunders.

Chapter in a book: Dracup, K. (1987). Critical care nursing. In J.J. Fitzpatrick & R.L. Tauton (Eds.), Annual review of nursing research (pp. 107-133). New York: Springer.

Letters to the Editor are published at the Editor's discretion. They will be subject to editing. The use of several references is permissible. A transmittal letter containing copyright assignment should accompany the Letter to the Editor. The Letter to the Editor itself should be typed, double-spaced, like a regular manuscript.

Letters of Consent for publication must accompany patient photographs in which identification is possible. Parental consent or consent of legal guardian must be obtained to permit publication of a photograph of a minor.

Borrowed material: Illustrations, tables, or quotations must be fully identified as to author and source. If text material totaling 200 words or more is borrowed verbatim, or if illustrations or tables are borrowed, written permission must be obtained from both the publisher and the author. Letters granting this permission should be forwarded with the manuscript.