Official journal of the Australian College of Critical Care Nurses(ACCCN)

ONLINE SUBMISSION

Submission to this journal proceeds totally online. Use the following guidelines to prepare your article ( http://ees.elsevier.com/aucc/). You will be guided stepwise through the creation and uploading of the various files. The system automatically converts source files to a single Adobe Acrobat PDF version of the article, which is used in the peer-review process. Please note that even though manuscript source files are converted to PDF 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 and via the Author's homepage, removing the need for a hard-copy paper trail.

The above represents a very brief outline of this form of submission. It can be advantageous to print this "Guide for Authors" section from the site for reference in the subsequent stages of article preparation.

PRESENTATION OF MANUSCRIPTS

Format
Your typescript (written in UK/Australian English) needs to be typed using double spacing on one side only of good quality A4 paper. To assist the reviewing of your manuscript, you should provide a wide margin (at least 3cm) all round the text, and pages should be numbered.

Length
The word limit is 4000 words for all original papers (excluding tables and references).

Title page
• The title page should give the title in capital letters.
• If the manuscript reports research findings then the research design used should be identified in the title e.g. Critical Care: a grounded theory study or Patients' dreams in ICU: a multi-centre cohort study.
• The authors' names should then be stated (as they are to appear).
• For each author you should give one first name as well as the surname and any initials.
• You should give a maximum of four degrees/ qualifications for each author and the current relevant appointment only.
• Authors' addresses should be limited to the minimum information needed to ensure accurate postal delivery; these details should be on the title page below the authors' names and appointments.
• Authors should also provide a daytime contact telephone number and fax number, and an e-mail address.

Offprints
The corresponding author, at no cost, will be provided with a PDF file of the article via e-mail or, alternatively, 25 free paper offprints. 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.

Keywords
Include three or four keywords. The purpose of these is to increase the likely accessibility of your paper to potential readers searching the literature. Therefore, ensure keywords are descriptive of the study. Refer to a recognised thesaurus of keywords (e.g. CINAHL, Medline) wherever possible.

Abstract
A structured abstract should be provided. It should not exceed 250 words and should accurately reflect the content of the paper, including the main finding(s) and recommendations. The sub-headings used to structure the abstract can be adapted to suit the content and method of the manuscript but should reflect the following: Background; Purpose; Methods; Findings; Conclusion. The abstract should not include references or abbreviations.

Headings
The content of your paper should determine the headings which you use. Research and Clinical papers should follow the usual layout, for example Introduction, Methods, Case Histories, Data/Results, Discussion, Conclusions. If your paper takes another form you should use the appropriate headings, but do bear in mind that headings should facilitate reading and understanding. Normally only two kinds of headings; major headings should be indicated by bold type on the left side of the page. Minor headings should be underlined, not bold, have lower- case letters (beginning with a capital) and begin at the left hand margin.

Tables
You should present tables in your manuscript typed double-spaced on separate sheets. Each table needs a short descriptive title above it, and a clear legend or key and, if necessary, suitably identified footnotes below. Care must be taken to include all the units of measurement. Make sure that each table is cited in the text.

Illustrations/Figures
You may consider that illustrations and/or figures would help to clarify your material. All line drawings and figures should be of a reproducible quality (not photocopies), clearly labelled, bearing in mind they will be reduced. Captions should be typed double- spaced on separate sheets and all figures and photographs should be clearly labelled on the back in pencil or soft crayon. A detailed guide on artwork is available on our website: http://authors.elsevier.com/artwork Unless indicated, colour images will be reproduced in black and white for the hard copy edition of the Journal. Colour illustrations for hard copy incur a colour charge of

USD312 for the first page and USD208 for every additional page containing colour. There is no charge for online colour images. If you wish your colour figures to be reproduced as hard copy, and agree to pay the 'colour charge', check the appropriate box. Otherwise, do not submit your figures in colour. You should also note that some colour images do not reproduce well in black and white.

PERMISSIONS TO REPRODUCE BORROWED MATERIAL

Written permission to reproduce borrowed material (illustrations, tables and identifiable clinical photographs) must be obtained from the original publishers and authors, and submitted with the typescript. Borrowed material should be acknowledged in the captions in this style: Reproduced by kind permission of ... (publishers) ... from ...(reference).

REFERENCE STYLE

References should follow the National Library of Medicine's Style Guide for Authors, Editors and Publishers http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/bv/fcgi?rid=citmed.TOC

In text references should be listed as consecutive numbers which are superscript above the text. The full reference should be cited in a numbered list at the end of the manuscript.

Examples of referencesare shown below.

1. Williams TA, Leslie GD. Beyond the walls: A review of ICI clinics and their impact on patient outcomes after leaving hospital. Aust Crit Care. 2008;21(1):6-17.

2. Baldwin I, Leslie G. Support of renal function. IN: Elliot D, Aitken LM, Chaboyer W, editors. ACCCN's Critical Care Nursing. Sydney: Elssevier; 2006. p.367-396.

3. Cairo JM. Hemodynamic monitoring. IN: Pilbeam S, editor. Mechanical ventilation: physiological and clinical applications. 4th ed. St Louis: Mosby; 2006. p. 231-255.

4. Happell B. The influence of education on the career preferences of undergraduate nursing students. Aust Electron J Nurs Educ [Internet]. 2002 Apr [cited 2007 Jan 8];8(1):[about 12 p.]. Available from: http://www.scu.edu.au?schools/nhcp/aejne/vol8-1/refereed/happell_max.html

PROOFS

One set of page proofs in PDF format 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). Elsevier now sends PDF proofs which can be annotated; for this you will need to download Adobe Reader version 7 available free from http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html.

Instructions on how to annotate PDF files will accompany the proofs. If you do not wish to use the PDF annotations function, you may list the corrections (including replies to the Query Form) and return 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.

CHECKLIST

Before sending off your manuscript ensure that you have the following:

• Figures of reproducible quality (not photocopies)
• A complete reference list with no missing details, in correct style
• Written permission from original publishers and authors to reproduce any borrowed material


US NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH (NIH) VOLUNTARY POSTING ("PUBLIC ACCESS") POLICY

Elsevier facilitates author response to the NIH voluntary posting request (referred to as the NIH "Public Access Policy", see http://www.nih.gov/about/publicaccess/index.htm by posting the peer-reviewed author's manuscript directly to PubMed Central on request from the author, 12 months after formal publication. Upon notification from Elsevier of acceptance, we will ask you to confirm via e-mail (by e-mailing us at NIHauthorrequest@elsevier.com) that your work has received NIH funding and that you intend to respond to the NIH policy request, along with your NIH award number to facilitate processing. Upon such confirmation, Elsevier will submit to PubMed Central on your behalf a version of your manuscript that will include peer-review comments, for posting 12 months after formal publication. This will ensure that you will have responded fully to the NIH request policy. There will be no need for you to post your manuscript directly with PubMed Central, and any such posting is prohibited.

AUTHOR RIGHTS

As an author you (or your employer or institution) may do the following:
•make copies (print or electronic) of the article for your own personal use, including for your own classroom teaching use
•make copies and distribute such copies (including through e-mail) of the article to research colleagues, for the personal use by such colleagues (but not commercially or systematically, e.g., via an e-mail list or list server)
•post a pre-print version of the article on Internet websites including electronic pre-print servers, and to retain indefinitely such version on such servers or sites
•post a revised personal version of the final text of the article (to reflect changes made in the peer review and editing process) on your personal or institutional website or server, with a link to the journal homepage (on elsevier.com)
•present the article at a meeting or conference and to distribute copies of the article to the delegates attending such a meeting
•for your employer, if the article is a 'work for hire', made within the scope of your employment, your employer may use all or part of the information in the article for other intra-company use (e.g., training)
•retain patent and trademark rights and rights to any processes or procedure described in the article
•include the article in full or in part in a thesis or dissertation (provided that this is not to be published commercially)
•use the article or any part thereof in a printed compilation of your works, such as collected writings or lecture notes (subsequent to publication of your article in the journal)
•prepare other derivative works, to extend the article into book-length form, or to otherwise re-use portions or excerpts in other works, with full acknowledgement of its original publication in the journal.

AUTHOR ENQUIRIES

Contact details for questions arising after acceptance of an article, especially those relating to proofs, are provided after registration of an article for publication.