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Guide for authors

  • To download a PDF version of JOGNN's Guidelines for Authors, please click here.
  • To download the JOGNN Style Guide for Authors, please click here.
  • To see JOGNN's editorial policies, please click here.

JOGNN is the scientific journal of the Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses. The mission of JOGNN is to advance the health and health care of women, childbearing and childrearing families, and newborns across all settings through the bimonthly publication of peer-reviewed nursing and interdisciplinary scholarship. JOGNN is led by Editor in Chief, Joyce K. Edmonds, PhD, MPH, RN. Queries may be sent to [email protected], but they are not necessary before submission. For additional information about JOGNN go to the web site or call 800-673-8499 x 2432 or 202-261-2432 (direct).

Authors should submit manuscripts electronically at Editorial Manager. Detailed instructions for first-time users are available on the Editorial Manager Web site. Once a manuscript is submitted in Editorial Manager, the corresponding author will be notified by e-mail and each author will receive a confirmatory e-mail. In addition to these guidelines, authors must adhere to the guidance outlined in the JOGNN Style Guide for Authors, which includes detailed information regarding style elements specific to JOGNN. JOGNN's editorial policies are available here.

TYPES OF ARTICLES

Submissions for the following types of articles are accepted. Refer to the JOGNN Style Guide for detailed formatting requirements.

Research. Reports of quantitative, qualitative, or mixed methods studies that generate new knowledge to inform and advance clinical practice, policy, or research. These manuscripts are accompanied by structured abstracts of no more than 250 words. Authors of clinical trials must provide evidence that trials are registered with ClinicalTrials.gov or other relevant clinical trials registration. For information reports of qualitative research, see Beck (2021, 2022).

Review. Meta-analyses, meta-syntheses, systematic, integrated, or scoping reviews with specific implications that advance practice, policy, or research. These manuscripts include structured abstracts of no more than 300 words. See Eisenhauer (2023) and Lowe (2009).

Health Care Improvement and Evaluation. Reports of quality improvement, program evaluation, and evidence-based practice projects with implications beyond the study site (McCartney, 2019). These manuscripts include structured abstracts of no more than 250 words. See McCartney (2019).

Principles & Practice. Analysis of innovations and trends in health care, clinical practice, or care delivery systems, including application of theory or new information to nursing practice, policy, or research. These manuscripts include unstructured abstracts of no more than 150 words that are factual and provide the main points of the manuscript.

Critical Commentary. Analysis of issues, opinions, experiences, or personal perspectives. These manuscripts include unstructured abstracts of no more than 150 words that are factual and provide the main points of the manuscript.

Case Reports. Presentation of new information through case reviews of nursing and inter-professional care. Authors must provide written consent from the participant when clinical descriptions make identification possible. These manuscripts include unstructured abstracts of no more than 150 words that are factual and provide the main points of the manuscript.

Methods. Reports of analysis of the development of new methods or novel applications of methods of intervention, research, practice improvement, or evaluation. These manuscripts include unstructured abstracts of no more than 150 words that are factual and provide the main points of the manuscript unless reporting on the psychometric properties of an instrument, in which case they include structured abstracts of no more than 250 words.

Brief Report. Concise report that presents novel and significant contributions to research, including initial discoveries, innovative methodologies, preliminary or pilot studies. These manuscripts are limited to one figure, one table, 20 references, and include structured abstracts of no more than 250 words. Brief reports undergo a fast-track review process.

Protocol. Detailed report of planned or ongoing research studies or clinical research trials, including only those for which participant recruitment has not been completed at the time of submission. Protocols describe the purpose and rationale for the study and provide a detailed account of the study objectives, design, participant recruitment strategies, intervention or procedure, outcome measures (primary and secondary) and variables, ethical considerations, and analysis plan. Protocols for pilot or feasibility studies or systematic reviews are not considered. Protocol reports undergo a fast-track review process.

Policy Report. In-depth report and analysis of a specific health or public policy, including origins, objectives, implementation, outcomes, and recommendations for modification or improvement. Authors may critically evaluate the effect on nursing practice, patient care, interprofessional collaboration, and health care outcomes, including implementation challenges and opportunities. These manuscripts are limited to 20 references and include unstructured abstracts of no more than 150 words that are factual and provide the main points of the manuscript. Policy reports undergo a fast-track review process.

Fast-Track Review. Brief reports and reports of policies and protocols undergo a streamlined review process to facilitate dissemination. Fast-track review is characterized by a prompt initial evaluation, accelerated peer review, and a rapid editorial decision within 3 weeks of submission.

Letter to the Editor. Points of current interest or comments on an article published in the journal. The editor reserves the right to accept, reject, or excerpt letters. Letters should reference published articles no later than 3 months after publication.

Editorial. Authors who are interested in submitting editorials that address issues of substantive concern to the specialty, particularly those of a controversial nature or linked directly to current or forthcoming content in JOGNN, should contact the Editor in Chief, Dr. Joyce Edmonds: [email protected].

REPORTING GUIDELINES

The use of the appropriate reporting guidelines for the study type is required. A statement regarding adherence to reporting guidelines should be included in the manuscript under the subhead Design in the Methods section. Include the name of the guideline with a citation. See the EQUATOR Network for guidelines pertinent to various types of studies.

REQUIREMENTS FOR SUBMISSION

Manuscripts must be original, not published previously, and not under consideration by another publication. The editor will consider publishing a complete report following the publication of preliminary findings (e.g., in an abstract) or presentations. Previous presentation of research findings should be disclosed in the cover letter.

The authors must disclose any commercial interest they have in the subject of their study as well as the source of any financial or material support. Each author must complete a combined copyright transfer & author disclosure form that will be uploaded with the manuscript files in the Editorial Manager system.

Institutional review board approval. Under the subhead Design in the Methods section of research manuscripts include the name of the institution(s) granting approval and approval number.

Note to NIH grantees. Pursuant to NIH mandate, JOGNN publisher Elsevier will post the accepted version of contributions authored by NIH grant-holders to PubMed Central upon acceptance. This accepted version will be made publicly available 12 months after publication. For further information, see the Elsevier NIH Policy Statement.

AUTHORSHIP

To qualify as an author for a manuscript submitted to JOGNN, all persons designated as authors should qualify for authorship, and all those who qualify should be listed. Each author should have participated sufficiently in the work to take public responsibility for appropriate portions of the content. As per the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (n.d.), such participation includes the following:

  1. Substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data for the work; AND
  2. Drafting the work or revising it critically for important intellectual content; AND
  3. Final approval of the version to be published; AND
  4. Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.

Participation that does not qualify for authorship includes data gathering, provision of financial or other support, or review of a preliminary draft.

The maximum number of authors usually permitted is six on research manuscripts and four on all other types of manuscripts. If more than these numbers of authors are desired, specific information explaining the role of each author should be included in a cover letter. When a large, multi-center group has conducted the work, the group should identify the individuals who accept direct responsibility for the manuscript.

USE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI)

Authors must disclose the use of generative AI and AI-assisted technologies in the writing process in statement at the end of the manuscript before the reference list. The statement should be placed in a new section titled "Declaration of Generative AI and AI-Assisted Technologies in the Writing Process." See the JOGNN Style Guide for suggested language in the statement.

PREPARATION FOR ALL MANUSCRIPTS

Double-space all pages, including the abstract, text, references, tables, and figure legends. Use 12-point font and uniform margins of 1 inch at the top, bottom, right, and left. Do not right justify lines. Do not divide words at the end of a line.

Number pages consecutively. Include a shortened version of the title at the top of each page to identify the manuscript. The running head must not contain any author names or initials. In the left margin, consecutively number each line of text.

The average article in JOGNN is 15 to 18 manuscript pages, plus references, tables, figures, and callouts. Review articles can be longer than 18 pages if indicated. Brief Reports and reports of Policies and Protocols should be no more than 10 manuscript pages.

Refer to the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association 2020: The Official Guide to APA Style (2020) for grammar, punctuation, style, and guidelines on statistical reporting. Also see Lowe (2018) regarding specific word use consistent with JOGNN's style. The JOGNN Style Guide provides additional information on preferred terms and requirements.

Title. Limit the title to no more than 15 words. Ensure that the title summarizes the main idea of the paper; is fully explanatory standing alone; and avoids the use of the words method, results, a study, and an experimental investigation. Colons in titles should be avoided.

Keywords. Submit 3 to 10 keywords with the abstract for use in indexing the article. See the MeSH on Demand tool provided by the U.S. National Library of Medicine for assistance.

Précis. Authors should provide a precis for use in the table of contents. The precis is a single sentence of no more than 25 words that is written in the present tense and states the conclusion(s) of the report. The precis should be similar to the abstract's conclusion. Callouts. Provide three callouts of no more than 25 words each. 1. Identify the problem or issue the study was undertaken to address. 2. State what is currently known about the topic. 3. State what this study adds to the literature. Avoid repeating text found in the abstract or the first page. Participant quotes are not appropriate as callouts.

References. Cite current, primary sources only, preferably those published in the last 5 years but no more than the last 10 years (except for seminal studies or reports of tools or theory). Use references prudently. Cite references and format the reference list in the style outlined in the APA Manual. Identify sources of quotations and all other borrowed materials.

Data set references. We encourage authors to cite underlying or relevant data sets in text and in the reference list. Data references should include the following elements: author name(s), data set title, data repository, version (where available), year, and global persistent identifier. Add [data set] immediately before the reference so we can properly identify it as a data reference. This identifier will not appear in your published article.

Permissions. Long quotations, figures, tables, or photographs from previously published sources must be accompanied by the written permission of the copyright holder to reuse. This includes any information that has been adapted from a previously published source. Each previously published table must carry a credit line stating the original source and any information required by the original publisher. Authors must include documentation indicating print and electronic permissions for use with the submitted manuscript. For complete permissions guidelines, please refer to the permissions help page.

Tables. Do not include more than six tables. Submit only actual tabular material in table form. Simple lists should be incorporated into the text, and material should not be duplicated between the text and table. Tables should be included in the manuscript file after references; type each table on a separate page with its own title. Number tables consecutively with Arabic numerals and cite in numeric order in the text.

Statistics. Refer to the APA Manual for presentation of statistical data. Information included for each study should be presented in a standardized manner and be as succinct as possible.

Artwork. Figures, graphs, and illustrations should be uploaded with the manuscript via the Editorial Manager system. Image files may be part of the manuscript itself or may be submitted as separate files in .JPG, .TIF, or .EPS format. Image files must be high-resolution of at least 300 dpi. If your manuscript includes figures, tables, photos, or other visuals, please refer to the art work guidelines provide by Elsevier. Each figure, graph, or illustration should be on a separate page with its own title. Number figures consecutively with Arabic numerals and cite each figure in numeric order in the text. Number pages with figures following the reference page(s) and table page(s). Follow APA style when labeling tables, figures, and photographs. Keep all explanatory material and legends in the captions beneath the figure, graph, or illustration to which they pertain. The author must obtain subjects' written permission to publish their photographs in JOGNN.

Supplemental Data. Authors are encouraged to submit supplemental files with their manuscripts. Supplemental data should enhance the content of the manuscript but should not be essential to the meaning. Files can include short video clips, interviews, data sets, evidence tables, additional figures, etc. and will be reviewed with the manuscript. If the manuscript is accepted, data files will be available online. For additional information, please contact the managing editor at [email protected].

MANUSCRIPT CHECKLIST

  • The manuscript is blinded and contains no identifying information. Each page has a running head that does not include author names or initials.
  • First page includes title, abstract, keywords, and précis statement (page 1).
  • Three callouts (page 2).
  • Text (page 3).
  • Each line of text is numbered consecutively in the left margin beginning with the abstract.
  • References (begin on a new page).
  • Tables (each on a separate page).
  • Figures (each on a separate page).

SUBMISSION CHECKLIST

  • Cover letter submitted electronically includes (a) all author names in the order they should appear in the byline; (b) the name, complete mailing address, and e-mail address of the author who will be responsible for correspondence regarding the manuscript; (c) author identification notes including name, credentials, position title, department, place of employment or organizational affiliation, city, and state for all authors; (d) a statement that all authors have seen and approved the manuscript; (e) acknowledgment of funding sources for research or significant non-author contributions to the work limited to 25 words; acknowledgement of participants is not permitted; (f) additional information that may be helpful to the editor, such as the type of article the manuscript represents; (g) information on previous or duplicate publication or submission.
  • Completed and signed copyright transfer & author disclosure form for each author, submitted electronically in the Editorial Manager system.
  • Letters of permission to reproduce any copyrighted material that appears in the manuscript, submitted electronically in the Editorial Manager system.

The editorial staff will return, un-reviewed, manuscripts that are not formatted per the JOGNN author guidelines.

PUBLICATION

Articles become available online for citation before the print version is published. Some accepted articles may also be presented in the print version at the discretion of the editors. The online version of JOGNN is the journal of record, and Impact Factors and other citation indices are based on the online article. Once your article has been accepted for publication, you can use the article tracking service to track the article's progress through publication. By registering in the system, you will receive automatic e-mail alerts each time your article's status changes, including links to the article online as soon as it is available. You are also welcome to contact Customer Support.

JOGNN offers authors a choice about how to publish their research:

Open access

  • Articles are freely available to subscribers and the wider public with permitted reuse.
  • An open access publication fee is payable by authors or on their behalf, e.g., by their research funders or institutions.

Subscription

  • Articles are made available to subscribers as well as developing countries and patient groups through our universal access programs (http://www.elsevier.com/access)
  • No open access publication fee payable by authors.

Regardless of how you choose to publish your article, the journal will apply the same peer review criteria and acceptance standards. See the open access license page for pricing and further information.

REFERENCES

American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association 2020: The official guide to APA style (7th ed.). Author.

Beck, C. T. (2021). Thoughts on the conduct and dissemination of qualitative research. Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic & Neonatal Nursing, 50(3), 237-239. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jogn.2021.03.003

Beck, C. T. (2022). Avoiding potential pitfalls in qualitative research methods. Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic, & Neonatal Nursing, 51(5), 473-476. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jogn.2022.08.002

Eisenhauer, E. (2023). Thoughts on writing high-quality review articles. Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic, & Neonatal Nursing, 52(3), 172-177. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jogn.2023.04.002

International Committee of Medical Journal Editors. (n.d.). Defining the role of authors and contributors. http://www.icmje.org/recommendations/browse/roles-and-responsibilities/defining-the-role-of-authors-and-contributors.html

Lowe, N. K. (2009). Systematic literature reviews. Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic, & Neonatal Nursing, 38(4), 375-376. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1552-6909.2009.01033.x

Lowe, N. K. (2018). Words matter. Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic, & Neonatal Nursing, 47(1), 1-2. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1552-6909.2009.01033.x10.1016/j.jogn.2017.11.007

McCartney, P. R. (2019). Reporting clinical projects to improve outcomes. Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic, & Neonatal Nursing, 48(4), 383-384. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jogn.2019.05.002