Manuscript Submission

 

 

 

Preparation of Manuscript

Manuscirpts being submitted should not exceed more than 5000 words. For a standard discussion, review, clinical paper or quantitative research articles, the maximum length is 30 double-spaced pages, with standard margins of 2.5 cm (1 inch) all around, and 11 point font size. (Inclusive of all Tables, Figures, and References, but excluding the Structured Abstract).

Supplementary material may be added without specific page limits. The readability of the article, however, must not depend upon access to supplementary materials. 

First time authors are also strongly advised to co-author with an academic supervisor or senior colleague who has been successful in writing for publication.

Authors who feel their English language manuscript may require editing to eliminate possible grammatical or spelling errors and to conform to correct scientific.English may wish to use the English Language Editing service available from erhadlingua.com Language services for more information Page numbers and line numbers should be included for the convenience of the peer-reviewers.

Please have the following items ready before you log-on to the system. Every submission, regardless of category, must include the following.

(1) A Cover letter, including An Author Agreement stating:
o that the article is the author(s) original work
o the article has not received prior publication and is not under consideration for publication elsewhere
o that all authors have seen and approved the manuscript being submitted
o the author(s) abide by the copyright terms and conditions of Elsevier and the Australian College of Nursing

Conflict of Interest:
when the proposed publication concerns any commercial product, either directly or indirectly, the author must include in the cover letter a statement (1) indicating that he or she has no financial or other interest in the product or distributor of the product or (2) explaining the nature of any relation between himself or herself and the manufacturer or distributor of the product. Other kinds of associations, such as consultancies, stock ownership, or other equity interests or patent-licensing arrangements, also must be disclosed. If, in the Editor's judgment, the information disclosed represents a potential conflict of interest, it may be made available to reviewers and may be published at the Editor's discretion; authors will be informed of the decision before publication.

 

o Sources of outside support for research:
including funding, equipment, and drugs.

An Ethical Statement for all Research papers, providing the following information:
o Whether the submitted manuscript involved human or animal research.
o If human or animal research was involved, whether Ethical Approval was granted for the Study as either (A) A quality assurance or practice improvement project, OR(B) A scientific research study. Note that research studies that do not have ethical approval prior to being conducted will not normally be published. We will consider publication, however, if the relevant Institutional Ethics Committee provides you with a letter saying that they do not normally provide ethical approval for studies such as the one you conducted.
o If the submitted manuscript is based on a research study which was subjected to a full review by an institutional ethics committee, please provide the following information: 
- The name of the ethics committee
- The approval number
- The date of approval

Note: If the manuscript is based on a quality assurance or practice improvement project this must be made clear in the text of the paper and address ethical issues concerning informed and free consent and confidentiality, as relevant.

If an Ethical Statement is not applicable, this must also be specified.

(4) Title Page should contain:

o Title. Short (12 words or fewer) and descriptive of the content of the article. 
Abbreviations must not be used in the title.

o Running Head. Short title of 30 characters and spaces.
o Authors. List all authors by first name, all initials, family name and highest academic degree only using "RM, PhD" for holders of both qualifications.
List the address of all institutions where the work was done. List departmental affiliations of each author affiliated with that institution after each institutional address. Connect authors to departments using numbered superscripts.
o Corresponding Author. Provide the name, exact postal address with zip or postal code, telephone number, fax number and e-mail address of the author to whom communications, proofs, and requests for reprints should be sent.

 

(5) The complete manuscript, arranged as follows: (1) structured Abstract and Keywords (2) manuscript, including Acknowledgments/Disclosures (see below) and References, (3) Tables (each complete with title) and (4) Figures.

In addition, the following must be submitted direct to the Editorial Office if applicable:

o Written permission from the publisher (copyright holder) to reproduce any previously published table(s), illustration(s) or photograph(s) in both print and electronic media.
o Written permission from unmasked patients appearing in photographs.


Sections of Manuscript (In Order)

o Abstract & Keywords

The structured abstract should be under 250 words.

The structure of the abstract should be:
o Problem, or
o Background
o Question, Hypothesis or Aim
o Methods
o Findings
o Discussion
o Conclusion

The structured Abstract must not include references. Avoid abbreviations and acronyms. Ensure the name of the hospital or health service is not mentioned.

Keywords: Provide up to six keywords, at least three of which should be selected from those recommended by the Index Medicus Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) browser list (http://www.nlm.nih.gov/meshhome.html).

o Main Text

- Introduction (including problem, theoretical and/or research background, hypothesis or guiding question, definitions of key terms)
- Literature Review (critical but brief review of directly related literature)
- Participants, Ethics and Methods (described in detail).
- Findings or Results: for qualitative research results should be concisely reported in tables and figures, with brief text descriptions. For qualitative research a balance must be struck between conciseness and sufficient data to support the discussion and conclusion.
- Discussion (clear and concise interpretation of results)
- Conclusion (summarise key points)
- Acknowledgments and Disclosures

Regulatory Requirements in the Methods section:

o Research Protocol
Authors must state that the protocol has been approved by the appropriate Ethics Committee (state which).

o Human Investigation
The ethical guidelines that were followed by the investigators must be included in the Methods section of the manuscript. In Australia, all work should conform to the "Statement on Human Experimentation" by the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia. State clearly that the subject gave informed consent. Anonymity should be preserved.

o Humane Animal Care
The Methods section must contain a statement assuring that all animals received humane care in accordance with the "Statement on Animal Experimentation" by the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia, or its equivalent in other Countries (for example the "Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals" published by the National Institutes of Health).

Acknowledgments

This section is compulsory. Grants, financial support and technical or other assistance are acknowledged at the end of the text before the references. All financial support for the project must be acknowledged. If there has been no financial assistance with the project, this must be clearly stated.

The role(s) of the funding organisation, if any, in the collection of data, its analysis and interpretation, and in the right to approve or disapprove publication of the finished manuscript must be described in the Methods section of the text.

o References
The author is responsible for providing accurate references. Referencing must follow the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (5th ed.), 2001 format. The reference list must include details only of those works cited in the text, and all references cited in text must be listed.

o Tables

Tables should be double-spaced on separate sheets (one to each page). Do not use vertical lines. Each table should be numbered (Arabic) and have a title above. Legends and explanatory notes should be placed below the table. Abbreviations used in the table follow the legend in alphabetic order. Lower case letter superscripts beginning with "a" and following in alphabetic order are used for notations of within-group and between-group statistical probabilities. Tables should be self-explanatory, and the data should not be duplicated in the text or illustrations. Tables must be submitted as part of the text file and not as illustrations.

o Figure Legends

Figure legends should be numbered (Arabic) and double-spaced in order of appearance beginning on a separate sheet. Identify (in alphabetic order) all abbreviations appearing in the illustrations at the end of each legend. Give the type of stain and magnification power for all photomicrographs. All abbreviations used on a figure and in its legend should be defined in the legend. Cite the source of previously published (print or electronic) material in the legend.

o Illustrations or Figures

Images or figures are submitted online as one or more separate files that may contain one or more images. Within each file containing images, use the figure number (eg, Figure 1A) as the image filename. The system accepts image files formatted in TIFF and EPS. Powerpoint (.ppt) files are also accepted, but you must use a separate Powerpoint image file for each Powerpoint figure.

Symbols, letters, numbers and contrasting fills must be distinct, easily distinguished and clearly legible when the illustration is reduced in size.

Black, white and widely crosshatched bars are preferable; do not use stippling, gray fill or thin lines.

Written permission from unmasked patients appearing in photographs must be obtained by the authors and must be surface mailed or faxed to the editorial office once the manuscript is submitted online.