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AORN Journal Author Guidelines
MARCH 1994, VOL 59, N O 3
A O R N JOURNAL
AORN Journal Author Guidelines
T
he AORN Journal, the official journal of the Association of Operating Room Nurses, Inc, welcomes manuscripts pertaining to perioperative nursing practice. The Journal strives to provide its readers with practical and theoretical information that ultimately will result in better patient care and improved standards of perioperative nursing. The Journal also endeavors to publish information on current trends in the health care field. Perioperative nurses, educators, and managers; physicians; other health care professionals; and academicians are invited to submit manuscripts. Columns on ethics, practical innovations, elder care, and those that express a professional opinion also are welcome. The Journal encourages letters to the Editor that address an article published within the previous two months. Readers also may submit names of potential authors or ideas that may be developed into articles. Manuscripts submitted by RNs will be considered for the Journal Home Study Program, which is a continuing education offering. To be selected, manuscripts for the Home Study Program must be comprehensive and written on clinical, research, education, or management topics. Teaching plans or examples of documentation may enhance articles. Manuscripts must be 10 to 18 pages in length. Authors are not required to write the home study examination questions. Editorial policy. Prospective authors are encouraged to write query letters to the Editor. Send manuscripts or queries to the Editor, AORN Journal, 2170 S Parker Rd, Suite 300, Denver, CO 8023 1-57 1 1. The AORN Journal accepts manuscripts that are original and have not been published previously. Manuscripts submitted to the Journal for review must not be under consideration for publication in other journals. The Journal endeavors to report all sides of questions on controversial issues; however, views and statements are the sole responsibility of the author(s).
Peer review. Manuscripts are evaluated by the Editor and by two members of the AORN Editorial Board. They are judged on accuracy, content, organization, style, contribution to nursing literature, originality, and appearance. Publishing and editorial decisions are based on reviewers’ evaluation and the Editor’s judgment of the quality of the writing, the timeliness of the manuscript, and the potential interest to readers of the Journal. Authors will be notified of the Editor’s decision approximately six to eight weeks after submitting the manuscript. Transfer of rights. In consultation with the author(s), the AORN Journal reserves the right to edit all manuscripts with regard to length, timeliness, and readability consistent with Journal style. Before publication, authors will receive an edited copy of the manuscript for final approval. Manuscripts that are not accepted for publication will be returned. Upon acceptance of a manuscript, the author transfers all copyright ownership to the Association of Operating Room Nurses, Inc. Published manuscripts become the property of the AORN Journal and may not be reproduced without written permission of the Editor. Manuscript p r e p a r a t i o n . Submit three copies of the manuscript. The manuscript must be double spaced and printed with a quality printer or typed with one-inch margins on 8 1/2- by 1 1-inch paper. If the manuscript is prepared with a word processor, send a 3 1/2- or 5 1/4-inch disk with the file saved in word processing format. Indicate the word processing software and version used. A cover letter that includes the home and business addresses and telephone numbers of all authors and a designated senior author for correspondence must be included with the manuscript. Format. Manuscripts should be between eight and 16 pages long, depending on the topic. Manuscripts submitted for columns 751
MARCH 1994, VOL 59, NO 3
AORN JOURNAL
should be between five and eight pages. Title page. Include manuscript title and authors’ names, credentials, and current professional positions. Designate a senior author, and give a correspondence address and telephone number. All manuscripts should have a title and subtitle with subheadingsto indicate subdivisionsin the text. Text. Omit all authors’ names on text pages. Use short paragraph structure. When first used, abbreviations and acronyms should be spelled out followed by the abbreviation in parentheses. Authors should use generic names rather than commercial names for medications and devices. Weights, measurements, and medication dosages should be given in metric units; temperatures in both Fahrenheit and Celsius degrees. Illustrations. Photographs and line drawings are encouraged. Color slides are best, followed by color prints and black-and-white prints. Negatives and Polaroid pictures cannot be used. Illustrations must be labeled on the back with a soft-tip marker or attached to a sheet of paper that is labeled with the figure number and name of author. Do not use paper clips or write heavily on photographs. Photographs in which an individual can be identified must be accompanied by the individual’s permission to publish. Send one set of original illustrations and photographs and two sets of photocopies. Captions must be submitted with all photographs and drawings. Tables and figures should be clearly labeled and referred to in the text. They must be referenced if they are not the work of the author. The author is responsible for obtaining permission to publish illustrations from a previously published work and for sending copies of permission letters to the AORN Journal with the illustrations. The author also is responsible for obtaining permission from photographers and artists to use unpublished photographs and drawings. Permission letters must accompany copyrighted illustrations, or the illustrations will not be published. All photographs will be returned to the author after publication. Notes. Quotations, statistics, original ideas, or interpretations of works of other authors must be documented. Number the notes consecutively in the text and provide the complete reference at the 752
end of the article. Authors also may submit suggested readings of publications pertinent to the article but not directly cited. Notes and suggested reading should follow the style outlined in Kate L. Turabian’s A Manualfor Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, fifth ed (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1987). As such, books referenced in notes and suggested readings must include the names of all authors, title, volume number, publisher and city, and year of publication. Submit a photocopy of the title page for any books cited. Articles referenced must include names of all authors, title of article, name of publication, volume number, and complete date of publication. All references should cite specific page numbers. When more than one source is given for a citation, combine the sources into one note. The following are examples of notes. 1. 0 C Zimmerman, “An article from a journal,” Hospital Topics 41 (February 1985) 99-102. 2. C E Merriam, M Hodgson, Book, third ed (SanAntonio: Books Unlimited, 1986)45. 3. J A Stanton, “A chapter in a book,” in Time Management, ed P White (New York City: Little, Brown & Co, 1986) 146-162;“Positioning the surgical patient,” in AORN Standards and Recommended Practices for Perioperative Nursing (Denver: Association of Operating Room Nurses, Inc, 1992)
m:14-1.
Financial disclosure. If there is a financial association between the author(s) and a commercial company that makes a product featured prominently in the manuscript, the Journal requires that the author(s) disclose such an association. Should a conflict of interest exist, the Editor reserves the right to reject the manuscript. Authorship responsibility. All persons designated as authors should qualify for authorship. Each author should have contributed significantly to the manuscript to take public responsibility for it. Names of those who contributed general support or technical help may be listed in an acknowledgment. Honorarium. Tear sheets of the article, a copy of the AORN Journal containing the article, and an honorarium will be sent to each author after publication. Revised 2/93
A O R N JOURNAL
AORN Journal Author Guidelines
T
he AORN Journal, the official journal of the Association of Operating Room Nurses, Inc, welcomes manuscripts pertaining to perioperative nursing practice. The Journal strives to provide its readers with practical and theoretical information that ultimately will result in better patient care and improved standards of perioperative nursing. The Journal also endeavors to publish information on current trends in the health care field. Perioperative nurses, educators, and managers; physicians; other health care professionals; and academicians are invited to submit manuscripts. Columns on ethics, practical innovations, elder care, and those that express a professional opinion also are welcome. The Journal encourages letters to the Editor that address an article published within the previous two months. Readers also may submit names of potential authors or ideas that may be developed into articles. Manuscripts submitted by RNs will be considered for the Journal Home Study Program, which is a continuing education offering. To be selected, manuscripts for the Home Study Program must be comprehensive and written on clinical, research, education, or management topics. Teaching plans or examples of documentation may enhance articles. Manuscripts must be 10 to 18 pages in length. Authors are not required to write the home study examination questions. Editorial policy. Prospective authors are encouraged to write query letters to the Editor. Send manuscripts or queries to the Editor, AORN Journal, 2170 S Parker Rd, Suite 300, Denver, CO 8023 1-57 1 1. The AORN Journal accepts manuscripts that are original and have not been published previously. Manuscripts submitted to the Journal for review must not be under consideration for publication in other journals. The Journal endeavors to report all sides of questions on controversial issues; however, views and statements are the sole responsibility of the author(s).
Peer review. Manuscripts are evaluated by the Editor and by two members of the AORN Editorial Board. They are judged on accuracy, content, organization, style, contribution to nursing literature, originality, and appearance. Publishing and editorial decisions are based on reviewers’ evaluation and the Editor’s judgment of the quality of the writing, the timeliness of the manuscript, and the potential interest to readers of the Journal. Authors will be notified of the Editor’s decision approximately six to eight weeks after submitting the manuscript. Transfer of rights. In consultation with the author(s), the AORN Journal reserves the right to edit all manuscripts with regard to length, timeliness, and readability consistent with Journal style. Before publication, authors will receive an edited copy of the manuscript for final approval. Manuscripts that are not accepted for publication will be returned. Upon acceptance of a manuscript, the author transfers all copyright ownership to the Association of Operating Room Nurses, Inc. Published manuscripts become the property of the AORN Journal and may not be reproduced without written permission of the Editor. Manuscript p r e p a r a t i o n . Submit three copies of the manuscript. The manuscript must be double spaced and printed with a quality printer or typed with one-inch margins on 8 1/2- by 1 1-inch paper. If the manuscript is prepared with a word processor, send a 3 1/2- or 5 1/4-inch disk with the file saved in word processing format. Indicate the word processing software and version used. A cover letter that includes the home and business addresses and telephone numbers of all authors and a designated senior author for correspondence must be included with the manuscript. Format. Manuscripts should be between eight and 16 pages long, depending on the topic. Manuscripts submitted for columns 751
MARCH 1994, VOL 59, NO 3
AORN JOURNAL
should be between five and eight pages. Title page. Include manuscript title and authors’ names, credentials, and current professional positions. Designate a senior author, and give a correspondence address and telephone number. All manuscripts should have a title and subtitle with subheadingsto indicate subdivisionsin the text. Text. Omit all authors’ names on text pages. Use short paragraph structure. When first used, abbreviations and acronyms should be spelled out followed by the abbreviation in parentheses. Authors should use generic names rather than commercial names for medications and devices. Weights, measurements, and medication dosages should be given in metric units; temperatures in both Fahrenheit and Celsius degrees. Illustrations. Photographs and line drawings are encouraged. Color slides are best, followed by color prints and black-and-white prints. Negatives and Polaroid pictures cannot be used. Illustrations must be labeled on the back with a soft-tip marker or attached to a sheet of paper that is labeled with the figure number and name of author. Do not use paper clips or write heavily on photographs. Photographs in which an individual can be identified must be accompanied by the individual’s permission to publish. Send one set of original illustrations and photographs and two sets of photocopies. Captions must be submitted with all photographs and drawings. Tables and figures should be clearly labeled and referred to in the text. They must be referenced if they are not the work of the author. The author is responsible for obtaining permission to publish illustrations from a previously published work and for sending copies of permission letters to the AORN Journal with the illustrations. The author also is responsible for obtaining permission from photographers and artists to use unpublished photographs and drawings. Permission letters must accompany copyrighted illustrations, or the illustrations will not be published. All photographs will be returned to the author after publication. Notes. Quotations, statistics, original ideas, or interpretations of works of other authors must be documented. Number the notes consecutively in the text and provide the complete reference at the 752
end of the article. Authors also may submit suggested readings of publications pertinent to the article but not directly cited. Notes and suggested reading should follow the style outlined in Kate L. Turabian’s A Manualfor Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, fifth ed (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1987). As such, books referenced in notes and suggested readings must include the names of all authors, title, volume number, publisher and city, and year of publication. Submit a photocopy of the title page for any books cited. Articles referenced must include names of all authors, title of article, name of publication, volume number, and complete date of publication. All references should cite specific page numbers. When more than one source is given for a citation, combine the sources into one note. The following are examples of notes. 1. 0 C Zimmerman, “An article from a journal,” Hospital Topics 41 (February 1985) 99-102. 2. C E Merriam, M Hodgson, Book, third ed (SanAntonio: Books Unlimited, 1986)45. 3. J A Stanton, “A chapter in a book,” in Time Management, ed P White (New York City: Little, Brown & Co, 1986) 146-162;“Positioning the surgical patient,” in AORN Standards and Recommended Practices for Perioperative Nursing (Denver: Association of Operating Room Nurses, Inc, 1992)
m:14-1.
Financial disclosure. If there is a financial association between the author(s) and a commercial company that makes a product featured prominently in the manuscript, the Journal requires that the author(s) disclose such an association. Should a conflict of interest exist, the Editor reserves the right to reject the manuscript. Authorship responsibility. All persons designated as authors should qualify for authorship. Each author should have contributed significantly to the manuscript to take public responsibility for it. Names of those who contributed general support or technical help may be listed in an acknowledgment. Honorarium. Tear sheets of the article, a copy of the AORN Journal containing the article, and an honorarium will be sent to each author after publication. Revised 2/93