Quality of Author Guidelines in Nursing Journals

Abstract

PurposeThe aims of this study were to (a) describe the information provided in author guidelines in nursing journals, (b) assess the completeness of this information, and (c) identify the extent and types of reporting guidelines used in nursing journals.DesignContent analysis of author guidelines for 245 nursing journals included in the Directory of Nursing Journals maintained at the International Academy of Nursing Editors website.MethodsUsing Research Electronic Data Capture, data on 19 criteria for completeness were extracted from published author guidelines. Additional details about journal requirements, such as allowed length of manuscripts and format for the abstract, were also recorded. Reliability was established by simultaneous review of 25 journals (10%) by the research assistant and a senior member of the research team.FindingsAuthor guidelines were easily accessible at journal websites or through links to download the information. A majority (73.5%) had completeness scores of 75% or higher; six journals had guidelines that were 100% complete. Half of the journals used the American Psychological Association reference style, and 26.3% used the American Medical Association style. Less than one fourth had stated requirements to use reporting guidelines such as Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT) and Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta‐Analyses (PRISMA).ConclusionsAuthor guidelines for nursing journals are generally complete and informative. Although specific reporting guidelines such as CONSORT and PRISMA improve the accuracy and completeness of manuscripts on various types of studies, most nursing journals do not indicate use of these for manuscript preparation. Editors who want to improve their author guidelines should use the 19 criteria for completeness as a gauge for updating and revision.Clinical RelevanceNurses rely on the published literature to inform their practice and ensure that it is based on evidence. Guidelines for publishing in the scholarly literature assist clinicians and scholars to ensure that published articles are complete, current, concise, and accurate.

Guidance Provided to Authors on Citing and Formatting References in Nursing Journals

“…Although this may sound daunting, the encouraging finding from this study is that most nursing journals that were assessed primarily use two formats: APA and AMA ( n = 160, 76.6%). Thus, an author with a working knowledge of these two formats should be well positioned to have a strong start on formatting citations and references correctly in a manuscript ( Oermann et al, 2018 ). Using a BDM can enhance the process of preparing citations and references, but it is important to make sure that (a) the style is set up to properly output the citation, (b) the inputted information for each citation in the BDM is accurate, and (c) article and book titles are edited to sentence case.…”

“…In an earlier study ( Oermann et al, 2018 ), a data capture form was developed for recording information about the author guidelines of nursing journals. The form collected information on the reference style used by the journal, if examples were provided of how to prepare citations in the text and references on the list at the end, and if the Instructions for Authors had other guidelines or information on referencing in the manuscript.…”

“…The citation information needs to be accurate to locate the abstract or full-text article ( Masic, 2013 ; Speck & St. Pierre Schneider, 2013 ). Although bibliographic management software such as Zotero or EndNote helps authors prepare their citations and references based on a specific style, it is up to the author to ensure that the reference is complete and accurate ( Chinn, 2016 ; Oermann et al, 2018 ). Even with bibliographic management software, errors in references still occur ( Homol, 2014 ; Kratochvil, 2017 ).…”

“…In a recent study, it was reported that half ( n = 105, 50.2%) of the 245 nursing journals in the Directory of Nursing Journals, housed at the International Academy of Nursing Editors (INANE) website, used APA style (6th edition) as the reference format, followed by the AMA style (10th edition; n = 55, 26.3%; Oermann et al, 2018 ). Harvard style, similar to APA with a name-year format for citations in text, was used in 37 (17.7%) journals.…”

“…However, that study did not examine the instructions provided to authors on preparing citations and references for the manuscript. Many nurse authors are not familiar with reference styles other than the one they used as a student ( Oermann et al, 2018 ). Therefore, the author guidelines need to describe how to prepare citations and references for submission of a manuscript to the journal; authors seek out and need this information.…”