Rehabilitation Nursing Information for Authors—Features

Rehabilitation Nursing is a refereed publication and is the official journal of the Association of Rehabilitation Nurses (ARN). The purpose of the journal is to provide the professional nurse with a quality publication with rehabilitation nursing, including areas of clinical practice, education, administration, as its focus research; a medium for professional development in the area of rehabilitation; and information of potential interest to rehabilitation nurses.

Unsolicited manuscripts are welcome. Authors are encouraged to submit abstracts or outlines of potential articles. Feedback and advice about the topic and its development will be provided. Manuscripts that address the relevance to nursing, nursing implications, and contribution to nursing science are valuable to readers.

Manuscript form
Manuscripts should be typed double-spaced on 8½ x 11-in. plain white paper, with 1-inch margins. The title page, abstract, acknowledgments, references, individual tables, and legends each should appear on a separate page. Type the title and page number in the upper right-hand corner of each page. Manuscripts that are 1,000 to 3,000 words (4 to 15 typed pages) will be considered for publication. One author should be designated as correspondent in the cover letter. The journal is not responsible for lost manuscripts.

The manuscript’s clarity of purpose, relevance, originality, organization, and interest for Rehabilitation Nursing readers are considered during the review process. For research studies, appropriateness of methodology, adequacy of the literature review, and contribution to nursing science are assessed.

Title page
The title page should contain the title of the article and the authors’ full names, academic degrees and credentials, and primary affiliations. Include the corresponding author’s name, address, telephone and fax numbers, and e-mail address.

Abstract
An abstract should state the purpose and principal conclusions presented in the article, and it should not exceed 150 words.

Headings
The use of headings within the text makes the manuscript easier to understand. To subdivide the article into main sections, insert subheads in the text. Subheads should be kept short, succinct, and meaningful, and they should be similar in sense and tone.

Acknowledgments
The author may acknowledge substantive contributions to the article. Grant and contract numbers should be provided.

References
The style of references is that described in the fifth edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA) (2001). References used in the text should be cited by author’s name and date of publication in parentheses (e.g. Smith, 1992), with page numbers cited for direct quotations. All references cited in the text must be included in the reference list.

The reference list should include only references cited in the text in alphabetical order. The references must be verified by the author(s) against the original documents. Examples of correct forms of references follow.

    Standard journal article: List all authors.
    Ryden, M., Bossenmaier, M., & McLachlan, C. (1991). Aggressive behavior in cognitively impaired nursing home residents. Research in Nursing and Health, 14(2), 87-95.

    Books and other monographs:
    Zejdlik, C.P. (1992). Management of spinal cord injury (2nd ed.). Boston: Jones and Bartlett Publishers.

    Chapter in edited text:
    Fowler, E. (1990). Chronic wounds: An overview. In D. Krasner (Ed.), Chronic wound care: A clinical source book for healthcare professionals (pp. 12-18). King of Prussia, PA: Health Management Publications, Inc.

References to commercial entities or products
Specific reference by name to commercial entities or products is strongly discouraged in the interest of scientific objectivity. The entity or product should be described in a general fashion. If it is absolutely necessary to use a specific name—such as in a report of a study that compared two very specific products—the appropriate trademark (TM) or registered mark (®) should be used with the trade name the first time it is used.

Tables, illustrations, and photographs
Rehabilitation Nursing welcomes tables, illustrations, and photographs of good quality and encourages authors to submit them with manuscripts. Note the APA format for these.

Review and action
Review process—All manuscripts must be submitted exclusively to Rehabilitation Nursing and must not have been published previously. Receipt of manuscripts is acknowledged. Manuscripts are carefully screened for professional content and potential value to the literature. The selection of manuscripts for publication depends primarily on these reviews and recommendations, as well as on long-range editorial plans based on the needs and interests of rehabilitation nurses.

Editing—Rehabilitation Nursing reserves the right to edit all manuscripts according to style and space requirements and to clarify content.

Publication—Authors will be notified of the disposition of their manuscripts. If a manuscript is accepted for publication, copies of galleys will be sent to the corresponding author for review before publication. Manuscripts not accepted for publication will be returned to the author on request.

Copyright—The Association of Rehabilitation Nurses will hold copyright on all articles published in Rehabilitation Nursing. A copyright transfer agreement signed by all authors will be requested on publication of the manuscript.

Reprints—Manuscripts that are published in the journal become the property of ARN, and reprint or reproduction permission must be obtained from ARN. Reprints can be purchased from the publisher.

Manuscript Submission
Please submit your manuscript as an attached PC compatible Word document to gpannozzo@connect2amc.com. One author should be designated as correspondent in the cover letter. The journal is not responsible for lost manuscripts.

Manuscript Submission Checklist
Before submitting manuscripts, authors should review this checklist.

__ Designate a corresponding author in the cover letter and on the title page and provide that author's address, phone and fax numbers, and e-mail address.
__ Use APA (5th ed.) format; leave right margins unjustified.
__ Include a title page (include authors' names, academic degrees and credentials, and affiliations).
__ Provide and label an abstract.
__ State purpose in a clear manner.
__ Describe the relevance and importance of the topic to rehabilitation nurses.
__ Be sure content is accurate, timely, and of interest to Rehabilitation Nursing readers.
__ Discuss implications for practice.
__ For research articles, include literature review, methodology, findings, and discussion.
__ Provide references in proper format, alphabetized, and ensure that each reference is cited in the text.
__ Number tables and include title and footnotes.
__ Number figures; include legends on a separate sheet.
__ Send four sets of illustrations.
__ Include permission for previously published illustrations and tables.
__ Include acknowledgments, institutional review board (IRB) consent (for research manuscripts), and funding sources.
__ If mailing your manuscript, be sure to include a CD-ROM.