Journal of Forensic Nursing
Online Submission and Review System
Instructions for Authors (this page)
Copyright Transfer (PDF)
Reprint Ordering
Permissions Requests

Scope:
The Journal of Forensic Nursing (JFN), the official journal of the International Association of Forensic Nurses (IAFN), is a groundbreaking publication that addresses health care issues that transcend health and legal systems by articulating nursing’s response to violence and trauma. The journal features empirical studies, review and theoretical articles, methodological and concept papers, and case reports that address the provision of nursing care to victims and perpetrators of violence, trauma, and abuse. The journal's objective is to publish scholarly manuscripts and to expand empirical evidence important to the practice of forensic nursing worldwide. Topics representing the diversity of the specialty are of interest and include, but are not limited to, interpersonal violence (sexual assault, abuse, intimate partner violence); death investigation; legal and ethical issues; forensic mental health; issues unique to corrections, and emergency and trauma nursing. Submissions from nursing and related disciplines are encouraged.

Both solicited and unsolicited manuscripts are welcome. All manuscripts must be original work, not previously published (or considered for publication elsewhere), and submitted exclusively to the JFN.

Query letters are not required, but can provide the Editor(s) with the opportunity to express interest, and offer developmental guidance.

Copyright Transfer and Conflicts of Interest:
Copyright on all published articles will be held by the International Association of Forensic Nurses. It is the responsibility of the corresponding author to ensure that the Wolters Kluwer Health/Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins Authorship Responsibility, Disclosure, and Copyright Transfer form is completed for each author at the time of submission of the article. All material subject to copyright appearing in JFN may not be photocopied, reprinted, or duplicated in any manner without express permission of the publisher.

In addition, each author must complete and submit the journal's copyright transfer agreement, which includes a section on the disclosure of potential conflicts of interest based on the recommendations of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors, "Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals" (www.icmje.org/update.html).

A copy of the form is made available to the submitting author within the Editorial Manager submission process. Co-authors will automatically receive an Email with instructions on completing the form upon submission.

Authors must state all possible conflicts of interest on the title page, including financial, consultant, institutional and other relationships that might lead to bias or a conflict of interest. If there is no conflict of interest, this should also be explicitly stated as none declared. All sources of funding should be acknowledged in the manuscript. All relevant conflicts of interest and sources of funding should be included on the title page of the manuscript with the heading “Conflicts of Interest and Source of Funding:”. 

For example:
Conflicts of Interest and Source of Funding: A has received honoraria from Company Z. B is currently receiving a grant (#12345) from Organization Y, and is on the speaker’s bureau for Organization X – the CME organizers for Company A. For the remaining authors none were declared.

Authorship
All persons designated as authors should qualify for authorship. Each author should have contributed significantly to the conception and design of the work and writing the manuscript to take public responsibility for it. Names of those who contributed general support or technical help may be listed in an acknowledgment that is placed after the narrative and before references.

Compliance with NIH and Other Research Funding Agency Accessibility Requirements:
A number of research funding agencies now require or request authors to submit the post-print (the article after peer review and acceptance but not the final published article) to a repository that is accessible online by all without charge. As a service to our authors, LWW will identify to the National Library of Medicine (NLM) articles that require deposit and will transmit the post-print of an article based on research funded in whole or in part by the National Institutes of Health, Wellcome Trust, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, or other funding agencies to PubMed Central. The revised Copyright Transfer Agreement provides the mechanism.

Manuscript Submission

On-line manuscript submission: All manuscripts must be submitted online via Editorial Manager™, at http://www.editorialmanager.com/jfn/. Paper submissions will not be accepted. Submissions which do not comply with the guidelines below will be returned to the authors for correction.

First-time users: Please click the Register button on the Editorial Manager home page (http://www.editorialmanager.com/jfn/). Enter the requested information to complete your registration. Upon successful registration, an email containing your user name and password will be sent to you. Please be sure to enter your email address correctly; if an error has been made or an incorrect email address has been provided, you will not receive this notification.

Note: If you have already received an email containing your User ID and password, or if you are already registered, do not register again. You may log in to the site using the information previously provided to you. You may access your Author, Reviewer, and/or Editor accounts with the same log-in information.

Authors: Click the log-in button on the Editorial Manager home page, enter your username and password, and click on Author Login. Click on the Submit Manuscript link to begin the submission process. Be sure to prepare your manuscript according to the requirements laid out in these author instructions. Following submission to the journal office, you will be able to track the progress of your manuscript through the system.

If you experience any problems with Editorial Manager or have any questions, please contact the Editorial Coordinator, Kathleen Maguire, RN, BSN/BS, JD at kathleenmaguire@iafn.org.

Manuscript Review Process

Upon receipt of a manuscript, a letter of acknowledgement will be sent to the corresponding author. The manuscript is then forwarded to the Editor-in-Chief who conducts an initial review to determine if the content is suitable for publication in the journal. Unsuitable manuscripts are returned to the author, and rejected without review. Manuscripts deemed suitable are forwarded to three reviewers selected from the journal’s Editorial Board and Manuscript Review Panel.

The JFN is a double-blind, peer-reviewed (refereed) international journal. Manuscript content is evaluated for appropriateness, methodological accuracy, innovations, readability, ethics and clinical implications. The ultimate goal is to advance the knowledge of forensic nursing clinicians, educators, administrators, researchers, and policy makers.

Decisions regarding acceptance for publication are based on the recommendations of the reviewers. It is rare for manuscripts to be accepted “as is”. Authors are encouraged to carefully consider reviewers’ comments and resubmit their manuscripts. Authors of manuscripts not accepted for publication, are released from consideration and are free to submit their manuscripts elsewhere. Publication decisions and author notification occur within 6 -- 8 weeks from the beginning of the review process.

Types of Manuscripts

1. Original Articles – Include research papers (quantitative and qualitative) and non-research papers (theoretical, methodological, and conceptual). Suggested headings for research papers include: a) Introduction; b) Design/Methods; c) Results/Findings; d) Discussion; e) Conclusions. Non research papers should be organized in a logical manner and include the judicious use of appropriate headings to organize content and facilitate reading. Original articles between 3000-5000 words will be considered.

2. Review articles – Includes systematic, narrative and integrative reviews, meta-analyses, and meta-syntheses of domains of inquiry relevant to forensic nursing. Suggested headings: a) Background/questions addressed; b) Review methods; c) Review results; d) Discussion and implications (including implications for clinical forensic nursing). Review papers should be limited to 5000 words.

3. Case Reports – Are embedded in clinical practice, present unique forensic situations, and are designed to educate and inform the readership. Content should be organized into the following sections: description of the case, summary of key findings, treatment, discussion, and conclusions. Concise, well written manuscripts between 1000 – 2000 words are welcome.

4. Letters to the Editor –Regarding previously published articles stimulate further discourse. Letters should be limited to 500-1000 words. Authors of articles referenced in the letter will be invited to respond.

Implications for Clinical Forensic Nursing Practice

Original articles and review articles must include a section on implications for clinical practice. Please make sure to describe how the research findings, or the information gleaned in the article can be applied to practice.

NOTE: Regardless of the type of manuscript submitted, the word limits are inclusive of title, abstract page, references, tables and figures. Articles that excessively exceed the suggested word limits will be returned to the author(s).

Manuscript Format
Please submit manuscripts in English.

Style
All details of style must conform to the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA, 6th Ed., 2010). This includes references, photographs, and tables. Please use active voice wherever possible.

Blinding Your Manuscript
To preserve review anonymity, please remove the authors’ names and other identifiable information from the manuscript pages that will be sent out for peer review. It is also important to verify that your title page is not included in the main text file.

Title page: Include on the title page (a) the complete manuscript title; (b) author list with titles, affiliations, credentials, and degrees for each author; (c) name and address for correspondence, including fax number, telephone number, and e-mail address; (d) address for reprints if different from that of corresponding author; and (e) a conflict of interest / disclosure statement (see the “Conflicts of Interest” section above) including any sources of support that require acknowledgment. This includes disclosure of funding received for the work from any of the following organizations: National Institutes of Health (NIH); Wellcome Trust; Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI); and other(s). If there are no potential conflicts of interest to disclose, please include a statement to that effect.

Abstract: The abstract does not take the place of the introduction to the paper, it must stand alone. For research papers and review papers, please submit a structured 150 -250 word abstract. For non-research papers a narrative or unstructured 75 – 150 word abstract.

Text: The manuscript text should be submitted as a Microsoft Word file that is double spaced and uses Times New Roman size 12 font. Do not submit your manuscript as a pdf file.

The manuscript text file should contain the Title, Abstract, Keywords, Main text, Reference list, and legends for all Figures, Tables, and Supplemental Digital Content (SDC). The length of your manuscript should be within the limits for each article type noted above. No tables or figures should be included within the main text. All tables and figure should be submitted as separate individual files according to the guidelines provided below. Manuscripts should be original, never-before-published, and not submitted simultaneously to another publication.

References: Adhere to APA guidelines. In-text references should include author and date, for example: (Doe & Brown, 2006), with page numbers cited for direct quotations. All in-text citations should be fully referenced in the reference list at the end of the manuscript. The reference list should be arranged alphabetically by author, and include only those references cited in the text. For example:

Journal article:
Doe, J.R., & Brown, M.S. (2012). Writing for publication. Journal of Forensic Nursing, 1(1), 125- 130.

Book:
Doe, J.R., & Brown, M.S. (2012. Writing for publication. New York: Academic Press.

Website:
Doe, J. R. & Brown, M. S. (2012). Writing for publication: Help at your fingertips. Retrieved from http://www.writing.org/nursingnotes/.

Figures and Tables:
Figures and tables should NOT be embedded in the text, but should be included as separate files. Use Arabic numerals to number tables/figures. Each table/figure must stand alone - i.e., contain all necessary information in the caption, and the table/figure itself must be understood independently of the text.

Illustrations

Digital Artwork Guideline Checklist 
Here are the basics to have in place before submitting your digital art to JFN:

For additional information, please refer to the journal’s Creating Digital Artwork file at http://links.lww.com/ES/A42.

Tables: Create tables using the table creating and editing feature of the word processing software (i.e., Microsoft Word). Do not use Excel or comparable spreadsheet programs. Cite tables consecutively in the text, and number them in that order. Submit each as a separate document which includes the table title, appropriate column heads, and explanatory legends (including definitions of any abbreviations used). Do not embed tables within the body of the manuscript. They should be self-explanatory and should supplement, rather than duplicate, the material in the text.

Supplemental Digital Content (SDC): Authors may submit SDC that enhances their article's text to be considered for online-only posting. SDC may include standard media such as text documents, graphs, audio, video, etc. On the Attach Files page of the submission process, please select Supplemental Audio, Video, or Data for your uploaded file as the Submission Item. If an article with SDC is accepted, our production staff will create a URL with the SDC file. The URL will be placed in the call-out within the article. SDC files are not copy-edited by LWW staff; they will be presented digitally as submitted. For a list of all available file types and detailed instructions, please visit http://links.lww.com/A142.

SDC Call-outs 
Supplemental Digital Content must be cited consecutively in the text of the submitted manuscript. Citations should include the type of material submitted (Audio, Figure, Table, etc.), be clearly labeled as “Supplemental Digital Content,” include the sequential list number, and provide a description of the supplemental content. All descriptive text should be included in the call-out as it will not appear elsewhere in the article. 

Example: 
We performed many tests on the degrees of flexibility in the elbow (see Video, Supplemental Digital Content 1, which demonstrates elbow flexibility) and found our results inconclusive.

List of Supplemental Digital Content 
A listing of Supplemental Digital Content must be submitted at the end of the manuscript file. Include the SDC number and file type of the Supplemental Digital Content. This text will be removed by our production staff and not be published.  
Example: Supplemental Digital Content 1.wmv

SDC File Requirements 
All acceptable file types are permissible up to 10 MBs. For audio or video files greater than 10 MBs, authors should first query the journal office for approval. For a list of all available file types and detailed instructions, please visit http://links.lww.com/A142. 

Acceptable SDC File Types:

Text files and Tables

Any format or file type is acceptable  
Common file extensions include: .doc, .xls, .pdf, .pptx

Figures and Images

.tif, .eps, .ppt, .jpg*, .pdf*, .gif*
*Only acceptable for online-only figures. Figures intended to be printed in the journal may not be submitted as .jpg or .pdf file types.

Audio

.mp3, .wma, .wav

Video

.wmv, .swf, .flv, .mov, .qt, .mpg, .mpeg, .mp4

Submitting a Revised Manuscript:
When you are ready to submit a revised manuscript, go to Editorial Manager and log in as an Author. Click on the “Submissions Needing Revision” link. You may view a copy of the decision letter, view the original submission PDF, and view the Reviewer Comments (if applicable) prior to beginning the resubmission process.

When ready to submit your revision, click on “Submit revision" and proceed through each of the steps as prompted by the system. You may select files from the previous version of the submission that should be carried over into the revision, then upload your revised files and remove those which are no longer needed. IMPORTANT: When submitting a revised manuscript, be sure to provide a detailed description of how you responded to each of the reviewer’s comments. Be sure to include all of the reviewers' comments in this document and provide your response directly below each.

When your resubmission is complete, you will receive a confirmation email and an “R1” (for revision 1) will be appended to the original manuscript number. If you are submitting a revision, make sure that you do NOT submit your manuscript as a new original manuscript.

Permissions: Authors must submit written permission from the copyright owner (usually the publisher) to use direct quotations, tables, or illustrations that have appeared in copyrighted form elsewhere, along with complete details about the source. Any permissions fees that might be required by the copyright owner are the responsibility of the authors requesting use of the borrowed material, not the responsibility of the IAFN or Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

For permission and/or rights to use content for which the copyright holder is LWW or the society, please go to the journal's website and after clicking on the relevant article, click on the "Request Permissions" link under the "Article Tools" box that appears on the right side of the page. Alternatively, send an e-mail to customercare@copyright.com.

For Translation Rights & Licensing queries, contact Silvia Serra, Translations Rights, Licensing & Permissions Manager, Wolters Kluwer Health (Medical Research) Ltd, 250 Waterloo Road, London SE1 8RD, UK. Phone: +44 (0) 207 981 0600. E-mail: silvia.serra@wolterskluwer.com

For Special Projects and Reprints (U.S./Canada), contact Alan Moore, Director of Sales, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Two Commerce Square, 2001 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103. Phone: 215-521-8638. E-mail: alan.moore@wolterskluwer.com

For Special Projects and Reprints (non-U.S./Canada), contact Silvia Serra, Translations Rights, Licensing & Permissions Manager, Wolters Kluwer Health (Medical Research) Ltd, 250 Waterloo Road, London SE1 8RD, UK. Phone: +44 (0) 207 981 0600. E-mail: silvia.serra@wolterskluwer.com

After Acceptance
Page proofs and corrections: Corresponding authors will receive electronic page proofs to check the copyedited and typeset article before publication. Portable document format (PDF) files of the typeset pages and support documents (e.g., reprint order form) will be sent to the corresponding author by e-mail. Complete instructions will be provided with the e-mail for downloading and printing the files and for faxing the corrected pages to the publisher. Those authors without an e-mail address will receive traditional page proofs. It is the author's responsibility to ensure that there are no errors in the proofs. Changes that have been made to conform to journal style should be allowed to stand if they do not alter the authors' meaning. Authors may be charged for alterations to the proofs beyond those required to correct errors or to answer queries. Proofs must be checked carefully and corrections faxed within 24 to 48 hours of receipt, as requested in the cover letter accompanying the page proofs.

Publish Ahead of Print: All accepted articles will be published online prior to selection for inclusion in a print issue. Such papers will be published online following initial review of the proofs by the Corresponding Author. Papers which have been Published Ahead of Print may be cited as ‘in press’.

Reprints: Authors will receive a reprint order form and a price list with the page proofs. Reprint requests should be faxed to the publisher with the corrected proofs, if possible. Reprints are normally shipped 6 to 8 weeks after publication of the issue in which the item appears. You can also order them by contacting the Reprint Department, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 351 W. Camden Street, Baltimore, MD 21201.Fax: 410.528.4434; Email:reprints@wolterskluwer.com.

Publisher's contact: Send corrected page proofs and any other related materials to the contact listed on the proof notification email received by the Corresponding Author.

Submission Checklist:

Please contact the Editorial Coordinator, Kathleen Maguire, RN, BSN/BS, JD, via email at kathleenmaguire@iafn.org with any questions.