writing for academic publishing in nursing

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Presentation to the Irish Association of Urology Nurses 12 September 2013

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Page 1: Writing for academic publishing in Nursing
Page 2: Writing for academic publishing in Nursing

Goals of this Session

By the end of the course participants will • Know more about publishing, particularly in the

journal literature• Considered how their research and practice might be

written up as journal articles• Better understand the mechanics of writing

(including structure and style)• Have developed increased confidence and

motivation to write

Page 3: Writing for academic publishing in Nursing

Different Types of Publications

• Newsletter• Professional magazine • Popular Magazine• Academic (peer-

reviewed) Journal• Hybrid Journal• Poster

• Book Review• Book Chapter• Book (single author)• Book (edited collection)• Other opportunities –

conference presentation, radio broadcast, television, social media

Page 4: Writing for academic publishing in Nursing

Types of Journal Articles

• Research Articles• Evidence-Based Practice Articles• Clinical Articles• Other – case studies, case reports, articles on

wide range of topics relating to health care, book reviews, letters to the editor

Page 5: Writing for academic publishing in Nursing

Sources for writing

• Research/thesis• A particular project• Your practice/everyday work• Topic that interests you• A paper you presented• Other• Consider whether you want to collaborate (principal

author)

Page 6: Writing for academic publishing in Nursing

Sample Journals• International of Urological Nursing (UK): • http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/%28ISSN%291749-771X • Urologic Nursing (US):

http://www.suna.org/resources/urologic-nursing-journal/current-issue

• Seminars in Oncology Nursing (US): http://www.seminarsoncologynursing.com/

• Oncology Nursing Forum (US): http://www.ons.org/Publications/ONF/ • Cancer Nursing Practice (UK): http://rcnpublishing.com/journal/cnp

Page 7: Writing for academic publishing in Nursing

Sample Journals• British Journal of Nursing (UK):

http://www.britishjournalofnursing.com/

• Journal of Clinical Nursing (UK): http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/%28ISSN%291365-2702

• Nursing Standard (UK): http://rcnpublishing.com/journal/ns• • BJU International http://www.bjuinternational.com/• • Journal of Urology http://www.jurology.com/•

Page 8: Writing for academic publishing in Nursing

Identifying Appropriate Journals

• Do a database search on your topic to see where else articles on this topic have been published Pubmed Centralhttp://europepmc.org/Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL)(Ebscohost)Nurse Author & Editorhttp://www.nurseauthor.com/library.asp

• Search on Google Scholar • Directory of Open Access Journals – DOAJ.org• Who is your audience? What is the purpose of your piece of

writing?

Page 9: Writing for academic publishing in Nursing

Journal Information • Author Guidelines

TopicsEditorial Board and contactsdLength of articlesTypes of article – research, practice, theory, case studies, commentaries,Manuscript layoutPeer ReviewCitation styleCopyright (www.sherpa.ac.uk)Impact Factor – Web of Science Journal Citation Reports

Page 10: Writing for academic publishing in Nursing

Drafting a query e-mail

• Before writing/submitting• Editor• Single sentences– I am writing an article on…–My experience is this area…– I think that readers of your journal would be

interested in… because…

Page 11: Writing for academic publishing in Nursing

Research-based article

• IMRAD format or adaptation Quantitative Studies and Qualitative Studies• Introduction (may include a review of the

literature) – Why was the study done?• Methods – What was done?• Results – What did the researcher find?• And• Discussion – What does it mean• Also have acknowledgements and references

Page 12: Writing for academic publishing in Nursing

Sections in Research Manuscript

• Cover letter• Copyright transfer page • Title Page• Abstract (and key words

if requested)• Text– Introduction, methods,

Results, Discussion

• Acknowledgements• References• Tables (with titles and

footnotes)• Figures (with captions)

See Oermann, M. & Hays, J. Writing for Publication in Nursing, 2nd ed. New York: Springer, 2011

Page 13: Writing for academic publishing in Nursing

Practice Articles

• Describe practice innovations• Experience/Practice• Lectures/Presentations• Other activities that lead to new information

or different perspective on nursing practice• Discuss/Share practice• What is your audience? Specialist or general

Page 14: Writing for academic publishing in Nursing

Practice-based article

• Title• Abstract• Introduction• Text• Conclusion

Page 15: Writing for academic publishing in Nursing

04/13/2023 15

Task – Defining audience and Purpose

• Describe in one sentence the purpose of the piece you are writing

• What is the specific audience for your article?• What do they already know about the topic?• What kinds of things are important to this

audience?• How will they benefit from your work?• Where has this topic been covered before?• What’s your angle?• Where might you publish it?

Page 16: Writing for academic publishing in Nursing

Work from an Outline

• Order ideas• Sift & eliminate ideas• Contextualise/Give

framework• View at a glance• Can work on different

sections – writing is not a linear process

• Makes the process manageable

The reason many aspiring authors fail

is that they throw themselves

immediately into the activity of

writing without realizing it is the

forethought, analysis and preparation

that determine the quality of the

finished product

Day, A. (2007) How to Get Research

Published in Journals. Burlington, VT.:

Ashgate. P. 9

Page 17: Writing for academic publishing in Nursing

Outlining/Structuring

• There are different ways to structure articles• Study the structure of articles in your target

journal• Model articles on other articles that work well

(template)• Different structures can achieve the same

results ways• Be aware of your audience

Page 18: Writing for academic publishing in Nursing

Title• Stimulate reader’s interest• Working title/final title• Final title should summarise the main idea of the

manuscript• Attract and inform the reader• Stand out• Be accurate• Be fully explanatory when standing alone• Facilitate indexing and retrieval (avoid using abbreviations)• Suggested length no more than 12 words (APA Publications

Manual)

For more on titles consultHartley, J. (2008) Academic Writing and Publishing: A practical handbook. London: Routledge, p. 23-27

Page 19: Writing for academic publishing in Nursing

Author’s Name & Institutional Affiliation

• Use the same form throughout your career• Omit all titles and degrees (e.g. Dr., PhD)• Where the is more than one author, names

should appear in the order of their contributions

• Institutional affiliation should appear under the author’s name

• Provide an e-mail address for correspondence

Page 20: Writing for academic publishing in Nursing

Abstract

• Generally only required with a peer-reviewed

article

• Two types – informative and structured

• Synopsis – Distils essence

• Length determined by journal – typically range

from 150 to 300 words

Page 21: Writing for academic publishing in Nursing

Structured Abstract

04/13/2023 21

• Purpose • Design• Setting• Subjects• Intervention• Measures• Results• Conclusions

Page 22: Writing for academic publishing in Nursing

Keywords

• Indexing terms• The way your article will be retrieved by

databases/search engines etc.• Avoid unnecessary prepositions especially in and of -

use library marketing rather than marketing of library • What terms do you use to do searches on this topic?

Page 23: Writing for academic publishing in Nursing

Introduction

• Introduces the substantive content of the paper

• Tells why this issue/problem is important

• Sets the scene• States the purpose• States the scope• States how issue is

addressed

• Explains how this work relates to previous work in this area

• Usually starts from the general and progresses to the specific

• Generally quite brief - no more that a sixth of the total article length

Page 24: Writing for academic publishing in Nursing

Literature review• Tells what others have

found on the topic• Provides a context from

which to illustrate how the work documented in the rest of the paper extends or advances understanding and knowledge

• Demonstrates that the author is familiar with thinking on a topic and understands where their work fits

• Highly selective and specific, referring to other pieces of work most relevant to the argument being made

• Link your findings and conclusions back to the literature review

Page 25: Writing for academic publishing in Nursing

Methods

• Describes how the study was conducted/how research was carried out

• Different types of studies have different methodologies

• Subsections where relevant e.g. Participant characteristics, sampling procedures, research design

Page 26: Writing for academic publishing in Nursing

Results

• Summary of collected data• Analysis of data stating findings and how they are

being interpretedWhere required should supplement the argument made with evidence e.g. statistics, tables, charts, maps, or quotes

Page 27: Writing for academic publishing in Nursing

Discussion

• Examine, interpret and qualify results• Draw conclusions and inferences from results• Emphasize any theoretical or practical consequences • Sometimes combined with results section if relatively

brief and straightforward• Reaffirm how the research advances understanding and

knowledge• Acknowledge the limitations of research• Outlines how future studies could build on and extend

the research and argument reported

Page 28: Writing for academic publishing in Nursing

Acknowledgements, References, Footnotes,Tables & Figures

References • Follow journal guidelines • Complete• Accurate

Footnotes• Provide additional content

TablesFigures

Page 29: Writing for academic publishing in Nursing

On Writing

If you’re clear in your mind about what you are going to paint, there is no point in painting it (Picasso)

I have to start to write to have ideas (Françoise Sagan)

Writing is a process of discovery. Sometimes you don't know what you know. You may know it but have no idea how it fits together (Alice Walker)

04/13/2023 29

Page 30: Writing for academic publishing in Nursing

Writing

• To begin writing you have to begin writing

• Writing generates ideas• Don’t look for

perfection, just write• Give yourself

permission to write badly

• All writing is rewriting• Good writing can be

learned

I just put down any sort of rubbish,” a celebrated critic once remarked about his first attempts. And putting down rubbish is good advice…the truth is that once a sentence is lying on the page, it is often shatteringly clear what is right and what is wrong with it. Put it down, and go on putting more of it down. Everything can be mended later

Watson, George (1987) Writing a thesis: a guide to long essays and dissertations. London: Longman, p. 39

Page 31: Writing for academic publishing in Nursing

Writing

• Can start at any point, but generally not conclusion• Scientists often write the results section first• Pick a structure to work with• Structure• Narrative /Storytelling• A story has a theme, movement, flow• Something happens/changes• Perhaps try to write your piece from start to finish

before beginning editing

Page 32: Writing for academic publishing in Nursing

Verbs

• Use verbs rather than their noun equivalents– Discusses rather than provides a discussion of

• Active versus passive verbs• Don’t bury the main verb – should be close to

subject• Use strong verbs

Page 33: Writing for academic publishing in Nursing

Verbs

• Study verbs in articles that you think are well written

Addresses, argues, asks, concludes, covers, demonstrates, describes, discusses, elucidates, enhances, evaluates, examines, expands, explains, explores, identifies, maps, outlines, presents, proposes, reports, reviews, shows, suggests, summarises, surveys, synthesizes, touches on

Page 34: Writing for academic publishing in Nursing

Tone

• tense • first or third person• Sentences • Logical movement from sentence to sentence• Paragraphs• Signposts

Page 35: Writing for academic publishing in Nursing

Language

• Cut unnecessary words and phrases• Delete unnecessary jargon and acronyms• Delete repetitive words• Omit unnecessary prepositions – that, on• Delete unnecessary adjectives– Helpful tips, terrible tragedy

• Delete unnecessary adverbs – very, really, quite, basically, generally,

Page 36: Writing for academic publishing in Nursing

Positive Language

• Use positive rather than negative constructions– The nursing team did not believe the drug was

harmful– The nursing team believed the drug was safe– Not important/Unimportant– Did not remember/Forgot

Page 37: Writing for academic publishing in Nursing

Concise Language

• A majority of• Due to the fact that

• At the present time• Are of the same

opinion• Gave rise to

• Most• Because• Now• Agree• Caused

Page 38: Writing for academic publishing in Nursing

Drafting and Redrafting

• All writing is rewriting• Draft and redraft• Number, date and save drafts• Refer back to your abstract• Ask a critical colleague to read• Revise title, abstract & article• Check references against journal guidelines

Page 39: Writing for academic publishing in Nursing

Drafting and Redrafting

• When finished put aside for a period then reread

• Spell check• Date and File preprint (pre-refereeing)• Let go• If you have already sent a query e-mail to the

editor refer to that in your submission

Page 40: Writing for academic publishing in Nursing

Submission

• Professional Journal – editor • Academic Journal – peer-review• Usually double blind peer review– Accept as is– Accept with revisions– Revise and resubmit– Reject

Note: some content in academic journals may not be peer reviewed e.g. book reviews, editorial content, some case studies

Page 41: Writing for academic publishing in Nursing

Peer review • Reply to editor indicating what you are going to do• Make changes as quickly as possible• Reread• Resubmit outlining what you have done• If you don’t take particular suggestions on board

explain why• Keep postprint (post refereering)

Page 42: Writing for academic publishing in Nursing

Becoming a better writer

• Read - first for story then for style and structure• Imitate • Write (keep a notebook of practice, ideas etc)• Describe, reflect, evaluate• Stop waiting for inspiration and a good time to

write • Talk/Network• Be strategic – Have a plan – look for

links/connections in what you do

Page 43: Writing for academic publishing in Nursing

Becoming a better writer

• Good writing communicates an idea clearly• Takes time, revision and editing• Cut ruthlessly• Set realistic goals• Give and look for peer support• Consider everything you do as potential

material for a presentation/paper• Develop a culture of celebration around

publication/presentation

Page 44: Writing for academic publishing in Nursing

Reading

• Holland, K. & Watson, R. (2012)Writing for Publication in Nursing and Healthcare: Getting it RightOxford: Wiley/BlackwellOermann, M.H. & Hays, J.C. (2011)Writing for Publication in Nursing2nd. Ed. New York: Springer