Abbreviations
| - Use abbreviations sparingly and only if commonly known to trauma clinicians, like ED, ICU, OR, ISS, LOS, MOI,
and repeated at least four times.
- Define upon first use.
- Do not use abbreviations in titles, and avoid use in the abstract.
- Do not begin a sentence with an abbreviation (reword or spell out).
- Avoid using acronyms (abbreviations of phrases) created to fit your topic, e.g., trauma triage response nurse (TTRN). The space they save does not justify the frustration they cause readers having to memorize. If an acronym significantly adds clarity and ease of reading, one acronym will be allowed per manuscript.
- Do not use periods in abbreviations (except U.S.).
- Spell out the United States when used as a noun or location (e.g. “In the United States, …)
- Abbreviate U.S. when used as an adjective (e.g. “The U.S. census bureau reports...”)
|
Acknowledgements
| - List acknowledgments on the Title Page to recognize those who helped with the article but who do not meet authorship criteria. (See also Title Page).
|
| APA Format | |
Apps
| - Cite and reference all apps. See the Reference section.
|
Anonymity
| - See masking (previously known as blinding).
|
Authorship
|
Per
ICMJE guidelines, to be eligible for authorship, all authors must meet
four criteria: - Substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data for the work; AND
- Drafting the work or revising it critically for important intellectual content; AND
- Final approval of the version to be published; AND
- Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work, ensuring that questions related to the accuracy, integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.
|
Artificial Intelligence (e.g. Chat GPT)
| - Report artificial intelligence use under Acknowledgments on the Title page.
- Briefly describe how AI was used in the manuscript.
- State the AI software name, version, extension numbers, manufacturer, and location.
- This requirement does not apply to grammar checking or spelling software.
- Do not list artificial intelligence as an author.
- Do not cite and reference artificial intelligence software. (See also Software)
|
| Bias Reduction | - Follow these
general principles for writing about all people and their personal characteristics without bias.
|
Blinding
| |
Callout
| - Every table and figure should be referred to within the text by its corresponding number in the order of appearance. E.g., “As shown in Table 1; Figure 2 shows.; (see Figure 1).
|
Capitalization
| - APA is a “down style,” meaning that words are lowercase unless otherwise noted.
Capitalize: - Racial and ethnic groups: Black, Hispanic, White
- Tests or scales: Injury Severity Score, Glasgow Coma Scale
- Nouns followed by numbers or letters: Figure 3, Days 7-9, Part A
- Trauma center level with roman number: Level I, Level II, or Level III trauma center.
- Proper nouns (names of people, places, things, organizations, and groups) such as John Brill Company, Golden Gate Bridge, Northern California, Supreme Court, Ford F-150, Atlantic Ocean, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, Green Bay Packers, Democrats
- Titles
preceding a name: I worked for President Taft.” Not: William Taft was president.
- Directions used to describe sections of the country, but not compass directions. Example: The Jones moved to the Southwest. Jim’s house is two miles north of Dayton.
- Days of the week, months of the year, and holidays, but not seasons. Examples: Halloween, October, Friday, winter, spring, and fall.
DO NOT capitalize:
- Hospital departments, floors, or units
- Titles or positions: respiratory therapist, nurse, surgeon
- Diagnosis: diabetes, subdural hematoma
- Procedures: intramedullary nailing, exploratory laparotomy
- Treatments or protocols: massive blood transfusion protocol
- Names of methods, models, frameworks, or theories (except for proper nouns)
|
Case
| -
Sentence case: Capitalize the first letter of the first word of a sentence.
-
Title case: Capitalize the first letter of each word in a sentence except minor words (less than four letters, e.g. at, in or, the, and. E.g. The Lord of the Flies.)
|
Causal
Language | - Use causal language (terms such as effect and efficacy) only for randomized clinical trials (RCT). For all other study designs, methods and results should be described in terms of association or correlation and should avoid cause-and-effect wording.
|
Chapt GPT
| See Artificial Intelligence
|
Checks
| See also Grammar Checking; and Manuscript Check
|
| Citations | - Use APA 7th edition citation format.
- Cite primary sources (original research). Avoid secondary sources (general review articles, magazine articles, textbooks, websites, etc.).
- Limit the number of citations to 3 or fewer to support a point.
- Cite the most current, high-quality, peer-reviewed literature.
- Roughly 80% of all cited references should be from peer-reviewed primary literature from the preceding 3–5 years. Exception: topics with minimal literature support.
- Include seminal (landmark) works as appropriate.
- Ensure all citations are in the reference list (and vice versa).
- List citations alphabetically separated by semicolons.
- Avoid stating the author's name at the start and end of the sentence, E.g., ‘Smith & colleagues studied a similar database using crash scene data (Smith et al., 2020).’, instead use parenthetical citations (end of a sentence), which is preferred for concise writing.
| APA 7th Ed Citation Format | |
# Authors |
Narrative Citation
Beginning or Within Sentence |
Parenthetical Citation
Mid or End of Sentence | | 1 author | Luna (2020) | (Luna, 2020) | | 2 authors | Luna and Chin (2020) | (Luna & Chin, 2020) | >=3 authors
| Martin et al. (2020) | (Martin et al., 2020) | Group
1st citation
| American Trauma Society (ATS, 2020)
| (American Trauma Society [ATS], 2020)
|
|
Citations-Self
| - Avoid excessive or inappropriate self-citation or citation among author groups which can be considered a form of misconduct called citation manipulation.
-
JTN follows COPE guidance on citation manipulation.
|
Clinical Trials
| - See also: Trial Registration and Preregistration Requirements.
|
Color
| - Color will be used in the online journal format but not in print.
|
Conference Presentations
| - JTN publishes previously presented conference abstracts, but authors should inform the Editor in the cover letter and on the title page of the article submission. Indicate the conference name, date, location, and abstract citation (if previously published), so there is no confusion, as plagiarism detection software will pick up previously published material.
|
Conflicts of
Interest Disclosure
| - Authors must provide a conflict-of-interest statement upon article submission.
- List all authors' 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 be explicitly stated. (See also Title Page; ‘Conflict of Interest’ in the Editorial Policies section).
|
Consistency
| Terminology - Use consistent terminology; once a term is used, do not change it. E.g., If you start with advanced practitioner, do not later switch to midlevel practitioner.
- Report comparison group results in consistent order.
- E.g., Always report the experimental group first compared to the control group result, or always report the postimplementation result first compared to the preimplementation results (or vice versa), but stay consistent.
|
| Continuing Education Credits [Nurs Continuing Professional Dev] | - Nursing Continuing Professional Development (NCPD) uses an outcomes-based performance on posttest questions - CE model.
- Two articles are selected per Journal issue to provide NCPD credits for nurses.
- Article types favored for NCPD selection include:
- research, systematic reviews, quality improvement, concise reviews, and articles that include figures, lists, sidebars, charts, and tables
|
Copyright Symbol
| - Copyright or trademark symbols are not used in academic papers.
|
Copyright Transfer Agreement (CTA) Forms
| - All authors must submit a signed copyright transfer agreement form before articles can be accepted for publication.
- The forms are automatically emailed to each author upon article submission.
|
| Cover Letter | - Include a brief cover letter to the editor that includes the following:
- Confirm that the manuscript has been submitted solely to JTN and no other journal.
- Confirm that it has not been previously published.
- Confirm that authors are responsible for all aspects of the research and writing process, including taking final responsibility for all aspects of the paper.
- Indicate if the manuscript material was previously presented at a conference.
- State if the submission has been deposited as a preprint.
- Provide the preprint server name and DOI number.
- Notify if there is any significant overlap with previously published work and explain.
|
| Data Timeliness | - Research should be timely and based on data collected as recently as possible.
- The final data collection date should be no more than five years before manuscript submission.
- Survey data should be current within the most recent three years.
- Manuscripts in which data are more than five years old will receive lower priority.
|
| Devices | -
JTN does not publish articles promoting company devices.
- Rather than emphasizing a specific device, the article should address the generic device category.
- Example, rather than stating, "Evaluation of Chrisofix Chest Orthosis in Rib Fractures," state "Evaluation of Chest Orthosis in Rib Fractures."
- Company devices should be identified only once-upon first mention.
- State device name (model or version number, company name, city, state, or country).
- Do not cite and reference devices.
- Do not include trademark or copyright symbols in the text.
|
Dictionary
| |
Drugs
| - State drug names using generic names expressed in lowercase.
- State the brand name once only, upon first use, E.g., furosemide (Lasix).
- After that, use generic name only.
|
Editing
| - Manuscripts will undergo editing during the review and production stages.
- Editing includes (grammar, punctuation, spelling, and terminology) checks and organization (rephrasing and restructuring) to conform to the
JTN formatting.
|
English
| - Use either American or British English, but do not mix the two.
|
Ethics
| - See Institutional Review Board
|
Figures
| Figures Purpose - Figures include graphs, charts, drawings, maps, plots, and images (photographs).
- Figures highlight data patterns and show comparisons better than tables.
- Figures should be self-explanatory and supplement, not duplicate, the text.
- Limit the total number of figures and tables to 5.
- Submit extra figures as Supplemental Digital Content.
- See also (Flow Diagram)
Figures Placement -
Do not embed figures within the text (the publishing staff determines this).
- Submit figures in WORD, PowerPoint, TIFF, or JPEG format with at least 300 PPI.
- Place each figure on a separate page.
- Group all figures in a separate file called Figures and place them in the main manuscript at the end, following the tables.
Figure Titles
- Number all figures even when there is only one.
- Cite each figure within the text in the order first mentioned.
- Ensure that there is a corresponding callout within the text for each figure.
- Label each figure with a concise, descriptive title (limit 12 words).
Figure Components
- Label each axis on a statistical graph with units of measurement
- Increase white space by removing background lines and shading
- Place items that are to be compared next to each other in similar size or scale
- Submit multi-part figures parts (A, B, C) (limit four parts) as one figure
- Define all symbols, indicators, line styles, and abbreviations in the Note beneath, even if previously defined in the text
- Ensure copyright attribution to all or parts of a figure being reprinted or adapted and submit a copy of the written permission with the manuscript
- For additional instructions, see
5 Steps to Creating Digital Artwork.
|
File
Formats
| - Submit manuscript text and tables in MS Word ONLY (.doc or .docx file)
- Submit figures in MS Word, PowerPoint, TIFF, or JPG file format with a minimum of 300 dpi
-
Do not submit PDFs or spreadsheets
|
Flow Diagram
| - Flow diagrams are figures showing the number of patients included-excluded at each step.
- The flow diagram is often Figure 1 of a manuscript.
- Create the flow diagram in Word or PowerPoint or adapt the example templates shown here.
|
Font & Typeface
| - Use 12 pt Times New Roman
|
Formatting
| - See Overview Chart Formatting DirectionsFormat papers using APA 7th Edition.
- Where differences exist, JTN Author Instructions take precedence over APA format, exemplar articles, reviewer suggestions, and author preference.
- Use 12 pt Times New Roman, with one-inch margins, right margin unjustified (ragged).
- Double-space and indent all paragraphs (.05 inch) except in Abstract.
- Use one space after periods.
- Center, bold, and capitalize main headings.
- Number pages in the top right corner starting with Abstract as page one.
- Express p values in lowercase italics without hyphen or leading zero (p = .03), limit 2-3 spaces
- Word count includes abstract and text but excludes references, tables, and figures.
- Do not insert line numbering.
- Avoid abbreviations unless common to readers like (ED, ICU, LOS) and used at least 4 times.
- Do not start sentences with an abbreviation or number; define abbreviations on first use.
- Avoid acronyms of your topic or limit to one per manuscript.
- Do not embed tables and figures within the text.
- Include callouts, e.g. (see Figure 1), to each figure and table within the text.
- Submit manuscript and tables in MS Word, not PDF.
- Submit figures as Word, PowerPoint, TIFF, or JPEG.
- Mask (dark highlighting) author and institution names on pages after the title page.
- Submit the cover letter and title page separately from the manuscript file.
- Indicate artificial intelligence (AI) technology use (i.e., Chat GPT) in the acknowledgment section of the title page.
|
Gap Statement
| Definition- The gap statement highlights an existing knowledge gap or deficiency in the literature related to the topic. It identifies a specific area where further research is needed to address unanswered questions, unresolved issues, or gaps in understanding.
Express
- Gap statements are often signaled by the words [yet, but, however]
Example Gap Statements: - “Yet, limited research has been conducted on...”
- “Yet, previous studies have focused only on adult trauma, leaving a gap in our understanding of the effects on the pediatric trauma population.”
- “But, despite extensive research in the field, little is known about...”
- “Yet previous studies were limited to single-center studies”
- “However, there is a lack of evidence regarding...”
- “Yet, no studies to date have examined the relationship between X and Y.”
- “However, existing literature does not adequately address the issue of...”
- “Yet, previous research has not sufficiently explored the impact of...”
- “Yet, previous research is limited by weak study designs with low participant numbers”
- “However, while some studies have investigated X, there is a dearth of research on...”
- “Yet, further investigation is needed to understand the mechanisms underlying...”
- “But the current literature lacks a comprehensive analysis of...”
|
Global
| |
Grammar Checking
| Use grammar-checking software before article submission to help identify and correct simple grammar and punctuation errors. |
Heading
Levels | Heading Levels
- Level 1. All caps, bold, centered.
- Level 2. Title case, bold, flush left.
- Level 3. Title case, bold, flush left, in italics.
- JTN Primary Headings:
- Express the
JTN headings: BACKGROUND, OBJECTIVE, METHODS, RESULTS, DISCUSSION, LIMITATIONS, CONCLUSION as Level 1 headings
- JTN Subheadings:
-
JTN encourages the use of subheadings to group material logically
- Use succinct, short, clear subheadings expressed as level 2 and 3 headings.
|
Hospital
Naming and Context
| - State the hospital name only once in the manuscript in the IRB statement.
- Describe the trauma center type, level, and geographic region to provide context, rather than naming the hospital. Providing context is more meaningful to a global audience.
- Describe geographic regions as West, Midwest, Northeast, Southwest, and Southeast.
- Express trauma center level as “Level I-V” (capitalize the L and use Roman numerals)
- Example: "“…admissions to an urban, academic, Midwestern U.S. Level I trauma center”
- Additional context to consider includes bed size, annual admission volume, etc.
- Include pertinent information that adds context to your article topic
- E.g., In an article on trauma activations, consider including the number of first and second-tier Activations the center receives monthly or annually.
- E. g., In an article on severe TBI, consider including the total number of Head AIS > 3 injuries the center admits annually.
|
Inclusive
Language
| - Inclusive language acknowledges diversity and conveys respect to all people.
- Use person-first language when referring to conditions, disease, disabilities, and abilities (e.g., use patients with diabetes rather than diabetics, use patients with alcohol use disorder rather than alcoholics, use patients with TBI rather than TBI’s).
- Use sex-neutral terms (clinicians, participants, providers, patients), avoid he/she
- Report sex or gender for all study outcomes.
- Report race & ethnicity with other sociodemographic factors; avoid biological explanations for disparities. Recognize the intersectionality of factors associated with disparities.
- Identify participant race and ethnicity classifications used, how they were determined, and by whom in the Methods Section.
- List race and ethnicity categories in alphabetical order instead of by prevalence, but list “other” and “unknown” last
- Use person-first language, race, and ethnicity should be used as modifiers (e.g., Asian patients; White populations), not nouns (e.g., Asians; Whites)
- Compound racial and ethnic terms should not be hyphenated (e.g., Asian American)
- Use person-first language when referring to conditions, diseases, disabilities, and abilities (e.g., “patients with diabetes” is preferred to “diabetics”).
|
| | Terms to Avoid | Suggested Alternative | | Addict | Person with a substance use disorder | | Committed suicide | Died by suicide | | Caucasian | White | | Elderly, seniors, aged | Older adults | | Hearing impaired | Deaf, people with hearing loss | | Homeless | Person without housing | | Hispanic, Latin, Latinx | Use the term the study population uses. | | Indigenous | Indigenous people, Indigenous nation | | Gender | Use gender for identity or psychosocial/cultural factors | | Mentally challenged | Person living with a disability | | Mentally ill | Person living with a mental illness | | Minority, Minorities | It should not be used as a noun but with another descriptor (e.g., racial, and ethnic minority groups"). | | Mixed race | Avoid unless this term was used in data collection; multiracial or multiethnic is preferred. | | Non-White | Specific groups should be indicated. | | Other | State why “other" was used (e.g., numbers in some categories were too small for meaningful comparative analysis) | | Poor people | Low-income | | Pregnant women, | Pregnant patients | | Race/ethnicity | Express as “race and ethnicity." | | Sex | Use sex for biological factors. | | Special needs | Person with a disability | | Survivor | Person who has experienced trauma | | Underserved | Refers to health disparities among groups | | Underrepresented | Refers to a disproportionately low number of individuals in a program | | Victim | Avoid describing patients as victims or terms implying helplessness. Person who has experienced xxx |
|
Indexing
| -
Journal of Trauma Nursing is indexed in CINAHL, International Nursing Index, and
- Academic OneFile, EBSCO A-Z, EMBASE, Ex Libris, HINARI, Journal Guide, MEDLINE, ProQuest, PubMed, Science Citation Index Expanded, Scopus, Social Sciences.
|
Inquiries
| - The editor welcomes author inquiries.
- Send to Judy Mikhail, PhD, MBA, RN, Editor-in-Chief at [email protected].
|
International
| -
JTN is an international scholarly journal that features articles using current, global trauma literature relevant to high-functioning trauma centers.
- Authors should explain policies, practices, and terms specific to a particular country and make efforts to enhance the paper's relevance to an international trauma audience.
- The literature review, discussion, interpretation, and comparison of findings should include relevant global references.
|
Institutional
Review Board
(IRB)
| - Human subject studies (research and quality improvement) require an institutional review board (IRB) or ethics committee statement in the article that includes: the full name of the institution granting the approval and the IRB number.
- It is not the author’s or other entities’ decision to determine the need for an IRB.
- It is a requirement to publish in JTN.
- The IRB determination must come from the institution’s regulatory committee designated to review and monitor human subject’s research.
- Place the IRB statement in the Study Design paragraph at the start of the Methods section.
- Submit the IRB letter to Editorial Manager when submitting the article. The IRB letter is kept separate from the manuscript when being sent for peer review to protect author anonymity.
|
Key Points
| - List 3-5 bullet points that capture the key, novel aspects of your study. What did your study contribute to the literature? The bulleted points will be displayed in a callout box within the article for impact.
- State what is currently known about the problem
- State the gap
- State the study's key findings
- State the points concisely (max 100 characters each)
- Points may be stated as sentence fragments or phrases
- Place Key Points on its own page, following the references.
|
| Keywords | - List 5 to 7 keywords or phrases that best describe or capture the manuscript's content.
- Keywords are the terms people would use to search for your study or similar studies on the same topic.
- Only include abbreviations that are firmly established in the field, e.g. (ATLS, SBIRT, PTSD), but in addition, also spell out the terms.
- Review similar articles to identify commonly used keywords.
- Consider keywords from the
Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) suggested by the National Library of Medicine to index PubMed.
- List the keywords at the bottom of the abstract, in alphabetical order, in title case, separated by commas, North American spelling preferred.
|
| Language Editing Services | -
JTN requires that manuscripts meet the basic standards of the English language.
- Use either American or British English, but do not mix them.
- In partnership with
Editage, WoltersKluwer offers language editing services for a cost to non-native English speakers to help prepare manuscripts. There are also many language editing services available on the internet.
|
Length
| - Manuscript length or (word count) includes the abstract and main text and excludes the cover letter, title page, references, tables, and figures.
- Accepted length varies by article type. (See Overview Chart).
|
Lists
| - Lists are used to draw attention when displayingthree or more items separated by commas, semicolons, letters, and numbers:
Lettered List
- Use lowercase letters in parentheses for lists that are
phrases.
- E.g., Patients are listed by (a) family income, (b) education level, and (c) household income
Numbered List
Use a numbered list to display
sentences in a series:
1. How are psychologists trained to be culturally competent? 2. How are training outcomes assessed? 3. When are the outcomes assessed? |
Manuscript Check
| - Before submitting, we recommend you run the manuscript through the PaperPal Preflight service, which instantly checks your manuscript and helps you address the most common errors and omissions before submitting your manuscript to JTN.
|
Manuscript Order
| Abstract -new page Manuscript Sections (1-7) Continuously Connected:
1. BACKGROUND 2. OBJECTIVE 3. METHODS 4. RESULTS 5. DISCUSSION 6. LIMITATIONS 7. CONCLUSIONS
8. REFERENCES -new page 9. Key Points -new page 10. Tables -new page each 11. Figures -new page each 12. Supplemental Digital Content -new page each |
Margins
| - Use one-inch margins on all sides.
- Align the left margin evenly using justified margins.
- Align the right margin unevenly (jagged) using unjustified margins.
|
Masking (formerly known as blinding)
| - Conceal (with dark highlighting) any mention of authors or institutions
after the title page, including in the methods, IRB statement, or those attached to tools, surveys, etc.
- Submit the cover letter and title page separately from the manuscript file; they are kept separate from the manuscript and not sent to the reviewers to ensure author anonymity.
- Please note that articles previously displayed as prepints preclude (masking), negating the ability to provide double anonymous peer review.
|
Missing Data
| - Articles should address missing data.
- Describe the amount and pattern of missingness and how it was dealt with statistically.
Examples
- Missing data were considered missing randomly, ranging from 1.7% for systolic blood pressure to 11.2% for insurance status.
- Multiple imputations addressed the missing data with five iterations.
- Continuous variables were standardized using Z-score standardization before imputation.
|
Numbers
|
Formatting
Express in number formats:
- Preceding a unit of measurement:
E.g., "2 mgs of morphine," "…with 3.5 cm of" E.g., "divided by 5", "3 times as," "more than 5%,” "0.33 of." - Representing time, dates, ages, scores, or points on a scale:
E.g., “12:30 a.m., 3 days, 2-year-olds, ages 5-25 years, 4 on a 7-point scale.” Hyphen Use
- Use hyphens to express compound numbers: E.g., “twenty-one.”
- Use hyphens with numbers when used as a compound adjective describing a noun:
- E.g., “Nurses work 12-hour shifts,” “he gave a 5-mg dose.”
Range
- Do not repeat measurement units when expressing a range: E.g. (90-100 mmHg) or multiple amounts, E.g., 0.3, 1.5, and 3.0 mg/dl.
- Do repeat the % symbol when reporting a range of percentages: E.g., 18%-20%
|
| Objective (Also known as Aim or Purpose)
| The study objective is a concise one sentence statement outlining the study's specific goal (purpose) (what the study intends to achieve). The objective is typically expressed as verb → intervention → outcome → population. - Verb [assess, analyze, compare, describe, determine, evaluate, examine, identify]
- Intervention, Program, Initiative
- Outcome [complication, mortality, QoL, LOS, time to intervention, guideline adherence]
Example objectives: - To determine the association between obesity and infectious complications in adult trauma patients.
- To examine a nurse-driven protocol to identify, assess, and treat patients with head injury on anticoagulation on time to physician evaluation, head CT, and anticoagulation reversal.
- To evaluate the effect of an EMR computerized screening tool on identifying trauma patients at risk for substance abuse.
- To assess the Matter of Balance program on fall risk in community-dwelling older persons.
- To investigate the effectiveness of a multicomponent delirium prevention protocol on pain, functional status, sleep quality, and delirium in older patients with hip fractures.
- To compare nursing workload characteristics between trauma and nontrauma nursing units.
- To investigate social media usage on adolescents' mental health and well-being.
- To explore the relationship between nurse satisfaction and hospital Magnet status.
- To determine the effect of an early mobility program on trauma patient ICU LOS.
- To examine the effectiveness of a mindfulness-based intervention in reducing stress levels among trauma nurses.
- To assess the impact of a concussion screening tool on concussion screening adherence.
- To evaluate the effect of a mandatory electronic medical record tool on SBIRT screening compliance in adolescent trauma patients.
- To determine whether mobile phone-based smoking cessation interventions increase smoking cessation in people who smoke and want to quit.
|
ORCID
| - List all author ORCID numbers on the Title page.
- ORICID is a numerical identifier (e.g., 0000-0001-6479-5330) assigned to each author for a lifetime that distinguishes authors from one another with similar names or name changes.
- JTN request that all authors submit their ORCID number upon manuscript submission.
- Authors can add their ORCID to their Editorial Manager account. Log into Editorial Manager, select ‘Update My Information,’ ‘Personal Information,’ enter ORCID ID and submit.
|
Order and Spraration of Manuscript Pages
| Abstract -new page
Manuscript Sections (1-7) Continuously Connected
1. BACKGROUND 2. OBJECTIVE 3. METHODS 4. RESULTS 5. DISCUSSION 6. LIMITATIONS
7. CONCLUSIONS
8. REFERENCES -new page 9. Key Points -new page 10. Tables -new page each 11. Figures -new page each 12. Supplemental Digital Content -new page each
|
Page Count
| |
Page Numbers
| - Insert page numbers in the header, top right, starting with Abstract as page 1.
|
| Paperpal Preflight Precheck
| - Paperpal Preflight is a service that instantly checks your manuscript for common errors and omissions allowing you to correct them before you submit your manuscript.
- Preflight helps authors correct technical issues and improve language quality.
- We encourage authors to use the service before submitting their manuscript.
- JTN PaperPal Preflight Link
|
Paragraphs
| - Indent all paragraphs (tab 0.5) except in the abstract.
- Center each paragraph around one main idea or a single topic.
- Aim for 3-6 sentences per paragraph or 2-3 paragraphs per double-spaced page.
|
Paragraphs
| - Indent all paragraphs (tab 0.5) except in the abstract.
- Center each paragraph around one main idea or a single topic.
- Aim for 3-6 sentences per paragraph or 2-3 paragraphs per double-spaced page.
|
Paraphrasing
| - Paraphrase and cite relevant, timely, primary research to support claims.
- Paraphrasing restates another's idea (or your own prior published idea) in your own words.
- Paraphrasing provides credit to the source with a citation and reference.
- Cite the paraphrased work on first mention. Once cited, it is unnecessary to repeat the citation for every sentence if the writing clarifies that the same work continues to be paraphrased. If paraphrasing continues into a new paragraph, reintroduce the citation.
- Cite rather than quote. Quotes are rarely used in academic writing.
|
| Patient Confidentiality
| - De-identify all patient information in the manuscript, including figures and tables, to avoid compromising patient privacy and confidentiality.
- Only those details essential for understanding and interpreting a specific case report or case series should be provided.
|
Permissions
| - Permission is required to use copyrighted material from sources (including the Web).
- The author is responsible for providing written permission for figures or tables borrowed, modified, or adapted from copyrighted materials (including the author's own previous work).
- Submit a copy of the written permission with the manuscript.
|
Person
| |
Personal Communications
| - Personal communications include emails, text messages, online chats, personal interviews, telephone conversations, listserv discussion groups, or bulletin boards.
- Cite personal communications in the text but do not include them in the reference list.
- Include the author's first initials, last name, personal communication, month, date, and year—E.g., (B. Smith, personal communication, April 29, 2022).
|
Photographic
Consent
| - Photographs of identifiable persons, whether patients or staff, must be accompanied by signed releases, such as the following: "I hereby give [author's name] permission to use the photograph of [subject's name] in the Journal of Trauma Nursing.
|
PICO
| - P=patient, population, participant
- I=intervention, program, initiative
- C=comparison (if applicable)
|
Plagiarism
| - All manuscripts undergo a review with plagiarism-detection software before acceptance.
- Paraphrase (restate in your own words) and cite original authors to give credit to prevent plagiarism. This includes your own previously published work to avoid self-plagiarism.
- Check your manuscript before you submit using commercially available software programs. Search for plagiarism checker software for examples.
|
Punctuation
| - Colon. Use colons to elaborate “Carl is talented: he plays violin and banjo.” Use colons to introduce a list, “I have three brothers: David, Kent, and Jacob,” but not for lists already introduced by verbs or prepositions (like, or such as).
- Comma. Use commas to separate ideas within a sentence.
- En Dash. Used to show a range (Jan–Feb) or (1–100).
- Em Dash. Longer dash is used to separate or amplify. “The baby—without any help—got up.”
- En Dash. Use en (short) dash in ranges 2-5%, and compound adjectives “blue-green algae.”
- Find dashes in MS Word at [insert → symbols → more symbols → special characters]
- Hyphen. Use hyphens sparingly and only as suggested by APA and Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary. Avoid MS Word or Grammarly’s auto-suggested hyphen use. When in doubt, express the word without a hyphen.
- Prefixes & Suffixes. Express words formed with prefixes and suffixes as one word. E.g., preexisting, pretest, posttest, pre- and postintervention groups, pregroup, postgroup, preexperimental, postexperimental. Exceptions: cross-sectional, meta-analysis, one-group pretest-posttest design, quasi-experimental.
- Italics. Use italics to emphasize a word, do not use quotation marks
- Period. Use one space after the period at the end of a sentence.
- Semicolon. Use semicolons to separate lengthy lists, between related but distinct thoughts, or between independent clauses joined by: (besides, finally, however, indeed, then, or therefore). “Patients read the page; however, they struggled with recall.”
- Slash. Avoid slash signs (/) in formal writing (except in equations); instead, reword as “or.”
|
Preferred
Terminology
| - Use advanced practitioners rather than midlevel practitioners
- Use a description of the hospital rather than the hospital name, e.g., “...admissions from an urban, academic, 600 bed, Midwestern U.S. Level I trauma center.”
- Use emergency department rather than emergency room
- Use evidence-based rather than evidenced-based
- Use health care rather than healthcare or health-care
- Use Level I-V [capital L, roman numeral] trauma center rather than: level one or level 1
- Use motor vehicle crash, collision, or road traffic injuries rather than accident
- Use older persons rather than the elderly.
|
Quotes
| - Quotes are rarely used in academic writing. Paraphrase and cite rather than quote.
|
Race and
Ethnic Identity
| - Define the source of the race and ethnicity classifications used (e.g., self-report or selection, investigator observed, database, electronic health record, survey instrument).
- Report specific racial and ethnic categories rather than collective terms when possible.
- Define groups labeled as "other."
- List categories in alphabetical order in text and tables.
- Use caution reporting race and ethnicity in isolation without including other acknowledged factors contributing to health, such as poverty level, single-headed household, school funding, neighborhood segregation, socioeconomic status, etc.
|
References
| How Current- Roughly 80% of cited references should be from the preceding 3–5 years.
- Exceptions include seminal landmark works.
- If little has been written on the topic, it is appropriate to cite older literature.
What Type?
- Include global primary sources (original research articles) only.
- Avoid secondary sources like, books, general review articles, websites, magazine articles.
Format
- Place the reference list on a new page, following the end of the main text.
- List references alphabetically by first author's last name (do not number the references)
- Double-space & use hanging indents (first line, flush left, with subsequent lines indented).
- Express the article title in sentence case.
- Express journal names in italics, in title case, in the abbreviated format as listed in Pub Med.
- Include the URL and or DOI using the format https://doi.org/#
Government Websites
- List the most specific agency as the author (when there are multiple government agencies). List the larger agency as the publisher when it appears on the webpage only.
- Use the most specific date that is available.
- Use n.d. for date and include a retrieval date when citing work from a continuously updated website, and versions are not archived by date.
- Express the title of the work in Italics, in sentence case.
Multiple Authors
- References with 2-20 authors, use an ampersand (&) before the final author's name.
- For references with > 21 authors, include the first 19 authors' names, insert an ellipsis “…" and add the final author's name.
Large Group Authors
If authorship is attributed to a group (either solely or in addition to one or more individual authors), all group members must meet the full criteria and requirements for authorship, and all group member authors must complete copyright transfer agreements. List the individual names first, followed by “& the members of xx group" or “on behalf of the members of XX group." Example: Deeken, F., Sánchez, A., Rapp, M. A., Denkinger, M., Brefka, S., Spank, J., Bruns, C., von Arnim, C. A. F., & The PAWEL Study Group. (2021). Outcomes of a Delirium Prevention Program in Older Persons After Elective Surgery: A Stepped-Wedge Cluster Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Surgery, e216370-e216370. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamasurg.2021.6370 For articles with many authors that will not fit in the byline of a print or PDF version, a group byline will be used with the individual names of each author listed at the end of the article. All author names will be individually indexed, displayed, and easily searchable in bibliographic records such as PubMed.
Preprints
Preprint citations should include the author's name(s), title, preprint server, the Preprint ['tag,' the document version (e.g., most recent date modified), the date the preprint was cited, and the Digital Object Identifier (DOI).
Apps
State the app owner as the “author," and use the version date as the “publication date."
Example: Author rightsholder last name, first initial. (Year). App title (Version #) [Mobile app]. Publisher/App Store. URL
Data
All publicly available data used in the writing of an article should be cited in the text and reference list, whether they are data generated by the authors or other researchers.
Data citations include the author(s), title, data repository, the document version (e.g., most recent date modified), and the Digital Object Identifier (DOI).
See: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query/static/citmatch.html
See: Quick Reference Guide, APA Style 7th Edition.
See: https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/references/examples
REFERENCE EXAMPLES
Journal Article
Cahill, A., Pearcy, C., Agrawal, V., Sladek, P., & Truitt, M. S. (2017). Delirium in the ICU: What about the floor? J Trauma Nurs, 24(4), 242-244. https://doi.org/10.1097/jtn.0000000000000298
Journal Article in a Language Other Than English
Hora, E. C., & Sousa, R. M. C. (2009). Adaptação transcultural do instrumento family needs questionnaire [Cross-cultural adaptation of the instrument “Family Needs Questionnaire"]. Revista Latino Americana de Enfermagem, 17, 541–547.
Preprint Article
Fan, G., Liu, H., Yang, S., Luo, L., Wang, L., (2021). Discharge prediction of mechanically ventilated patients with spinal cord injury: A machine learning study with 1185 cases. MedRxiv, 2022.2006.2026.21259569. [Preprint]. August 04, 2022 [cited 2022 Aug 15] https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.06.26.21259432
Book
Li, G., & Baker, S. P. (Eds.). (2012). Injury Research: Theories, Methods, and Approaches. Springer.
Edited Book Chapter
Otto, M. W., Smits, J. A. J., Fitzgerald, H. E., Powers, M. B., & Baird, S. O. (2019). Anxiety sensitivity and your clinical practice. In J. A. J. Smits, M. W. Otto, M. B. Powers, & S. O. Baird (Eds.), The clinician's guide to anxiety sensitivity treatment and assessment (pp. 179–193). Elsevier Academic Press. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-813495-5.00009-
Database
National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. National violent death reporting system. http://www.cdc.gov/ViolencePrevention/NVDRS/. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Atlanta, GA. Accessed Month DD, YYYY.
Dataset
Wang G, Zhu Z, Cui S, Wang J. 2017. Data from: Glucocorticoid induces incoordination between glutamatergic and GABAergic neurons in the amygdala. Dryad Digital Repository. https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.k9q7h
Dictionary
Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Existential. In Merriam-Webster.com dictionary. Retrieved October 15, 2020, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/existentia
Government Report
Maurer, M., Dardess, P., Carman, K. L., Frazier, K., & Smeeding, L. (2012). Guide to patient and family engagement: Environmental scan report (Publication No. 12-0042-EF). American Institutes for Research, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. https://www.ahrq.gov/research/findings/final-reports/ptfamilyscan/index.htm National Commission for the Protection of Human Subjects of Biomedical and Behavioral Research. (1979). The Belmont report: Ethical principles and guidelines for the protection of human subjects of research. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. https://www.hhs.gov/ohrp/regulations-and-policy/belmont-report/read-the-belmont-report/index.html Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2014). Water-related diseases and contaminants in public water systems. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. https://www.cdc.gov/healthywater/drinking/public/water_diseases.html Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. (n.d.). Health care access and quality. Healthy People 2030. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. https://health.gov/healthypeople/objectives-and-data/browse-objectives/health-care-access-and-quality Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2017, September 15). Screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment (SBIRT). U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. https://www.samhsa.gov/sbirt International Society for Technology in Education. (n.d.). ISTE standards for students. https://www.iste.org/standards/forstudents
App
AllTrails. (2019). AllTrails: Hike, bike, and run (10.4.2) [Mobile app]. App Store. See APA common reference examples guide. |
Reporting
Guidelines
| - JTN endorses the use of www.EQUATOR-Network.org Reporting Guidelines.
- Reporting guidelines help ensure standards of quality reporting.
- Follow the reporting guideline that most closely matches your study design.
- Not all manuscripts will have a corresponding guideline.
- Submit the completed guideline with the manuscript. This means you insert the page number to the right of each item, where the item can be found in your manuscript.
- Acknowledge the use of the reporting guideline with citation in the Study Design paragraph of the Methods section. E.g., “This study was approved by the University of X Institutional Review Board, number #, and followed the STROBE reporting guideline (vonElm, 2007).”
- Clinical Practice Guidelines use AGREE
- Case Report use CARE
- Cost-Effectiveness use CHEERS
- Randomized Control Trials use CONSORT
- Protocol for Clinical Trials use SPIRIT
- Meta-analysis Observational studies use MOOSE
- Systematic Reviews use PRISMA
- Systematic Review Protocols use PRISMA-P
- Meta-Analysis use MOOSE
- Scoping Reviews use PRISMA ScR
- Statistics Reporting use SAMPL
- Quality Improvement use SQUIRE2.0
- Educational Improvement use SQUIRE-EDU
- Qualitative Studies use SRQR or COREQ
- Diagnostic - Prognostic Studies use STARD
- Implementation - StaRI
- Observational Studies use STROBE. Find STROBE checklist here
- Reporting of Interventions use TIDieR
- Non-Randomized Studies use TREND
- Integrative Reviews use Whittemore & Knafl (2005) J Adv Nur, 52(5):546
- Survey Research use CHERRIES, CROSS, or JTN Survey Design Reporting Guideline
|
Running Head
| - Insert a running head (abbreviated title) in a max of 5 words in capital letters, left aligned in the header so that it appears on every page.
- Do not list the full title and author names on any page other than the title page.
|
Sample Size
| - Small sample sizes preclude certain statistical methods, corrupt validity, and invite rejection.
- Sample size and statistical methods should be ascertained before the study is performed.
|
Sentence Case
| - Sentence case capitalizes the first letter of the first word of a sentence.
|
| Sex and Gender | - Use the term sex when reporting biological factors
- Use the term gender when reporting gender identity or psychosocial or cultural factors.
- Define the method used to obtain this information (self-reported, investigator observed or classified, or laboratory test).
- Report all main outcomes by sex (or gender, if appropriate).
|
Software
| - Do not cite & reference common software such as MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Adobe.
- Do cite (in the text only) survey and statistical software such as Qualtrics, Survey Monkey, RedCap, R, SAS, SPSS, STATA, etc.).
- Upon the first mention in the text, list the software abbreviated name, version and company location.
- Do not include company trademark or copyright symbols.E.g., “Statistical analyses were performed using SPSS, Version 30 (IBM, Armonk, NY)."
|
Spacing
| - Double-space the paper, references, and Notes under tables and figures.
- Include only one space after periods at the end of a sentence.
- Do not add blank lines before or after headings or between paragraphs.
- Space before and after elements ( - , + , < , > =) and most statistical symbols (M = x.x) except % and $ (2.3%, $25).
|
Spelling
| |
Statistical Significance Level
| - Research and QI studies should report the alpha level defining statistical significance in the statistical analysis paragraph: Examples: “The significance level for this study was set at p < .05”. “Statistical significance was defined as a p < .05”
|
| Statistical Software Program
| - Statistical software examples include Qualtrics, R, REDCAP, SAS, SPSS, STATA, etc.
- Specify the software used in the statistical analysis paragraph of the methods section.
- Do not cite and reference software.
- State the software name and version (company, location).
- E.g., “Statistical analyses were performed using SPSS, Version 27 (IBM, Armonk, NY).
- Common software names and locations (version numbers vary):
- REDCap, version 7.0 (Vanderbilt, Nashville, TN)
- R, version 1.2 (R Corp Team, Vienna, Austria)
- SPSS, version 27 (IBM, Armonk, NY)
- SAS, version 9.4 (SAS Institute, Cary, NC)
- Stata, version 16.1 (StataCorp, College Station, TX)
|
Statistical Analysis Paragraph
| - Place the statistical analysis paragraph as the last paragraph of the Methods section.
- Describe the statistics used by the type of data reported:
- Normally distributed vs. nonnormally distributed
- Continuous vs. categorical
- Make clear the statistical tests used for each type of data reported
- Include a statistical significance sentence
- List the statistical software used (name, version, company location)
Example Statistical Analysis Paragraphs
Example 1 (research study)
Patient characteristics were described using frequencies and percentages for categorical variables and mean (standard deviation) for continuous variables. Univariate analysis was performed using Chi-square tests for categorical variables, and Mann-Whitney U tests for continuous variables. Variables were considered significant at p < .05. Statistical analyses were performed using STATA, version 16.3 (StataCorp, College Station, TX).
Example 2 (QI Study)
Outcomes were plotted over time to study the impact of our screening intervention. Data were available for 12 months before and 15 months after the intervention, for a total of 27 months of data. Run charts were developed to display the effect of the screening process changes over time on the previously mentioned measures. Each data point represented the total percentage of study subjects undergoing the intervention during the respective time periods. In all analyses, p < .05 was considered statistically significant. All data were analyzed using SPSS version 30 (IBM, Armonk, NY).
|
Statistics
| General Principles for Reporting Statistics- Data is pleural, express as “data were."
- Include sufficient information to allow readers to understand the analyses.
- Make clear the statistical tests used for each type of data reported.
- State that data conformed to the assumptions of the test used to analyze them.
- State whether tests were one- or two-tailed (two-tailed most common).
- Report group results in consistent order (e.g., experimental relative to control).
- Report percent change when possible which is more meaningful than actual values.
Formula: Percent change = (final value – initial value) / Initial value*100.
Abbreviations and Symbols
- Express the p value as lowercase, italicized, without a hyphen.
- Use lowercase to express terms: t test, p value.
- Statistical symbols, M, SD, Mdn, IQR, CI, etc., do not have to be italicized or defined.
- Use the population symbol uppercase (N) for the total number in a sample
- Use the sample symbol lowercase (n) for the number in each subgroup of the full sample
- Use the narrative statistical term in the text, for example (mean), but use the symbol (M = 2.4) when combined with a number in a sentence.
- Insert spaces before and after symbols like (-,+,<,>,=). Example (M = x.x), except for % and $ (2.3%, $25).
- Repeat the symbol when reporting a range of percentages or money; 18%-20%, $50-$100
- Use brackets to enclose confidence intervals separated by a comma; 95% CI [3.45, 2.7]
- State ratios without an equal sign (OR 2.81, 95% CI [2.08, 3.78], p <.001)
- Use semicolons and brackets as needed to separate different statistics in a sentence.
Decimal Places
- Round for simplicity and comprehension; when in doubt, round to 2 places.
- Round age to the nearest year
- Express descriptive statistics (%, M (SD), Mdn (IQR)) to one decimal place
- Express most other statistics to two decimal places
- Express exact p values to two or three decimal places
Leading Zero
- Place a zero before the decimal point for MOST statistics except p values
Percentages - Report the total sample size, followed by group sizes. E.g., A total of N=150 patients were studied, of which 90 (60%) were in the pretest group versus 60 (40%) in the posttest group.
- Express percentages as n (%), making the numerator and denominator readily apparent to the reader. E.g., Of 255 frail patients, 179 (70.2%) were women.
- Denominators of 30 or fewer report as frequencies (not percentages). E.g., instead of stating, “of 15 patients studied, 26.67% presented with fever," state, “Four of 15 patients presented with fever."
Percentage Change
- Percentage Change = [(New Value – Old Value) / Old Value] * 100%.
- New Value is the value after the change. Old Value is the value before the change.
- It can be used to express both increases and decreases.
Measures of Central Tendency and Spread
- Report mean (standard deviation) for normally distributed data, NOT Standard Error (SE)
- Express as (M = 19.2, SD = 3.5) or M (SD) = 19.2 (3.5)
- DO NOT express SD as +/- or + (avoid due transposing risk during publication process)
- Report median (interquartile range) for non-normally distributed data, NOT range
- Express as Mdn = 5.6, IQR = (3.8-7.2) or Mdn (IQR) = 5.6 (3.8-7.2)
- Express confidence intervals as (95 %CI [lower limit, upper limit]; (95% CI, 1.31,13.52)
p Value
- Express exact p values unless the p is less than .001, then express as (p < .001).
- Express p values to 2 or 3 decimal places without leading zero; e.g. (p = .014)
- Express p value as lowercase, italicized p without a hyphen
- In tables, express the p value column heading simply as a lowercase p
- Do not report p values in isolation, as they fail to convey effect size and importance
- Report as (point estimate, CI, p), E.g. (OR 0.8, 95% CI [0.22,1.86], p = .13).
- Do not describe p values slightly over .05 as trending, marginally significant, etc.
Power Analysis
- Required when using inferential statistics to test a hypothesis.
Example Reporting of Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) - A one-way ANOVA demonstrated that the effect of leadership style was significant for employee engagement, F (2, 78) = 4.58, p = .013.
- A two-way ANOVA revealed there was not a statistically significant interaction between the effects of watering frequency and sunlight exposure (F (3, 32) = 1.242, p = .311)
- We found a statistically significant main effect of age group on social media use, F(3, 117) = 3.19, p = .026.
Example Reporting of Chi-Square Test
Goodness of Fit Test:
- Based on a chi-square test of goodness of fit, Χ2(4) = 11.34, p = .023, the sample's distribution of religious affiliations matched that of the populations.
Chi-Square Test of Independence: - A chi-square test of independence revealed a significant association between gender and product preference, Χ2(8) = 19.7, p = .012.
Example Reporting of Correlation - A Pearson correlation coefficient was computed to assess the linear relationship between advertising spend and total revenue. There was a positive correlation between the two variables, r(13) = .71, p = .003.
- A Spearman's rank correlation was computed to assess the relationship between points scored and rebounds collected. There was a negative correlation between the two variables, r(48) = -.27, p = .026.
- SAT scores predicted college GPA, R2 = .34, F(1, 416) = 6.71, p = .009.
Example Reporting of Regression
- A simple linear regression was used to test if hours studied significantly predicted exam score. The fitted regression model was: Exam score = 67.1617 + 5.2503*(hours studied). The overall regression was statistically significant (R2 = .73, F(1, 18) = 47.99, p < .000). It was found that hours studied significantly predicted exam score (β = 5.2503, p < .000).
- A multiple linear regression was used to test if hours studied and prep exams taken significantly predicted exam score. The fitted regression model was: Exam Score = 67.67 + 5.56*(hours studied) – 0.60*(prep exams taken). The overall regression was statistically significant (R2 = 0.73, F(2, 17) = 23.46, p = < .000). It was found that hours studied significantly predicted exam score (β = 5.56, p < .001). It was found that prep exams taken did not significantly predict exam score (β = -0.60, p = 0.52).
Examples Reporting of t Test
- United fans reported higher levels of stress (M = 83, SD = 5) than found in the population as a whole, t(48) = 2.3, p = .026.
- There was no significant effect for sex, t(38) = 1.7, p = .097, despite women (M = 55, SD = 8) attaining higher scores than men (M = 53, SD = 7.8).
- The results from the pre-test (M = 13.5, SD = 2.4) and post-test (M = 16.2, SD = 2.7) memory task indicate that the presence of caffeine in the bloodstream resulted in an improvement in memory recall, t(19) = 3.1, p = .006.
- Older adults experienced more loneliness than younger adults, t(32) = 2.94, p = .006.
- Reaction times were significantly faster for mice in the experimental group, t(53) = 5.94, p < .001.
Example Reporting of z score
|
Supplemental Digital Content (SDC)
| - Supplemental Digital Content (SDC) includes tables, graphs, audio, video, etc.
- SDC are available in the online version of the article by clicking a URL.
- Cite SDC consecutively in the text, as [material type, SDC number, description]. E.g., “We performed tests on elbow flexibility (see Video, Supplemental Digital Content 1, which demonstrates the degrees of flexibility in the elbow) and found our results inconclusive.”
- Submit a list of SDC at the end of the manuscript file, including the SDC number and file type.
- SDC is posted as submitted without editing by the journal.
- SDC files should be no larger than 10 MB each.
|
Tables
| Table Structure- Tables summarize and display large amounts of data more concisely than words.
- Tables use a row-column structure and should have a minimum of 2 columns displayed.
- Tables should be self-explanatory and supplement, not duplicate the material in the text.
- Limit the total number of tables and figures combined to 5.
- Submit extra tables as Supplemental Digital Content.
- Submit large tables (> 8 columns or > 40 rows) as Supplemental Digital Content.
Table Placement - Do not embed tables within the text (placement is determined by publishing staff).
- Submit each table on a separate page in an editable text file (Word).
- Group all tables in a separate file called Tables and follow the key points at the end of the manuscript.
Table Titles
- Number all tables (even if only one) in the order cited within the text.
- Ensure that there is a corresponding callout in the text for each table.
- Label each table with a concise, descriptive title (max 12 words) in title case.
Table Body
- Create tables using 10- or 11-point font, with 1.0, 1.5, or 2.0 spacing.
- Remove background shading and minimize gridlines to Increase table white space.
Note. Underneath
- Express Note. in italics followed by a period, place under the table.
- Define all abbreviations in the Note beneath, even if previously defined in the text.
- Use superscript lowercase letters (a, b, c) or asterisks (*) to note special circumstances like
- To explain the reason when category percentages do not sum to 100%
- To specify between one-tailed and two-tailed tests in the same table
Table Columns
- Place demographic or independent text variables in the leftmost column.
- List race and ethnicity categories in alphabetical order instead of by prevalence, but list “other" and “unknown" last.
- Place numerical data for group comparisons across table columns.
- Use column headings and subheadings to delineate subcategories.
- List statistic names in the column headings, such as n, %, when the data displays the same statistic throughout the table (see Example A below).
- List the statistic and unit of measurement in the left-most column when tables report a mix of different types of statical data (see Example B below).
- Left-align the column with text.
- Right-align the columns with numbers and report to a consistent number of decimal places (typically 2) to help the reader make comparisons when scanning columns.
Example A
Table 1. Demographic Characteristics
| Demographic Characteristics | Guided self-help | | Unguided self-help | | Wait-list control | | | | n | % | n | % | n | % | | Gender | | | | | | | | Female | 25 | 50 | 20 | 40 | 23 | 46 | | Male | 25 | 50 | 30 | 60 | 27 | 54 | | Marital status | | | | | | | | Single | 13 | 26 | 11 | 22 | 17 | 34 | | Married/partnered | 35 | 70 | 38 | 76 | 28 | 56 | | Divorced/widowed | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 8 | | Other | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | | Children a | 26 | 52 | 26 | 52 | 22 | 44 | | | | | | | | |
Note. a Reflects the number and percentage of participants answering “yes" to this question. Example B
Table 1. Demographic Characteristics | Demographic Characteristics | Total | Discharged | Died | p | | n (%) | 4007 | 3599 (89.8%) | 404 (10.1%) | | | Age, mean (SD), years | 37 (12.8) | 38 (12.8) | 36 (12.7) | .004 | Sex
Male n (%)
Female n (%) |
3019 (75.3)
988 (24.7) |
2681 (88.9)
918 (93.0) |
335 (11.1)
69 (7.0) | .000 | | Injury Severity Score, median (IQR) | 17.39 | 15.52 (8.5) | 33.98 (16.9) | .000 | | Systolic Blood Pressure, mean (SD) | 128.42 (40.6) | 135.54 (28.3) | 61.03 (68.5) | .000 | | Glasgow Motor Score, mean (SD) | 5.29 (1.65) | 5.67 (1.1) | 1.83 (1.7) | .000 | Glasgow Motor Score
High Function (6)
Moderate Function (2-5)
Low Function (1) |
3200 (81.0)
282 (7.1)
471 (11.9) |
3153 (88.6)
246 (6.9)
161 (4.5) |
47 (12.0)
36 (9.2)
310 (78.9) | .000 |
See APA table formatting and examples at: https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/tables-figures/tables
|
Tense
| |
Title Case
| - Capitalize the first letter of each word in a
sentence except minor words (less than 4 letters), E.g., The Lord of the Flies.
|
Title Page
| The title page provides critical information and includes the following items as applicable:
Running Head
Abbreviated title <6 words, capitalized, in the header, left aligned. Title
List the full manuscript title, in title case, centered. Author List
List names in order with credentials, affiliations, ORCID#, Twitter, and Email
-List the first name, middle initial, and last name of each author
-List credentials in order of highest first: academic degrees, licensure, certifications
-List completed (earned) degrees only, do not include candidacy credentials like PhD©
-List affiliation (where the study was performed), department, institution, and location.
-List the author's ORCID number
-List Twitter handle and email address (as applicable) Corresponding Author
List name, address, phone, and email address Author Changes
Indicate recent author changes in degree, title, or affiliation. E. g. Author XX is now Trauma Program Manager at XX Trauma Center. Conference Presentations
List the name, date, and location of any conference or professional meeting at which the material was presented. If the proceedings were published, provide that citation. Overlapping Publications and Preprints
List the citations of any disseminated or published material that significantly overlaps with the manuscript. This may include similar articles, published conference proceedings, preprints, or protocols. Submit a copy of the related material with an explanation of key differences. (See also Previously Published Material) Trial Registration
Clinical trials must include preregistration. List the trial registry name, registration identification number, and the URL for the registry.
Acknowledgments
List all contributions, disclosures, thank you credits, and financial support.
List the use of artificial intelligence; include the following: - Briefly describe what content was created or edited by AI in the manuscript.
- List the name of the AI software, version, extension numbers, and manufacturer.
- Do not reference the AI software.
- This requirement does not apply to grammar or spell-check software.
|
Tranistions
| - Build a cohesive text using transition words to link sentences and paragraphs.
|
Trauma Center Name
| |
Typeface
| - Use 12 pt Times New Roman
|
Units of Measure
| - Use the International System of Units (SI) (metric system) for all measurements.
- Where U.S. measurements must be used, include metric equivalents in parentheses.
- List temperatures in degrees Celsius.
- List blood pressure in millimeters of mercury.
|
Voice
| - Voice is the author's point of view (person).
- Active Voice (subject, verb, object) or (who did, what“) "Students completed surveys."
- Passive Voice (object, verb, subject“) "Surveys were completed by students."
- Active voice is now preferred over passive to create direct, clear, concise sentences.
- Most articles are a mix. Because what was done is more important than who did it, using passive voice is appropriate to describe the methods section.
- Example: “A coin was tossed to select an intervention group and a control group."
|
Word Count
| - Manuscript word count includes the abstract and main text; it excludes the references, tables, and figures.
- Accepted length varies by article type. (See Overview Chart).
|
Writing
| - Readability is a factor in the acceptance of all papers; strive to enlighten, not to impress.
- Write concisely to the level of an experienced trauma clinician.
- Avoid jargon, unnecessary wordiness, and overlong sentences and paragraphs.
- Avoid redundancy, state concepts only once.
- Present information in a logical and consistent order.
- Use clear, concise, consistent terminology.
- Start a new paragraph when moving to a new idea.
- Make sure every paragraph is relevant to your argument or question.
- Use transition words to connect between different ideas within and between sentences.
- Use appropriate punctuation to avoid sentence fragments or run-on sentences.
- Use a variety of sentence lengths and structures.
- Present ideas in direct, straightforward, simple declarative sentences, using active voice.
- Clarity is the author's responsibility, not the readers.
- The editorial office reserves the right to modify text for readability during copyediting.
- Data is plural; express as “data were," not data was
- Avoid anthropomorphizing inanimate objects. Rather than 'The study found,' write 'Study findings revealed…' or 'Researchers reported….'
- Consider the use of grammar check software before submitting your work.
|
