Writing for Publication Julia Muennich Cowell PhD, RN, APHN-BC, FAAN Executive Editor The Journal of School Nursing

Whats your writing Experience? Academic writing School Newsletters Professional publications

Whats important to you? Immunizations – Parents rights Dating violence – Respect in schools School Nurse Ratios? – Evidence to support NASN ratio Obesity in schools? – Decline in services preventing obesity

Publication Media Whos target audience – Students – Parents – Administrators/board – Scholarly peers What outlet? – Handouts – School Newsletter – American School Board Journal – Professional Journals

What are the publication guidelines? Page/word limits Form guidelines – JOSN: American Psychological Association (APA) 6 th edition Standard English

Universal Elements of all publications Literary writing Beginning – What is the problem? – What is the purpose? Middle – Whats been done? – Whats the point your making? End – Conclusions/recommendations

Universal Elements Scientific writing Beginning Introduction – What is the problem? – What is the relationship to previous work – Research questions or hypotheses – Theoretical basis

Universal Elements Middle Methods – Design – Sampling – Measurement – Interventions

Universal Elements End Results Discussion/Implications References

Universal Elements Tone Economy of Expression – Wordiness & redundancy Clarity – Colloquialisms, jargon, pronouns TIP: remember the This, those, these, that rule Accuracy – Order, smooth expression, precision

Universal Elements Active voice vs. passive voice – Use of first person: I & we Tense Agreement of subject & verb Simple sentences vs. compound, complex sentences

Universal Elements Use of section headings Linguistic Devices – Scientific vs. literary writing Proof reading, PROOF READING, PROOF READING! Reading level

Bias Specificity Labeling Acknowledgement of participants Gender Sexual Orientation Racial & ethnic identify Disabilities Age Historical & interpretive inaccuracies

Ethics Plagiarism Conflict of interest Protecting the rights of participants Property rights

The Journal of School Nursing As the official research publication of the National Association of School Nurses ( The Journal of School Nursing (JOSN) provides a bimonthly, peer-reviewed forum for improving the health of school children and the health of the school community. The JOSN seeks to engage a broad range of clinicians, scholars and community leaders in an ongoing exchange of information through scholarly articles...

JOSN Types of manuscripts – Letters to the editor See JOSN 27 (5) October 2011, – Commentary See Faigenbaum, A, Gipson-Jones, T, & Myer, G. (2012) Exercise Deficit Disorder in Your: An Emergent Health Concern for School Nursing, JOSN 28,

JOSN Types of Manuscripts Continued: – Evidence based-practice & policy Hoxie-Setterstrom & Hoglund, B. (2011). School Wellness Policies: Opportunities for Change. JOSN, 27,

JOSN Types of Manuscripts – Literature reviews Shannon, RA, Bergren, MD, & Matthews, A (2010). Frequent visitors: Somotization in school-age children and implications for school nurses. JOSN, 26, – Original research Song, SJ, Ziegler, R, Arsenault, L, Fried, LE & Hacker, K (2011). Asian student depression in American high schools: Differences in risk factors. JOSN, 25,

JOSN Peer review criteria Accuracy of title & abstract Clear statement of the purpose Reported literature Relationship of the purpose, problem, methods, and conclusions Strength of the discussion, clinical implications & recommendations

Barriers & Challenges Matching style to submission guidelines – Dont tick-off the reviewers! – Are you familiar with the style of the APA style? – Check out previous issues to see style

Barriers & Challenges Timelines – Are there published timelines – Turn around time for revision – Competing with other responsibilities

Barriers & Challenges Fear – Rejection – Exposure – Demands

Barriers & Challenges Confidentiality – Institutional requirements – Ethical concerns – Self-preservation

The Inner Writer in You! Find a mentor or collaborator! Feel the joy of seeing your name in print! Consider becoming a peer reviewer! – TURN ON YOUR COMPUTER!