Submissions

Author Guidelines

ETHICAL POLICIES

Conflict of Interest. The JNSW fully abides by the National Association of Social Workers’ (NASW) Code of Ethics; see clause 5.02 (a)-(p) focused on research. Authors of manuscripts reporting research studies involving human participants or data (including quality improvement activities) must comply with all applicable research ethics requirements. In general, the manuscript must include a statement that the research was approved by the appropriate research ethics committee (eg, an institutional review board [IRB]). However, if the relevant ethics committee exempted the study from the need for approval, the name of the committee and its rationale for the exemption must be provided; in cases where authors cannot provide this information, a detailed explanation must be supplied for the editors’ consideration. In all cases, the research must have been conducted according to principles having their origin in the Declaration of Helsinki. Studies related to transplantation must comply with the Declaration of Istanbul. Declarations of research ethics compliance appear in the Methods section of Original Investigations, and in the body, supplementary material, or Article Information of other article types.

Authors of Case Studies should follow their institution’s policies about whether research ethics review is required. If such review is obligatory, the manuscript must include a statement about ethics review/approval.

Manuscripts reporting research studies (including quality improvement activities) must either state that written, informed consent was obtained from all participants or explain why individual-level informed consent was not obtained (eg, due to an IRB waiver). If investigators have potential COIs, these must be disclosed to study participants, and a statement should be included in the manuscript to indicate that such disclosure was made.

Whenever possible, and regardless of the article type, authors should avoid including any information identifying individual patients or participants. If identifying information is necessary, the patient or participant (or legal representative) must be shown the manuscript and sign a written publication consent form before publication.

PEER REVIEW PROCESS

Manuscripts submitted to JNSW are peer-reviewed by at least two Editorial Board members. The review process generally takes two to three months. JNSW reserves the right to edit all manuscripts for clarity or length. Minor changes in style and clarity are made at the discretion of the reviewers and editorial staff. Substantial changes will only be made with the primary author’s approval.

Exclusive Publication. Manuscripts are accepted for review with the understanding that the material has not been previously published, except in abstract form, and are not concurrently under review for publication elsewhere. Authors should secure all necessary clearances and approvals prior to submission. Authors submitting a manuscript do so with the understanding that, if it is accepted for publication, the copyright for the article, including the right to reproduce the article in all forms and media, shall be assigned exclusively to the National Kidney Foundation. The publisher will not refuse any reasonable request by the author for permission to reproduce any of his or her contributions to the Journal.

A submitted manuscript should be accompanied by a letter that contains the following language and is signed by each author: “In compliance with the Copyright Revision Act of 1976, effective January 1, 1978, the undersigned author(s) transfers all copyright ownership of the manuscript entitled ___________ to The Journal of Nephrology Social Work in the event this material is published.” To qualify as an original manuscript, the article or a version of the article must not have been published elsewhere. The author(s) must inform the editor if the manuscript is
being reviewed for publication by any other journals. Once accepted for publication by the editor, the author(s) cannot make revisions to the manuscript.

TYPES OF MANUSCRIPTS BEING SOUGHT

Reports and Reviews. The JNSW welcomes reports of (e.g., literature review) on any topic related to nephrology social work. The editors will also consider manuscripts that document the development of new concepts or that review and update topics in the social sciences that are relevant to professionals working in the field of nephrology social work. The JNSW welcomes manuscripts that describe innovative and evaluated nephrology social work education programs, that report on viewpoints pertaining to current issues and controversies in the field or that provide historical perspectives on nephrology social work.

Original Research. Full manuscript format should include: introduction, methods, results, and discussion of original research. The method section needs a declaration IRB approval and a statement regarding informed consent. 

Clinical/Research Briefs. Abbreviated manuscript format presents clinical practice experience, preliminary research findings (basic or clinical), or professional observations in a shortened report form. This could also include detailed protocols, forms, or other such materials that are successfully utilized for delivery of outcomes-based clinical social work services.

Case Studies. These detailed scenarios should illustrate a patient care situation that benefited from clinical social work intervention. Typically, they should consist of a brief clinical and psychosocial history, and a detailed intervention plan with discussion of recommendations focused toward practical application. Care should be taken to remove details that may identify patients.

Letters to the Editor. Letters should be restricted to scientific commentary about materials published in the JNSW or to topics of general interest to professionals working in the field of nephrology social work.

MANUSCRIPT SUBMISSION PROCESS

Manuscript Format. Manuscripts should be formatted according to the rules laid out by the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, Seventh Edition. What follows is a brief synopsis of the broader style points used by the APA.

Manuscripts should conform to the following guidelines: Text should be double-spaced, set in 12-point type (preferably Times New Roman), and have 1-inch margins along all sides of every page. Starting with the title page, pages should be numbered in the upper, right-hand corner and
should have a running head in the upper left-hand corner. The running head should be a shortened version of the manuscript’s title and should be set in all uppercase letters. The first line of every paragraph in the manuscript should be indented, as should the first line of every footnote.

ORDER OF THE MANUSCRIPT SECTIONS

1. Title page
2. Abstract
3. Text
4. References
5. Appendices (optional)
6. Author Note
7. Tables
8. Figures with captions

Title Page. The manuscript’s title page should contain the title of the manuscript and the name, degree, and current affiliation of each author. Authors are generally listed in order of their contribution to the manuscript (consult the APA style guide for exceptions). The title page should also contain the complete address of the institution at which the work was conducted and the contact information for the primary author. A running head (a shortened version of the manuscript’s title) should be set in the upper left-hand corner of the page, in all uppercase letters. Page numbering should begin in the upper right-hand corner of this page. With the exception of the page numbers and running heads, all text on the title page should be centered.

Abstract. The manuscript’s abstract should be set on its own page, with the word “Abstract” centered at the top of the page. The abstract itself should be a single paragraph with no indentation and should not exceed 120 words. All numbers—except for those that begin a sentence—should be typed as numerals. Running heads and page numbers should continue from the title page.

Text. The text (or body) of the manuscript should begin on a new page, after the abstract. The title of the manuscript should be set at the top of the first page, centered and double spaced. Running heads and page numbers should continue from the abstract.

References. The reference list should begin on a new page, with the word “References” centered at the top of the page. Entries should be listed alphabetically, according to the primary
author’s last name, and must conform to APA style, 6th edition. Running heads and page numbers should continue from the text. If you use software to format your references, please be sure that the software edits are “de-linked” before submitted (i.e., all text should be in plain text, not with software tracking). All references must have a corresponding citation in the article.

Appendices. Each appendix should begin on a new page and should be double spaced. The word “Appendix” and the identifying letter (A, B, C, etc.) should be centered at the top of the first page of each new appendix. Running heads and page numbers should continue from the references.

Author Note. JNSW policy is to include an author note with disclosure information at the end of the article. It should begin on a new page with the words “Author Note” centered at the top of the page. Each paragraph should be indented. Running heads and page numbers should continue from the last appendix. Consult the APA style guide for further details on the structure of an author note.

Authors must include a two-sentence disclosure. The author note should include this disclosure (source of funding, affiliation, credentials) and contact information: “address correspondence to” primary author.

Tables. All tables should be double-spaced and each should begin on a separate page. Tables are numbered sequentially according to the order in which they are first mentioned in the manuscript (Table 1., Table 2., etc.) and are given an appropriate title that is centered at the top of the page.
All tables must be referenced in the manuscript. Running heads and page numbers should continue from the Author Note. Please submit all table files in high-resolution format.

If a table has been previously published, the author is required to submit a copy of a letter of permission from the copyright holder, and must acknowledge the source of the table in the manuscript’s reference section.

Figures. Figures are also numbered sequentially, according to the order in which they appear in the manuscript. The convention Figure 1., Figure 2., Figure 3., etc. should be followed. In cases where the orientation of the figure is not obvious, the word TOP should be placed on the page, well outside the image area, to indicate how the figure should be set. If any figure has been previously published, the author is required to submit a copy of a letter of permission from the copyright holder, and must acknowledge the source of the figure in the manuscript’s reference section. Running heads and page numbers should continue from the tables. Please submit all figure files in high-resolution format.

Each figure in the manuscript must have a caption, formatted as follows: Figure 1. Exemplary formatting for all figure captions.