Nursing and Midwifery Studies

Instruction for Authors

Submission process…!

Title page and manuscript text file should be separately submitted online via the online submission system.

 

Here are the 

Quantitative Template, 

Qualitative Template, 

Systematic Template 

and

Title Page to download and follow.

 

Manuscript preparation

1- Summary (for busy authors)

Title page, including title of the article, authors' names and ORCIDs, affiliations, and detailed information of corresponding authors; Phone and Fax number, Email, and Postal Address should be supplied and submitted as a separate file.

Manuscript text files should be prepared according to specific research reporting guidelines. In addition, declaration section including Acknowledgment, Funding, Authors' contribution, and Abbreviations should be addressed at the end of the manuscript text in all types of the articles. All clinical trials should be registered in a registry of clinical trials approved by the World Health Organization (WHO) or the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE). As an option, the Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials (IRCT) or https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/home are some of the suggested registries. 

 

2- Details

The journal adheres to the recommendations of International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE). The main manuscript should carry the Title, Abstract, Main Text, Acknowledgment, Funding, Authors' contribution, Abbreviations, References, Figures, and Tables of the paper. The preferred word processing format for the manuscript file is Microsoft Word version 2017 or newer. Manuscripts should be double-spaced, with 2.5 cm margins on all sides. All abbreviations must be spelled out the first time used, followed by the abbreviated form in parentheses. Units of measurement must have complied with the International System of Units (SI). For indexing, 3 to 5 keywords should be typed at the end of the abstract for each manuscript. The Keywords should be identical to the medical subject headings (MeSH) that appear in the Index Medicus of the National Library of Medicine.

 

Article Types

1. Observational Studies

Cohort, Case-Control, And Cross-Sectional studies should be arranged based on Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) statement and checklist as: Abstract, 3-5 Keywords, Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion, Conclusion, Acknowledgements, References, and maximum 4 Tables and 4 Figures.

A structured Abstract (with the subheadings title: Background, Objectives, Methods, Results, and Conclusion) should appear on the first page of the manuscript and should not exceed 250 words.

The main text (excluding the abstract, references, figures and tables) should not exceed 4000 words . Also, 25-35 references should be stated for original articles. 

   

2. Clinical Trials

Original research papers that report a randomized controlled trial, should comply with the guidelines provided by the Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT) group. In addition, supplying the manuscript with a CONSORT flowchart diagram is highly encouraged. Researchers who would like to publish their clinical trial reports in Nursing and Midwifery Studies are strongly encouraged to register their studies in a registry of clinical trials, which meets the criteria of WHO or ICMJE. As an option, the Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials (IRCT) or https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/home are some of the suggested registries.

A structured abstract (with the subheadings title, Background, Objectives, Methods, Results, and Conclusion) should not exceed 250 words.

The main text (excluding the abstract, references, and maximum 4 tables and 4 figures) should not exceed 4000 words. Also, 25-35 references should be stated for original articles. 

 

3. Qualitative Articles

Qualitative studies should adhere to rigorous methodological standards and provide rich, contextual insights into medical, health, or clinical topics.

Authors should adhere to established qualitative research reporting standards, such as the COREQ (Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research) or SRQR (Standards for Reporting Qualitative Research) guidelines, to ensure methodological rigor, transparency, and completeness in describing study design, data collection, analysis, and interpretation. These frameworks help maintain high-quality reporting by detailing essential elements such as researcher reflexivity, participant selection, data saturation, and analytical processes, thereby enhancing the credibility and reproducibility of qualitative findings. Compliance with these standards is strongly encouraged to meet the journal's publication requirements and facilitate peer review.

The word limit is typically 3,000–5,000 words (excluding abstract, references, and supplementary materials).

 

4. Review Articles

Narrative Review articles should be composed of systematic critical assessments of literature and data sources pertaining to clinical topics of police medicine, emphasizing factors such as cause, diagnosis, prognosis, therapy, or prevention. They should have Unstructured Abstracts. All articles and data sources should include information about the specific types of study or analysis, population, intervention, exposure, and tests or outcomes. Authors of review articles should be experts and have contributions in the field of the addressed subject. Narrative reviews should contain at least 60 references.  The word count should not exceed 5000 words.

Systematic reviews and meta-analyses on clinical trials and observational studies should be prepared based on Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) and Meta-analysis of observational studies in epidemiology (MOOSE), respectively. Systematic reviews and meta-analyses should contain. Abstract should be structured. The word count should not exceed 5000 words. 

Authors are strongly encouraged to register their protocol with PROSPERO prior to commencing the review.

 

5.     Case Report

Case reports should be arranged in accordance with Consensus-based Clinical Case Reporting (CARE) as follows: Abstract (structured, not exceeding 200 words), Introduction, Case Report, Discussion, References, and maximum 1 table and 3 figures. The length should not exceed 1500 words and 10-15 references should be stated. 

  

6.    Brief Report

Original research papers can also be published in a brief format. Submitted papers that are of interest but not acceptable as a full-length original/research article, are offered by the editor to be published in this section. The authors can also primarily submit their papers for consideration for publication in this section. A structured abstract no longer than 200 words is required for this section. The body of the manuscript should not exceed 1500 words. The number of tables and/or figures should be limited to 1 and references to a maximum of 10.

 

7.   Psychometric Articles (Measurement Instrument Validation)

Studies evaluating measurement instruments must follow the COSMIN (Consensus-based Standards for the Selection of Health Measurement Instruments) checklist.

• Use COSMIN checklist to ensure methodological rigor.
• For cultural adaptation studies, follow WHO guidelines or Beaton’s cross-cultural adaptation protocol.
• Report complete statistical metrics (e.g., factor loadings, CR/AVE for validity).

 

8.     Letters to the Editor/ Editorial

All correspondence will be considered for publication if it contains constructive criticism on previously published articles in Nursing and Midwifery Studies, the authors of which will have the right to reply. In addition, reports of limited research or clinical experiences can be submitted in the form of a letter. The length should not exceed 600 words. Up to 5 references should be stated.

 

Reporting Guidelines for Specific Study Designs

The reporting guidelines for other type of studies can be found at https://www.equator-network.org/reporting-guidelines/.  

Guideline	Type of Study	Source
STROBE	Observational studies (cohort, case-control, cross-sectional)	https://www.strobe-statement.org
CONSORT	Randomized controlled trials (RCTs)	http://www.consort-statement.org
SQUIRE	Quality improvement projects	http://squire-statement.org
PRISMA	Systematic reviews and meta-analyses	http://prisma-statement.org
STARD	Studies of diagnostic accuracy	https://www.stard-statement.org
CARE	Case reports	https://www.care-statement.org
AGREE	Clinical practice guidelines	https://www.agreetrust.org
SRQR or COREQ	Qualitative research	SRQR: https://www.equator-network.org/reporting-guidelines/srqr/ COREQ: https://www.equator-network.org/reporting-guidelines/coreq/
COSMIN	Psychometric studies (measurement instrument validation)	https://www.cosmin.nl
MOOSE	Meta-analyses of observational studies (alternative to PRISMA for non-interventional data)	https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/192614
SPIRIT	Clinical trial protocols	https://www.spirit-statement.org
CHEERS	Health economic evaluations	https://www.ispor.org/heor-resources/cheers

 

 

Declarations

Authorship

Based on the ICJME recommendations "all those designated as authors should meet all four criteria for authorship, and all who meet the four criteria should be identified as authors. Those who do not meet all four criteria should be acknowledged". Author's contribution should be stated in the declaration section. All authors should be accountable for all sections of the manuscript and declare that it is written originally and there is no data fabrication; data falsification includes deceptive manipulation of images and plagiarism.

Any change in authorship (i.e. order, addition, and deletion of authors) after initial submission must be approved by all authors via written confirmation, in line with COPE guidelines. It is the corresponding author’s responsibility to ensure that all authors confirm they agree with the proposed changes. If there is disagreement amongst the authors concerning authorship and a satisfactory agreement cannot be reached, the authors must contact their institution(s) for a resolution. It is not the journal editor’s responsibility to resolve authorship disputes. A change in authorship after publication of an article can only be amended via publication of an Erratum.

Funding and Support

All funding sources supporting the work must be declared in the declaration section at the end of the manuscript. Whole affiliations with or financial involvement in any organization on entity with a direct financial interest in the subject matters or materials of the research discussed (examples: employment, consultancies, stock ownership or other equity interest, patent-licensing arrangements) should be cited as a conflict of interest at the end of the manuscript text file.

Conflict of Interest

Authors are expected to disclose any commercial associations or sources of support that might pose a conflict of interest regarding the submitted article.

Data Availability

Author(s) should guarantee that data of the study are available and will be provided if anyone needs them.

Abbreviations

Abbreviations should be listed at the end of the manuscript.

 

References

• Provide direct references to original research sources whenever possible.
• Small numbers of references to key original papers will often suffice as well as more exhaustive lists since an electronic version of published papers are available too and the retrieval of the original published articles would be easier for the readers.
• Do not use abstracts as references.

• References to papers accepted but not yet published can be included if tagged "In press" or "Forthcoming", Provided that they have been accepted for publication.

• Minimize citation errors by double-checking the references to the original article.
• You are responsible for checking that none of the references cited are retracted articles (for articles published in MEDLINE indexed journals, PubMed is a perfect source for information on retractions).

Reference format: 

Referencing format of Nursing and Midwifery Studies is based on the American National Standards Institute style adapted by the NLM for its databases as ICMJE refers to for this purpose. Therefore, authors are advised to consult NLM’s Citing Medicine available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/bv.fcgi?rid=citmed.TOC&depth=2
A shorter version is also available at: https://www.nlm.nih.gov/bsd/uniform_requirements.html

• Please pay attention thatjournals title in the biblography must be abbreviated according to https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nlmcatalog/journals/ .
• Note that references must be from the last ten years (with the exception of a few special references, such as old authoritative books that only have one copy, etc.)
• Also, you can downloadthe EndNote Style related to Nursing and Midwifery Studies, and copy in Drive C/ Program Files (x86)/ EndNote XX/ Styles.

1. Journals: Authors' last names and initials (List all authors when six or fewer; when seven or more, list six and add et al.). Title of article (Note that only the first letter of the first word of the article title should be capitalized, and the rest should be written in lowercase.). Abbreviated Journal’s name. Year;Volume (number):Inclusive pages. doi. PMID; PMCID.

Example of journals: Zarnani AH, Moazzeni SM, Shokri F, Salehnia M, Dokouhaki P, Ghods R, et al. Microenvironment of the feto-maternal interface protects the semiallogenic fetus through its immunomodulatory activity on dendritic cells. Fertil Steril. 2008;90(3):781-8. doi: 10.1016/j.fertnstert.2007.01.102. PMID: 17482607.

2. Books: Authors' last names and initials (up to 6 and more et al.). Book title. Edition. Place of publication: Publisher; Date of publication. Pagination.

Example of Books: Eyre HJ, Lange DP, Morris LB. Informed decisions: the complete book of cancer diagnosis, treatment, and recovery. 2nd ed. Atlanta: American Cancer Society;2002.768 p.

3. Parts of books: Authors' last names and initials. Title of book. Edition. Place of publication: publisher; Date. Number of part, title of part; Location of the part.

Example parts of books: Cunningham FG, Leveno KJ, Bloom SL, Hauth JC, Hauth JC, Gilstrap III LC, et al. Williams obstetrics. 22nd ed. New York: Mc Graw-Hill; 2005. Chapter 6, parturition; p.151-86.

4. Internet sites:

Durnwald C, Greene MF. Gestational diabetes mellitus: Glycemic control and maternal prognosi; 2018. [Last access date: 3 April 2023], Available from: www.uptodate.com/contents/gestational-diabetes-mellitus-glycemic-control-and-maternal-prognosis

5. Thesis: Author’s Last Name, Initials. Title of thesis/dissertation[Type of thesis/dissertation, University Name]. Database or Archive Name. URL (if available), (Year). 

Key Notes:

Type of thesis: Write "[PhD thesis]", "[Master’s thesis]", or "[Dissertation]".

Place & Publisher: Typically the university name.

Online theses: Include the access date and URL.

 

Examples of Thesis:

Published Thesis:

1. 1. Alavi M. The role of oxidative stress in cardiovascular diseases [PhD thesis]. Tehran: University of Tehran; 2019.

 

Online Thesis (with URL):

2. Johnson L. Machine learning applications in healthcare [Master’s thesis]. Boston: Harvard University; 2020 [cited 2023 May 15]. Available from: https://example.com/thesis123

• References should be numbered consecutively in the order in which they first appeared in the text.
• Identify references in the text by numerals in Superscript and Box Brackets ^[1,2].
• The titles of journals should be abbreviated according to the style used in Index Medicus or find them at PubMed Locator Plus.
• If the name of an author from a reference is mentioned in the text, a semicolon must be placed after 'et al.'. Also, at the end of the sentence in which the author's name is mentioned, the reference number should be provided. It is important to ensure that the author's name exactly matches the one listed in the final reference list.
• ISSN, the international identifier for serials, provides invaluable information and is available at https://www.issn.org/.
• Nonetheless, all authors are encouraged to use reference tools such as EndNote, Reference Manager, EndNote Web, etc. for referencing to guarantee precision and for ease of work. 

Figures and Tables

Figures and tables should be kept to a minimum necessary and presented in the manuscript file, numbered (with numbers), and have a title.

• Decimal numbers should be standardized to three decimal places.
• Statistical tests and their results must be clearly specified in tables for each variable separately.

Note:

• Identify Tables, Figures and legends in the text by numerals in Box Brackets [Table 1].
• For table footnotes, lowercase English letters should be used sequentially in alphabetical order (e.g., a, b, c, ...). The use of asterisks is strictly prohibited."
• The letter 'P' in 'P value' must be capitalized consistently throughout the manuscript.
• Please make sure the percentages in the tables should be exactly 100.

Responsibility and ethical requirements

Author(s) should certify that neither the submitted manuscript nor another one with substantially similar content under their authorship has been published in any language or being considered for publication elsewhere. Author(s) should take responsibility for the integrity of the work as a whole, from inception to published article. In the event that an author is added or removed from the list of authors, written acceptance, signed by author(s), must be submitted to the editorial office. Sources of financial support for the project should be acknowledged. If the study involves human beings, the author(s) must include a statement that the study was approved by the local ethical committee and that written informed consent was obtained from the study participants. For those who do not have formal ethics review committees, the principles outlined in the Declaration of Helsinki should be followed. Also, the compliance of maintenance and care of experimental animals with National Institutes of Health guidelines for the human use of laboratory animals should be declared in the text. All relevant permissions to use unpublished observations of others must be obtained by the manuscript author(s) and stated in the text citing the names of the original author(s) should be declared. Also, permission must be obtained to reproduce or adapt any figures or tables that have been published previously and declared in the legend/footnote. Nursing and Midwifery Studies conforms to the international regulations against scientific misconduct including fabrication, falsification, plagiarism, and etc. In Nursing and Midwifery Studies any cases of suspected misconduct will be assessed during the peer-review and publication process based on COPE guidelines. 

• Please note that abbreviations of individuals' or authors' names should be used in the Acknowledgments or Author contributions.

Editorial Independence

The editor in chief makes the final decision regarding the publication or rejection of the submitted articles without interference from its owner or economic interests.

 

Final points

• Abbreviations should be listed at the end of the manuscript.
• Decimal numbers should be standardized to three decimal places.
• Statistical tests and their results must be clearly specified in tables for each variable separately.
• One author should be designated as the first author, and one as the corresponding author.
• Completion of the commitment form is mandatory before submission.