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Evidence-Based Nursing systematically searches a wide range of international medical journals applying strict criteria for the validity of research and relevance to best nursing practice. Content is critically appraised then the most relevant articles are summarised into a succinct expert commentary focusing on the papers key findings and implications for clinical practice.

Article Types and General Guidelines

Evidence-Based Nursing publishes articles in three categories. Follow the links for more information and how to submit each article type:  
EBN blogs are commissioned by the editorial team, and authors will be contacted directly. Authors are encouraged to include their Twitter handles in their profiles on the submission system should they wish to engage with the editorial team on Twitter post-publication. A rapid response is a moderated but not peer reviewed online response to a published article in Evidence-Based Nursing; it will not receive a DOI and will not be indexed. Find out more about responses and how to submit a response.

Commentaries

Evidence-Based Nursing is looking for authors to write commentaries for the journal. Authors need not have a PhD, but they should have experience in writing papers. We are also happy to commission less experienced authors if you have a more experienced colleague you can write with. Authors will ideally be nurses or midwives, but other healthcare professionals may register their interest. The aim of a commentary is to discuss, in no more than 800 words:
  1. The context of the problem addressed by the paper
  2. A brief description and critique of the methods, results & conclusions
  3. implications for practice
  4. How the results fit in with what is currently known in the field
You can read free examples of a commentary on a research paper and a commentary on a systematic review. For more information on the structure, length and referencing for commentaries, please see our Guidelines for Commentaries. To register your interest, please fill in this form. Please note that personal data provided by you will be treated in accordance with BMJ’s Privacy Notice. You may also wish to use the language editing and translation services provided by BMJ Author Services.

Research Discussion

Evidence-Based Nursing publishes three different types of Research Discussion article:
  • Research Made Simple: These articles are an opportunity to publish an overview of a fundamental element of research. These primers should aim to make potentially complex research methods, approaches and concepts accessible to EBN readers. Articles should either focus on a specific approach to research (e.g. “What are Delphi Studies?”), particular concepts that are fundamental to understanding research (e.g. “What are Sensitivity and Specificity?”), or practical approaches to completing research (e.g. “Data collection in qualitative research”).
  • Research Masterclass: These articles discuss a specific research method and then provide a detailed example of its use. This example could either be the author’s own published research, or could be another piece of published literature which provides an exemplar of nursing research which uses that approach. Approximately half of the article should focus on exploring and summarising the approach (e.g. constructivist grounded theory); the second half should discuss a case study of how that approach has been used effectively to develop the nursing evidence base. The primary research discussed in the masterclass must have been published previously, and the article should cite this publication. It will therefore be similar to a commentary, but with a very specific focus on the method (or one element of it).
  • Research Opinion: These articles discuss a particular – and potentially contentious – issue related to nursing research. It is an opportunity for you to outline the issue, explore the different opinions within the research community, and to articulate your own view. You could look at broad issues (e.g. is qualitative research generalisable?), or more practical questions (e.g. are video-mediated research interviews an acceptable alternative to face-to-face?).
Word length: A research discussion article should be no more than 1500 words in length. This word length includes all text (including that within tables) and references, including text within tables. Referencing: In-text citations must be numbered sequentially as they appear in the text, and this should be mirrored in the reference list. Journals from BMJ use a slightly modified version of Vancouver referencing style available in Endnote. To register your interest, please fill in this form. Please note that personal data provided by you will be treated in accordance with BMJ’s Privacy Notice.

Student perspectives of nurse education

Student perspectives articles provide students with the opportunity to co-author an article on a recent research publication which matters to them, with the academics they work with. Undergraduate and postgraduate students are invited to develop articles that:
  • summarise a recently published paper that relates to nursing education.
  • discuss the relevance and importance of the paper.
  • focus on the impact of the findings on nurse education.
Authoring a student perspectives article Students on any undergraduate or postgraduate/post registration programme are invited to develop an article. Usually this will be with a nursing academic from a higher education institution or from clinical practice. Structure of a student perspectives article We have included a template below to help you structure your article. Suggested wordcounts are included in each of the sections. Please note that articles should be around 400 words in length. This includes the main body of the work and reference list. It does not include your title, author details, or any declarations of interest.  
  • Title of your article: This should be different to the title of the original article.
  • Background and purpose: This is a summary of the chosen paper [reference]. Include 2-3 bullet points of the background and aim(s) of the study (up to 50 words).
  • Methods: This should include a brief explanation of the research methods used, such as inclusion/exclusion criteria, search strategy, data collection and analysis, etc. (up to 50 words).
  • Findings: 2-3 bullet points of the background and aim(s) of the study (up to 100 words).
  • Why this paper matters: This is your opportunity to share the importance of this paper. Think about what it means to you, how is it relevant and how will it impact on nurse education, etc (up to 200 words).
  • Take home messages: 2-3 bullet points, summarising the main points of your article.
  • Social media summary: To help promote your article, we will share it on social media. You should summarise the main point(s) of your article, that will encourage others to read your work. This must be 280 characters, or less.
  • References: You must include a reference to the paper you are reviewing. You can include up to five references in your article.
Referencing: In-text citations must be numbered sequentially as they appear in the text, and this should be mirrored in the reference list. EBN uses a slightly modified version of Vancouver referencing style available in Endnote. Online publication Please note that these papers are published online, on our website, https://ebn.bmj.com/. Your social media summary will be used to promote your article to encourage others to read it. Author details We encourage students to lead the development of these articles and expect that students will usually be first authors. The following details should be provided for all authors, as appropriate:
  • Name and title
  • Your role (including the course you are undertaking and your year of study)
  • The institution in which you are studying (including country), or employer
  • The email address of the corresponding author
  • Your X (Twitter) handle, and that of your institution, if applicable
How to submit your article When you have completed your article, please submit via ScholarOne. Getting in touch If you have any questions, or if you are interested in contributing to this series, please email: info.ebn@bmj.com with the subject line of ‘student perspectives – proposal’. Please attach a copy of the study you propose to precis to your email.

Evidence for contemporary nurse education

Contemporary nursing education articles provide an opportunity to discuss published works that focus on a wide range of issues relating to nursing education. These may include papers that focus on nursing pedagogy, contemporary approaches to education, barriers and enablers of post-registration/postgraduate education, or opportunities for interprofessional learning, and how nursing education can address these. The focus of these education commentaries will be on the impact and implication of published works on nurse education and include recommendations for education practice. Authors are invited to develop articles that:
  • summarise a recently published systematic review or primary research that relates to nurse education.
  • share a perspective on the chosen paper, discussing the relevance and importance of the paper.
  • highlight the implications of the work on nurse education.
  • make recommendations for nurse education.
Before writing your article, we encourage all authors to read the example of a contemporary nursing education article, here. Structure of a contemporary nursing education article We have included a template below to help you structure your article. Suggested wordcounts are included in each of the sections. Please note that articles should be no more than 800 words in length; this includes the main body of the work and reference list. It does not include your title, author details, or any declarations of interest. You can find an example of a contemporary nursing education article, here.
  • Title of your article: This should be different to the title of the original article
  • Implications for nursing education: (approximately 30 words) You should include one or two short sentences that focus on the key implications for nurse education, based on your chosen paper.
  • Context: (approximately 100 words) This section should set the scene in which the research took place (for example, students in a university, newly registered hospital-based nurses, or advanced nurse practitioners in a hospice setting), or highlight the importance of the professional issue that was researched in the chosen paper.
  • Methods: (approximately 100 words) This should include a brief explanation of the research methods used, such as inclusion/exclusion criteria, search strategy, data collection and analysis, etc.
  • Findings: (approximately 150 words) An overview of the research findings. Given the restriction on word length, it will only be possible to cover the headline findings (e.g. key themes for qualitative studies; primary outcomes in quantitative studies). Please include any critical statistics (e.g. odds ratio; confidence interval) to support conclusions.
  • Implications for nursing education (approximately 200 words) This is your opportunity to outline your perspectives and opinions on the source paper. In this section you should summarise what you consider to be the implications for nursing education; these may, be positive implications which improve or enhance learner experiences, advocate change in the delivery or support of learners, or require further research before the implications can be understood.
  • Recommendations for nursing education: (approximately 200 words) To summarise the article, authors should make some recommendations for nursing education, based on the source paper. These may include, for example, to introduce the findings of the course paper with specific learners, change education practices, increase opportunities for learning, or recommend further research and evaluation. Any recommendations should be based on the content of the chosen paper, and the implications for nursing education section.
  • References: You must include a reference to the paper you are reviewing. You can include up to five references in your article.
Referencing In-text citations must be numbered sequentially as they appear in the text, and this should be mirrored in the reference list. EBN uses a slightly modified version of Vancouver referencing style available in Endnote. Author details The following details should be provided for all authors, as appropriate:
  • Name and title
  • Your role and employer/institution
  • The email address of the corresponding author
  • Your X (Twitter) handle, and that of your institution, if applicable
How to submit your article When you have completed your article, please submit via ScholarOne. Getting in touch If you have any questions, or if you are interested in contributing to this series, please email: info.ebn@bmj.com with the subject line of ‘nursing education – proposal.’ Please attach a copy of the study you propose to precis to your email.

Editorial policy

Evidence-Based Nursing adheres to the highest standards concerning its editorial policies on publication ethics, scientific misconduct, consent and peer review criteria. The journal follows guidance produced by bodies that include the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), the World Association of Medical Editors (WAME) and the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE).To view all BMJ Journal policies please refer to the BMJ Author Hub policies page.
We take seriously all possible misconduct. If an Editor, author or reader has concerns that a submitted article describes something that might be considered to constitute misconduct in research, publication or professional behaviour they should forward their concerns to the journal. The publisher will deal with allegations appropriately.

Copyright and authors’ rights

Articles are published under an exclusive licence or non-exclusive licence for UK Crown employees or where BMJ has agreed CC BY applies. For US Federal Government officers or employees acting as part of their official duties, the terms are as stated in accordance with our licence terms. Authors or their employers retain copyright. Open access articles can be reused under the terms of the relevant Creative Commons licence to facilitate reuse of the content; please refer to the Evidence-Based Nursing Author Licence for the applicable Creative Commons licences. More information on copyright and authors’ rights.
When publishing in Evidence-Based Nursing, authors choose between three licence types – exclusive licence granted to BMJ, CC-BY-NC and CC-BY (Creative Commons open access licences require payment of an article processing charge). As an author you may wish to post your article in an institutional or subject repository, or on a scientific social sharing network. You may also link your published article to your preprint (if applicable). What you can do with your article, without seeking permission, depends on the licence you have chosen and the version of your article. Please refer to the BMJ author self archiving and permissions policies page for more information.

Article processing charges

During submission, authors can choose to have their article published open access for 3,410 GBP (exclusive of VAT for UK and EU authors). There are no submission, page or online-only colour figure charges.
For more information on open access, funder compliance and institutional programmes please refer to the BMJ Author Hub open access page.

Supplements

The BMJ Publishing Group journals are willing to consider publishing supplements to regular issues. Supplement proposals may be made at the request of:
  • The journal editor, an editorial board member or a learned society may wish to organise a meeting, sponsorship may be sought and the proceedings published as a supplement.
  • The journal editor, editorial board member or learned society may wish to commission a supplement on a particular theme or topic. Again, sponsorship may be sought.
  • The BMJPG itself may have proposals for supplements where sponsorship may be necessary.
  • A sponsoring organisation, often a pharmaceutical company or a charitable foundation, that wishes to arrange a meeting, the proceedings of which will be published as a supplement.
In all cases, it is vital that the journal’s integrity, independence and academic reputation is not compromised in any way.
For further information on criteria that must be fulfilled, download the supplements guidelines. When contacting us regarding a potential supplement, please include as much of the information below as possible.
  • Journal in which you would like the supplement published
  • Title of supplement and/or meeting on which it is based
  • Date of meeting on which it is based
  • Proposed table of contents with provisional article titles and proposed authors
  • An indication of whether authors have agreed to participate
  • Sponsor information including any relevant deadlines
  • An indication of the expected length of each paper Guest Editor proposals if appropriate