Preparation of Required Manuscript Elements

All elements of a manuscript should be submitted together, at the same time.

1. Title Page        [Submitted as a separate document]

The title page should include the following, in this order:

• Text for a running header (abbreviated title of your article) of no more than 40 characters and spaces in length. Place the running head on the title page only, and do not include it in the main manuscript document [set flush left]. Do not actually format the text as a running header.
• Any acknowledgements or other author’s/authors’ notes (optional), along with contact information for the corresponding author if you would like it to appear with your article if it is published [set flush left]
• The article title [set centered, in title case; see the heading on this page for an example of title case]
• The name of each author, without credentials, in order, together with the affiliation of each author, including the institution, agency or organization; city where the institution, agency, or organization is located; the state or province (if any); and country; for example: Janice M. Morse, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA [set centered]
• Complete contact information for the corresponding author, including name, affiliation, mailing address, primary e-mail address, secondary e-mail address (if any), telephone number, and fax number [set flush left]
• The credentials, proper form of address (i.e., Dr., Professor, Mr., Ms., Miss, Mrs., etc.), and e-mail address of each author (this is required) [set flush left]
• A 1-sentence biographical statement about each author. Use the following example for formatting your statement(s): Janice M. Morse, PhD, FAAN, is a professor and presidential endowed chair at the University of Utah College of Nursing in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA.

Title page information should not be included in the main manuscript document.

The title page may actually be longer than one page. To retain author anonymity during peer review, it is submitted as a separate document.

The manuscript title: A title should convey, as clearly and succinctly as possible, the main idea of a manuscript. It should be clear in meaning even when standing alone. Avoid unnecessary words, such as “A Qualitative Study of,” “A Doctoral Student’s Investigation of,” or “An Ethnographic Study.”  A good title is generally 10 to 12 words, or fewer, in length. Avoid titles with a colon (and a quotation) unless it is necessary to convey a particular meaning about the article.

2. Abstract

The abstract should be placed in the main manuscript document, separate from the title page. It should be one paragraph, no more than 150 words in length, and briefly describe your article. Whether written in the first person, active voice, or otherwise, the abstract should “match” the voice in the manuscript. Do not indent the first line of the abstract.

3. Keywords

Keywords should follow on the same page as, and slightly below, the abstract. This is a brief list of words related to the topic(s) of your article that would be appropriate for readers to search on to find the article (if published). Please include all desired keywords in the manuscript, even if they are not on the keyword list on this Web page, or available to select from the online system when submitting the manuscript. New keywords will be added to the online system through the Technical Editor, upon request. Click here to see the keyword list.

4. Main Body Text

The main text of the manuscript begins on the page following the abstract and keywords. We prefer articles written in the first person, active voice, but will consider articles written in the third person provided the voice of the abstract and manuscript match (see Abstract, above). Use U.S. English translations of non-English quotations.

The main text of the manuscript should be broken into appropriate sections with section headings. Sections should flow in a logical sequence, and include, at a minimum, Method(s), Results, and Discussion (these are level-1 headings); other level-1 headings and subheadings may be used at the author’s discretion. The author may choose to use different names for these three main sections, but the basic content should be that which would appropriately fall under the headings of, Methods, Results, and Discussion. QHR does not use the headings “Introduction” or “Background” at the beginning of the manuscript.

There are very specific guidelines for the use and formatting of in-text citations; please refer to the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association [APA], 5th edition, for details. Every in-text citation should have a related reference in the reference list. Attend to copyright regulations.

5. References

This reference list (also known as a bibliography) should include complete references for the sources used in the preparation of your manuscript and cited in the text. Every citation should have a matching reference, and every reference should be cited in the text. Avoid the use of unnecessary references and over-long reference lists.

The list should begin on a separate page following the last page of manuscript text. Each type of reference (journal article, book, chapter in edited book, newspaper, online reference, etc.) must be formatted in accordance with the precise guidelines contained in the APA Publication Manual mentioned at the beginning of the General Style section.

References should be listed in hanging paragraph format, in alphabetical order by the last name of the first author. Be sure to use italics, rather than underlining, for titles. Non-English titles should be translated into U.S. English, with the English translation following immediately after the original title, in [brackets]. Proper formatting of the reference list is the responsibility of the author(s).

Extensive bibliographies will not be published; articles will include only the “essential” or key references. If the author wishes to offer a secondary reference list (for example, references used in meta-analysis) it should be so stated in the Author’s Note, and made available to readers by contacting the author directly; do not include it in the manuscript, but it may be submitted separately for purposes of review.

6. Biographical Statements

Below the references, provide a 1-sentence biographical statement for each author, in order from first author to last author. The statements should be formatted according to the following example:

Janice M. Morse, RN, PhD, FAAN, is a professor and presidential endowed chair at the University of Utah College of Nursing in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA. [set flush left, with only the name bolded; note that credentials, if any, are required]