Writing for Infant journal

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Infant is produced for the multidisciplinary team that cares for sick or premature babies in their first year of life. The journal is practically and clinically based. It aims to support infant and paediatric nursing and medical practice by publishing authoritative articles written by experts in their field and providing a vehicle for discussion of neonatal and paediatric best practice. Articles submitted for possible publication in Infant are subject to peer review.

Infant does not impose a rigid house style, but writing should be clear and direct. We encourage authors to use plain English and avoid jargon, as this is not only easier to read, it is also far more likely to hold the reader's interest. Aim for an article length of 2,500-3,500 words with no more than 40 references. Once you have written your article it needs to be presented according to the following guidelines

TITLE PAGE
This must contain the title of your article; the names and initials, job title and professional and academic qualifications of each author; the department and institution to which the work should be attributed; the name, address, telephone and email of the author responsible for correspondence.

The manuscript should contain a description of each author's contribution to the project (eg, idea for the article, design, implementation, conducting the project, data analysis, writing, etc). Collaborators that did not make a significant contribution to the article can be acknowledged in an acknowledgement section.

SCOPE
A short summary to your article (3 or 4 sentences) should be included outlining what is covered in the article.

KEYPOINTS
Include three or four brief sentences summing up the most important points of the article.

KEYWORDS
Supply three to eight words suitable for indexing.

LAYOUT
The use of headings within the text makes the article easier to read and understand. Subdivide the text into main sections with sub-headings. Headings should be kept short, succinct and meaningful and similar in sense and style.

TABLES, ILLUSTRATIONS AND PHOTOGRAPHS
These are encouraged where they enhance the clarity of the text and should be clearly labelled and/or numbered, with relevant captions. The text should indicate where they are to be placed.

The author is responsible for obtaining written permission for their use where necessary. Photographs should ideally be in colour and supplied digitally at high resolution (300dpi at 6-9 cm wide) for printing.

REFERENCES
These should be made according to the Vancouver system. References should be identified by numbers in parenthesis in the text and listed in numerical order at the end of the article.

Please give the names and initials of all authors (if more than six, list the first three only followed by et al). Authors are responsible for the accuracy of all relevant citations. To cite web publications available for viewing or downloading, give the author's name (if known), the full title, site/journal name, the full http address (URL) and the date of visit or date the page was last updated.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The author must acknowledge substantive contributions to the article. Authors are responsible for obtaining written permission from everyone acknowledged.

EDITING
The journal reserves the right to edit all manuscripts according to style and space requirements and if necessary to clarify content. Authors will be fully involved in the editorial process, although the final decision lies with the editors/ publisher. Article proofs will be sent to authors for approval prior to publication.

COPYRIGHT
All manuscripts must be submitted exclusively to Infant and must be original i.e. not published previously in another journal. Copyright of all published material will belong to Infant and Stansted News Limited.

• Copyright form
• Patient consent form

CASE REPORTS
Publication of a case report that would enable identification of the patient will require consent from the patient's next of kin. This is not limited to photographs – medical history can identify a patient.

SUBMISSION OF ARTICLES
If possible, authors are requested to use the downloadable copyright consent form (PDF) from the Infant website (www.infantjournal.co.uk) and submit it with their article. Keep one copy of the article for your own reference. Papers should be sent as an email attachment to lisa@infantjournal.co.uk.