Guide to Authors

Guidelines for Contributing Articles to The Malaysian Journal of Nursing (MJN)

 The MJN is the journal reflecting views, reports, matters of interest, and updates within the various specialties in Professional Nursing – including Clinical Nursing (which itself has various sub specialties e.g., Psychiatric Nursing, Critical Care Nursing, Oncologic Nursing, etc.), Education (all aspectsrelevant to nursing), Management, Community Health and Research, among others. This journal welcomes ORIGINALLY WRITTEN ARTICLES by contributors, CASESTUDIES, LITERATURE REVIEWS, ANY COMMENTARY RELEVANT TO PROFESSIONAL NURSING, and RESEARCHES/ EVIDENCES that directly affect the professional practice in nursing-be it clinical or otherwise.

There is no article submission charges. But after selection of the article for publication the author has to pay article processing charges.

Article Processing Charges (APC) are: USD 300*

The charges include:
. Plagiarism checking, editing, and draft preparation along with Cross Ref DOI charges.
. The article will be given free open access.
. Inclusion of the paper in printed form of hard copy journal.

*Publication fees waiver policy  is available for authors of developing countries upon request.

Submitting Articles and Research Papers

  1. Articles should contain approximately 1000 to 4000 words. Shorter or longer submissions may be submitted upon approval from the editor.
  2. In an article writing, avoid using the first-person point of view and instead use the third-person point of view to achieve greater objectivity and persuasiveness.
  3. Articles must be submitted online or as an email attachment to: info@mjn.com.my.
  4. Articles (including the references) should have the following specifications:
    1. Text document must be in Microsoft Word compatible format.
    2. Body text must be double-spaced, in font size 12pt and Times New Roman; Paragraphs are right justified and make sure that all pages are clearly numbered.
    3. Title must be font size 16pt, in bold and Times New Roman.
    4. Subheading must be font size 14pt, in bold and Times New Roman.
  1. Plagarism- All articles will be checked for plagarism. If plagarism is found the article will be rejected. Authors are requested to do similarity check through Turnitin software.
    You can check from your institutional Turnitin software or can avail our service here. https://online.lincoln.edu.my/plagiarism/apply_plagiarism_check.aspx

       5. Segment the Articles in the following parts:

  1. Title Page :
    1. Title of article.
    2. The full names of the authors.
    3. Job title/Occupation, employer, location and affiliation of each author.
    4. Name and address of the author responsible for correspondence (Include address, telephone number and email address).
  2. Abstract:Provide a 200 to 250-word glimpse about the article’s framework/outline, which will include major findings if it is a research article.
  3. Tables, Illustrations, Figures and Photographs : Graphics such as tables, illustrations, figures and photographs that are in low resolution must be embedded in the article you are submitting (in MS word). High resolution version of the graphics must be e-mailed to us as additional attachment.
  4. References: Use the APA Referencing Guide. All the references must be in English (not translated) with DOI link.
    Ensure that 75% of your references are drawn from sources published within 10 years.
  5. Consent: If you are publishing photographs of patients, kindly secure their consent. E-mail us a copy of the agreement along with your article or research papers.
  6. Copyright waiver: Along with the article, the copyright waiver statement duly signed by author and co-author(s) must be submitted.
    All articles published in The Malaysian Journal of Nursing will have copyrights under MJN.                                                      Copyright Waiver Form
  7. Originality and Plagiarism: The authors should ensure that they have written entirely original works, and if the authors have used the work and/or words of others, that must be appropriately cited or quoted. All articles will be checked for plagiarism. If plagiarism is found high the article will be rejected.

General Instructions for Author’s:

Authors need to fill up forms and follow the MJN Template : Forms and Templates 

Types of Articles:

Original Articles: Should contain title page, abstract, keywords, introduction, research methods, results and discussion, conclusion, acknowledgement, and references. The length of the text should be limited to 12-22 pages including the references.

Review Articles: Should be requested by the editor, but MJN will also accept submitted reviews. The authors of review articles are invited to contact the Editorial Office before preparing a review article. Both solicited and unsolicited review articles are subjected to editorial review such as the original papers.

Letters to the Editor: MJN accepts letters to the editor. Letters, less than 500 words, should discuss articles published in the journal during the previous six months. Letters will undergo peer-review processing and will be edited for clarity.

Case Study: It is included all the reports about the special issues and new procedure in some limited cases with good results but not confirmed yet internationally as a global choice. It should be not exceeded more than 2000 words.

Structure of Articles:

Title Page: Should contain title which should include the study design, author(s) information such as the first name, last name, highest academic degree, and affiliation.

Abstract: Should contain background, research methods, results, and conclusion sections separately. The objective of study, findings (including its statistical significance) and the conclusion made based on the findings should be clearly presented.

Abstract is not necessary for case reports, while review articles should have an abstract. Nevertheless, the length of an abstract should be less than 250 words. Authors need to be careful that the abstract reflects the content of the article accurately.

Keywords: Each submitted article should contain 3-4 keywords. Keywords will assist indexers in cross indexing the article as they are published with abstract.

Introduction: This should summarize the purpose and the rationale for the study. It should neither review the subject extensively nor should it have data or conclusions of the study.

Research Method: This should include exact method or observation or experiment. Mathematical and Statistical methods must be mentioned and specify any general computer package used.

Results : Results must be presented in the form of text, tables, and illustrations. The contents of the tables should not be all repeated in the text. Instead, a reference to the table number may be given. Long articles may need sub-headings (mentioned on page 1 as Subdivisions) within some sections to clarify their contents.

Discussion: Discussion should emphasize the present findings and the variations or similarities with other work done in the field by other researchers. The detailed data should not be repeated discussion again. Emphasize the new and important aspects of the study. It must be mentioned whether the hypothesis mentioned in the article is true, false or no conclusions can be derived.

Conclusion: Your conclusion is your chance to have the last word on the subject. The conclusion allows you to have the final say on the issues you have raised in your paper, to summarize your thoughts, to demonstrate the importance of your ideas, and to propel your reader to a new view of the subject. It is also your opportunity to make a good final impression and to end on a positive note. In conclusion you represent something important to your readers, and can be used for some, or all the following tasks:

  • Emphasizing the purpose and importance of your article
  • Explaining the significance or consequences of your findings
  • Indicating the wider applications of the method developed in your article
  • Establishing your article as the basis for further investigation

CRediT Author Statement: An Author Declaration is a mandatory part of a submission.

Recognizing individual authors' contributions, minimizing authorship disputes, and promoting collaboration are all made possible through CRediT (Contributor Roles Taxonomy). This is necessary following collaborative workshops on multi-author publications developed under the Welcome Trust with input from researchers. CRediT offers authors the opportunity to share an accurate and detailed description of their diverse contributions to the published work.

Giving credit gives authors the chance to accurately and fully describe the contributions of each author made towards the publication of the work. The descriptions must be accurate and approved by all authors, and that responsibility is with the corresponding author. Using the pertinent categories list the role(s) played by each author. Multiple roles may have been played by the authors. The requirements for authorship in the journal remain the same regardless of credit.

In this manner the corresponding author should take responsibility for the integrity of the work as a whole. Credit statements should be provided during the submission process and will appear above the acknowledgement section.

Example: Frida Kasumawati: Conceptualization, Methodology, Software Meli Rahmawati.: Data curation, Writing- Original draft preparation. Tukimin Bin Sansuwito: Visualization, Investigation. Humaira Fadhilah: Supervision.: Lela Kania Rahsa Puji: Software, Validation.: Tri Okta Ratnaningtyas: Writing- Reviewing and Editing.

Term Definition
Conceptualization Ideas: formulation or evolution of overarching research goals and aims
Methodology Development or design of methodology; creation of models
Software Programming, software development; designing computer programs; implementation of the computer code and supporting algorithms; testing of existing code components
Validation Verification, whether as a part of the activity or separate, of the overall replication/ reproducibility of results/experiments and other research outputs
Formal analysis Application of statistical, mathematical, computational, or other formal techniques to analyse or synthesize study data
Investigation Conducting a research and investigation process, specifically performing the experiments, or data/evidence collection
Resources Provision of study materials, reagents, materials, patients, laboratory samples, animals, instrumentation, computing resources, or other analysis tools
Data Curation Management activities to annotate (produce metadata), scrub data and maintain research data (including software code, where it is necessary for interpreting the data itself) for initial use and later reuse
Writing – Original Draft Preparation, creation and/or presentation of the published work, specifically writing the initial draft (including substantive translation)
Writing – Review & Editing Preparation, creation and/or presentation of the published work by those from the original research group, specifically critical review, commentary, or revision – including pre-or post-publication stages
Visualization Preparation, creation and/or presentation of the published work, specifically visualization/ data presentation
Supervision Oversight and leadership responsibility for the research activity planning and execution, including mentorship external to the core team
Project administration Management and coordination responsibility for the research activity planning and execution
Funding acquisition Acquisition of the financial support for the project leading to this publication

Acknowledgement: All contributors who do not meet the criteria for authorship should be covered in the acknowledgement section. It should include persons who provided technical help, writing assistance and departmental head that only provided general support. Financial and material support should also be acknowledged.

Author(s) must acknowledge and declare any sources of funding and potential conflicting interest, such as receiving funds or fees by, holding stocks and shares in and organizations that may profit or lose through publication of your paper. Declaring a competing interest will not lead to automatic rejection of the paper, but we would like to be made aware of it.

Submission: Manuscripts must be written in English (U.K. English). Also the manuscript must be submitted with a confirmation letter that mention that manuscripts are exclusively submitted to MJN and have not been previously published elsewhere (except in the form of an abstract or as part of a published lecture, review or thesis) and are not under consideration by any other journal. In the covering letter one author should be specified as the “corresponding author” and all other authors should personally sign the covering letter. Authors are responsible for all statements made in their work.

Content should make no assumptions about the beliefs or commitments of any reader; contain nothing which might imply that one individual is superior to another on the grounds of age, gender, race, ethnicity, culture, sexual orientation, disability or health condition; and use inclusive language throughout. Authors should ensure that writing is free from bias, stereotypes, slang, reference to dominant culture and/or cultural assumptions . We recommend avoiding the use of descriptors that refer to personal attributes unless there is evidentiary-referenced scientific or clinical relevance.

The editorial board has the right to insert any necessary changes so that the manuscript is harmonized with the editorial framework of the journal. All submissions to the MJN should contain a completed copy of signed covered letter containing the copyright agreement.

Final Checklist: The authors must ensure that before submitting the manuscript for publication, they have taken care of the following:

  1. Title page should contain title, name of the author(s), their qualifications, mailing address for future correspondence, email address, phone, and fax number.
  2. Abstract in structured format up to 250 words.
  3. Keywords contain 3-5 words.
  4. Ethical Statement with date (day/month/year). 
  5. References should be typed as instruction that mentioned above.
  6. Tables and figures should be placed in appropriate places in the article rather than at the end of the article.
  7. Copyright and covering Letter. 
  8. Email ID, ORCID ID of all the authors in the Online Portal

Submitting Letters and Comments

This is open access journal, you may use the guidelines in submitting articles and research papers. Address your viewpoints, and comments to the Editor of MJN in the contacts provided herein.