Module 5: Selecting and Focusing a Topic for Publication
Objectives
In this module learners will
- select a topic of interest that has potential for publication,
- describe the one main purpose of the manuscript; and
- determine the primary audience of the manuscript.
Lectures
Module 5 Slides Download Module 5 Slides
Selecting a Topic (10:56 min)
Experienced Authors - Selecting a Topic (3:15 min)
Purpose (1:38 min)
Audience (1:55 min)
Activities
If you haven't done so already, please download the Activity Log Notebook Download Activity Log Notebook and the Reflection Assignments Download Reflection Assignments.
Activity Log Notebook
- Topic Selection: See Workbook p 5 for detailed instructions
- Audience Selection (p 6)
- State the primary audience for your article. The manuscript is then written for this audience. Examples of a primary audience are: critical care staff nurses, primary care nurse practitioners, nurse anesthetists, faculty teaching in baccalaureate programs. A secondary audience may benefit from reading your article, but the article is not written for them. List two possible secondary audiences for your article.
Reflection Assignments
- Topics of Interest (p 8)
- Briefly describe topics that interest you to write about for a journal article.
Readings and Resources
Baggs, J. G. (2011). The dissertation manuscript option, Internet posting, and publication. Research in Nursing & Health, 34, 89-90.
Blancett, S., Flanagin, A. & Young, R. (1995). Duplicate publication in the nursing literature. Image – The Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 27(1), 51-56.
Fowler, J. (2010). Writing for professional publication. part 2: Subject matter. British Journal of Nursing (BJN), 19(17), 1121.
Happell, B. (2012). Writing and publishing clinical articles: a practical guide. Emergency Nurse 20(4), 33-37.
Happell, B. (2012). A practical guide to writing clinical articles for publication. Nursing Older People, 24, 3.
Johnson, S. (1996). Adapting a thesis to publication style: Meeting editors’ expectations. Dimensions of Critical Care Nursing, 15(3), 160-167.
Johnson, S. (2002). Duplicate publication, Part 1: Consideration of the issues. Nurse Author and Editor, 12(3), 1-4.
Johnson, S. (2002). Duplicate publication, Part 2: A case analysis. Nurse Author and Editor, 12(4), 7-8.
Mee, C. (2001). Developing an article’s focus. Nurse Author and Editor, 11(1), 7-9.
Pelletier, L. (2003). Writing a feature article: Not all articles are alike. Nurse Author and Editor, 13(4), 7-8.
Scanlon, P.M. (2007). Song from myself: An anatomy of self-plagiarism. Plagiary: Cross Disciplinary Studies in Plagiarism, Fabrication and Falsification, 2(1), 1-10.
Yabro, C. (1995). Duplicate publication: Guidelines for nurse authors and editors. Image – The Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 27(1), 57.