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Nursing Ethics

Nursing Ethics

An International Journal for Health Care Professionals

eISSN: 14770989 | ISSN: 09697330 | Current volume: 30 | Current issue: 7-8 Frequency: 8 Times/Year


Nursing Ethics
takes a practical approach to this complex subject and relates each topic to the working environment. The articles on ethical and legal issues are written in a comprehensible style and official documents are analysed in a user-friendly way. The international Editorial Board ensures the selection of a wide range of high quality articles of global significance.

This journal is a member of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

 

Nursing Ethics takes a practical approach to this complex subject and relates each topic to the working environment. The articles on ethical and legal issues are written in a comprehensible style and official documents are analysed in a user-friendly way. The international Editorial Board ensures the selection of a wide range of high quality articles of global significance.

Nursing Ethics adheres to a rigorous double-blind reviewing policy in which the identity of reviewers and authors are concealed from both parties. Each manuscript is reviewed by at least two referees. All manucripts are reviewed as rapidly as possible (e.g. 4-6 weeks) of submission.

Current topics of special interest include the accountability of the health profession in the areas of:

  • Management/Inter-Professional Relations
  • Patient Rights/Public Welfare

This extensive journal covers highly relevant issues including:

  • Resuscitation
  • Genetics
  • Current health policies
  • Modes of thought in health care
  • Comparative and cross-cultural studies
  • Ethics in the nursing curriculum
  • Codes of conduct

Nursing Ethics is presented in a practical, well-written and highly readable format.

Founding Editors
Geoffrey Hunt University of Surrey, UK
Verena Tschudin University of Surrey, UK
Editor-in-Chief
Ann Gallagher University of Exeter, UK
Founding Board Member
Chris Gastmans Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium
Associate Editors
Bernadette Dierckx de Casterlé Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium
Robert Jago Royal Holloway University of London, UK
Settimio Monteverde University of Zurich and Bern University of Applied Sciences, Switzerland
Elizabeth Peter University of Toronto, Canada
Features/Impact Editors
Tieghan Killackey University of Toronto, Canada
Georgina Morley Cleveland Clinic, USA
Executive Editorial Board
Nasser Abu-El-Noor Islamic University of Gaza, Gaza, USA
Ebin J. Arries-Kleyenstüber University of Regina, Canada
Helen Chan Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Bernadette Dierckx de Casterlé Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium
Helen Kohlen University of Vallendar, Germany
Yonghui Ma Xiamen University, China
Dagfinn Nåden Oslo and Akershus University College of Applied Sciences, Norway
Daniel Sperling University of Haifa, Israel
David Steward International Council of Nurses, Geneva, Switzerland
Riitta Suhonen University of Turku, Finland
Anthony Tuckett Curtin University, Australia
Carla Ventura University of Sao Paulo, Brazil
Editorial Review Board
Janet Holt Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, USA
Seiko Izumi Oregon Health and Science University, USA
Emiko Konishi Saku University, Japan
Stephen Smith Edinburgh Napier University, UK
Human rights & nursing awards co-ordinators
Tiziana Sala Defilippis University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland
Jane Leng University of Surrey, UK
  • Academic Search Premier
  • Applied Social Sciences Index & Abstracts (ASSIA)
  • BDLIC Fundacion Index
  • Bibliography of Bioethics
  • British Nursing Index
  • Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature CINAHL
  • Current Awareness Abstracts
  • Current Contents / Social and Behavioral Sciences
  • Current Contents/ Social and Behavioral Sciences
  • Health Care Database
  • Heath Care Database
  • ISI Discovery Agent
  • Index Medicus
  • Index Medicus (Ceased 2004)
  • International Nursing Index
  • MEDLINE
  • Nursing Abstracts
  • PsycINFO
  • Science Citation Index
  • Scopus
  • The Philosopher's Index
  • Manuscript Submission Guidelines: Nursing Ethics

    This Journal is a member of the Committee on Publication Ethics.

    Please read the guidelines below then visit the Journal’s submission site http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/ne to upload your manuscript. Please note that manuscripts not conforming to these guidelines may be returned.

    Only manuscripts of sufficient quality that meet the aims and scope of Nursing Ethics will be reviewed.

    There are no fees payable to submit or publish in this Journal. Open Access options are available - see section 3.3 below.

    As part of the submission process you will be required to warrant that you are submitting your original work, that you have the rights in the work, that you are submitting the work for first publication in the Journal and that it is not being considered for publication elsewhere and has not already been published elsewhere, and that you have obtained and can supply all necessary permissions for the reproduction of any copyright works not owned by you.

    1. What do we publish?
      1.1 Aims & Scope
      1.2 Article types
      1.3 Writing your paper
    2. Editorial policies
      2.1 Peer review policy
      2.2 Authorship
      2.3 Acknowledgements
      2.4 Funding
      2.5 Declaration of conflicting interests
      2.6 Research ethics and patient consent
      2.7 Research Participants' consent
    3. Publishing policies
      3.1 Publication ethics
      3.2 Contributor's publishing agreement
      3.3 Open access and author archiving
    4. Preparing your manuscript
      4.1 Formatting
      4.2 Artwork, figures and other graphics
      4.3 Supplementary material
      4.4 Reference style
      4.5 English language editing services
      4.6 Abstract
    5. Submitting your manuscript
      5.1 ORCID
      5.2 Information required for completing your submission
      5.3 Permissions
    6. On acceptance and publication
      6.1 Sage Production
      6.2 Online First publication
      6.3 Access to your published article
      6.4 Promoting your article
    7. Further information

    1. What do we publish?

    1.1 Aims & Scope

    Before submitting your manuscript to Nursing Ethics, please ensure you have read the Aims & Scope.

    1.2 Article Types

    Nursing Ethics features commissioned and non-commissioned Empirical papers, Philosophical/theoretical papers and Review articles.

    Length: Articles should be between 2500 and 6000 words long (including abstract, text and references; excluding tables). Review articles may be up to 8000 words (including tables).

    Abstract: Please supply an article abstract of no more than 300 words. Please supply up to six key words. See more detailed guidance below.

    Authors whose first language is not English are requested to have their manuscripts checked carefully for linguistic correctness before submission.

    1.3 Writing your paper

    The Sage Author Gateway has some general advice and on how to get published, plus links to further resources. Sage Author Services also offers authors a variety of ways to improve and enhance their article including English language editing, plagiarism detection, and video abstract and infographic preparation.

    1.3.1 Make your article discoverable

    When writing up your paper, think about how you can make it discoverable. The title, keywords and abstract are key to ensuring readers find your article through search engines such as Google. For information and guidance on how best to title your article, write your abstract and select your keywords, have a look at this page on the Gateway: How to Help Readers Find Your Article Online.

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    2. Editorial policies

    2.1 Peer review policy

    Sage does not permit the use of author-suggested (recommended) reviewers at any stage of the submission process, be that through the web-based submission system or other communication. Reviewers should be experts in their fields and should be able to provide an objective assessment of the manuscript. Our policy is that reviewers should not be assigned to a paper if:

    •  The reviewer is based at the same institution as any of the co-authors

    •  The reviewer is based at the funding body of the paper

    •  The author has recommended the reviewer

    •  The reviewer has provided a personal (e.g. Gmail/Yahoo/Hotmail) email account and an institutional email account cannot be found after performing a basic Google search (name, department and institution). 

    2.2 Authorship

    Papers should only be submitted for consideration once consent is given by all contributing authors. Those submitting papers should carefully check that all those whose work contributed to the paper are acknowledged as contributing authors.

    The list of authors should include all those who can legitimately claim authorship. This is all those who:

      1. Made a substantial contribution to the concept or design of the work; or acquisition, analysis or interpretation of data,
      2. Drafted the article or revised it critically for important intellectual content,
      3. Approved the version to be published,
      4. Each author should have participated sufficiently in the work to take public responsibility for appropriate portions of the content.

    Authors should meet the conditions of all of the points above. When a large, multicentre group has conducted the work, the group should identify the individuals who accept direct responsibility for the manuscript. These individuals should fully meet the criteria for authorship.

    Acquisition of funding, collection of data, or general supervision of the research group alone does not constitute authorship, although all contributors who do not meet the criteria for authorship should be listed in the Acknowledgments section. Please refer to the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) authorship guidelines for more information on authorship.

    Please note that AI chatbots, for example ChatGPT, should not be listed as authors. For more information see the policy on Use of ChatGPT and generative AI tools.

    2.3 Acknowledgements

    All contributors who do not meet the criteria for authorship should be listed in an Acknowledgements section. Examples of those who might be acknowledged include a person who provided purely technical help, or a department chair who provided only general support.

    Please supply any personal acknowledgements separately to the main text to facilitate anonymous peer review.

    2.3.1 Third party submissions

    Where an individual who is not listed as an author submits a manuscript on behalf of the author(s), a statement must be included in the Acknowledgements section of the manuscript and in the accompanying cover letter. The statements must:

    • Disclose this type of editorial assistance – including the individual’s name, company and level of input
    • Identify any entities that paid for this assistance
    • Confirm that the listed authors have authorized the submission of their manuscript via third party and approved any statements or declarations, e.g. conflicting interests, funding, etc.

    Where appropriate, Sage reserves the right to deny consideration to manuscripts submitted by a third party rather than by the authors themselves.

    2.4 Funding

    Nursing Ethics requires all authors to acknowledge their funding in a consistent fashion under a separate heading.  Please visit the Funding Acknowledgements page on the Sage Journal Author Gateway to confirm the format of the acknowledgment text in the event of funding, or state that: This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors. 

    2.5 Declaration of conflicting interests

    It is the policy of Nursing Ethics to require a declaration of conflicting interests from all authors enabling a statement to be carried within the paginated pages of all published articles. 

    Please ensure that a ‘Declaration of Conflicting Interests’ statement is included at the end of your manuscript, after any acknowledgements and prior to the references. If no conflict exists, please state that ‘The Author(s) declare(s) that there is no conflict of interest’.

    For guidance on conflict of interest statements, please see the ICMJE recommendations here.

    Please include any declaration at the end of your manuscript after any acknowledgements and prior to the references, under a heading ‘Declaration of Conflicting Interests’. If no declaration is made the following will be printed under this heading in your article: ‘None Declared’. Alternatively, you may wish to state that ‘The Author(s) declare(s) that there is no conflict of interest’. 

    When making a declaration the disclosure information must be specific and include any financial relationship that all authors of the article has with any sponsoring organization and the for-profit interests the organization represents, and with any for-profit product discussed or implied in the text of the article.

    Any commercial or financial involvements that might represent an appearance of a conflict of interest need to be additionally disclosed in the covering letter accompanying your article to assist the Editor in evaluating whether sufficient disclosure has been made within the Declaration of Conflicting Interests provided in the article.

    For more information please visit the Sage Journal Author Gateway.

    2.6 Research ethics and patient consent

    Please note that if research ethics considerations are not addressed adequately in both the Abstract and in the text of the manuscript, your submission will be unsubmitted or rejected.*

    All papers reporting animal and human studies must include whether written consent was obtained from the local Ethics Committee or Institutional Review Board. Please ensure that you have provided the full name and institution of the review committee and an Ethics Committee reference number.

    We accept manuscripts that report human for publication only if it is made clear that investigations were carried out to a high ethical standard. Studies in humans which might be interpreted as experimental (e.g. controlled trials) should conform to the World Medical Association Declaration of Helsinki and typescripts must include a statement that the research protocol was approved by the appropriate ethical committee. In line with the Declaration of Helsinki 1975, revised Hong Kong 1989, we encourage authors to register their clinical trials (at http://clinicaltrials.gov or other suitable databases identified by the ICMJE). If your trial has been registered, please state this on the Title Page.

    2.7 Research Participants' consent

    Authors are required to ensure the following guidelines are followed, as recommended by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors, Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals. Research Participants have a right to privacy that should not be infringed without informed consent. Identifying information, including particpiants' names, initials, or hospital numbers, should not be published in written descriptions or photographs unless the information is essential for scientific purposes and the participant (or parent or guardian) gives written informed consent for publication. Informed consent for this purpose requires that a participant who is identifiable be shown the manuscript to be published.

    Identifying details of individuals or organisations should be omitted if they are not essential. Complete anonymity is difficult to achieve, however, and informed consent should be obtained if there is any doubt. If identifying characteristics are altered to protect anonymity, authors should provide assurance that alterations do not distort scientific meaning and editors should so note. When informed consent has been obtained it should be indicated in the submitted article.

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    3. Publishing Policies

    3.1 Publication ethics

    Sage is committed to upholding the integrity of the academic record. We encourage authors to refer to the Committee on Publication Ethics’ International Standards for Authors and view the Publication Ethics page on the Sage Author Gateway.

    3.1.1 Plagiarism

    Nursing Ethics and Sage take issues of copyright infringement, plagiarism or other breaches of best practice in publication very seriously. We seek to protect the rights of our authors and we always investigate claims of plagiarism or misuse of published articles. Equally, we seek to protect the reputation of the journal against malpractice. Submitted articles may be checked with duplication-checking software. Where an article, for example, is found to have plagiarised other work or included third-party copyright material without permission or with insufficient acknowledgement, or where the authorship of the article is contested, we reserve the right to take action including, but not limited to: publishing an erratum or corrigendum (correction); retracting the article; taking up the matter with the head of department or dean of the author's institution and/or relevant academic bodies or societies; or taking appropriate legal action.

    3.1.2 Prior publication

    If material has been previously published it is not generally acceptable for publication in a Sage journal. However, there are certain circumstances where previously published material can be considered for publication. Please refer to the guidance on the Sage Author Gateway or if in doubt, contact the Editor at the address given below.

    3.2 Contributor's publishing agreement

    Before publication, Sage requires the author as the rights holder to sign a Journal Contributor’s Publishing Agreement. Sage’s Journal Contributor’s Publishing Agreement is an exclusive licence agreement which means that the author retains copyright in the work but grants Sage the sole and exclusive right and licence to publish for the full legal term of copyright. Exceptions may exist where an assignment of copyright is required or preferred by a proprietor other than Sage. In this case copyright in the work will be assigned from the author to the society. For more information please visit the Sage Author Gateway.

    3.3 Open access and author archiving

    Nursing Ethics offers optional open access publishing via the Sage Choice programme and Open Access agreements, where authors can publish open access either discounted or free of charge depending on the agreement with Sage. Find out if your institution is participating by visiting Open Access Agreements at Sage. For more information on Open Access publishing options at Sage please visit Sage Open Access. For information on funding body compliance, and depositing your article in repositories, please visit Sage’s Author Archiving and Re-Use Guidelines and Publishing Policies.

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    4. Preparing your manuscript for submission

    4.1 Formatting

    The preferred format for your manuscript is Word. LaTeX files are also accepted. Word and (La)Tex templates are available on the Manuscript Submission Guidelines page of our Author Gateway.

    4.2 Artwork, figures and other graphics

    For guidance on the preparation of illustrations, pictures and graphs in electronic format, please visit Sage’s Manuscript Submission Guidelines.  

    Figures supplied in colour will appear in colour online regardless of whether or not these illustrations are reproduced in colour in the printed version. For specifically requested colour reproduction in print, you will receive information regarding the costs from Sage after receipt of your accepted article.

    4.3 Supplementary material

    This journal is able to host additional materials online (e.g. datasets, podcasts, videos, images etc) alongside the full-text of the article. For more information please refer to our guidelines on submitting supplementary files.

    4.4 Reference style

    Nursing Ethics adheres to the Sage Vancouver reference style. View the Sage Vancouver guidelines to ensure your manuscript conforms to this reference style.

    If you use EndNote to manage references, you can download the Sage Vancouver EndNote output file.

    4.5 English language editing services

    Authors seeking assistance with English language editing, translation, or figure and manuscript formatting to fit the journal’s specifications should consider using Sage Language Services. Visit Sage Language Services on our Journal Author Gateway for further information.

    4.6 Abstract

    1. Empirical papers (qualitative, quantitative or mixed methods) -  a structured abstract is required. This should be a maximum of 300 words with following headings required:

    Background; Research question/aim/objectives; Research design; Participants and research context; Ethical considerations; Findings/results; Conclusions.  

    These headings should also form the structure of the manuscript.

    2. Philosophical/theoretical paper – Unstructured abstract required (maximum of 300 words)

    3. Review article - Unstructured abstract required (maximum of 300 words)

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    5. Submitting your manuscript

    Nursing Ethics is hosted on Sage Track, a web based online submission and peer review system powered by ScholarOne™ Manuscripts. Visit http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/ne to login and submit your article online. 

    IMPORTANT: Please check whether you already have an account in the system before trying to create a new one. If you have reviewed or authored for the journal in the past year it is likely that you will have had an account created.  For further guidance on submitting your manuscript online please visit ScholarOne Online Help.

    5.1 ORCID

    As part of our commitment to ensuring an ethical, transparent and fair peer review process Sage is a supporting member of ORCID, the Open Researcher and Contributor ID. ORCID provides a unique and persistent digital identifier that distinguishes researchers from every other researcher, even those who share the same name, and, through integration in key research workflows such as manuscript and grant submission, supports automated linkages between researchers and their professional activities, ensuring that their work is recognized.

    The collection of ORCID iDs from corresponding authors is now part of the submission process of this journal. If you already have an ORCID iD you will be asked to associate that to your submission during the online submission process. We also strongly encourage all co-authors to link their ORCID ID to their accounts in our online peer review platforms. It takes seconds to do: click the link when prompted, sign into your ORCID account and our systems are automatically updated. Your ORCID iD will become part of your accepted publication’s metadata, making your work attributable to you and only you. Your ORCID iD is published with your article so that fellow researchers reading your work can link to your ORCID profile and from there link to your other publications.

    If you do not already have an ORCID iD please follow this link to create one or visit our ORCID homepage to learn more.

    5.2 Information required for completing your submission

    You will be asked to provide contact details and academic affiliations for all co-authors via the submission system and identify who is to be the corresponding author. These details must match what appears on your manuscript. At this stage please ensure you have included all the required statements and declarations and uploaded any additional supplementary files (including reporting guidelines where relevant).

    5.3 Permissions

    Please also ensure that you have obtained any necessary permission from copyright holders for reproducing any illustrations, tables, figures or lengthy quotations previously published elsewhere. For further information including guidance on fair dealing for criticism and review, please see the Copyright and Permissions page on the Sage Author Gateway.

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    6. On acceptance and publication

    6.1 Sage Production

    Your Sage Production Editor will keep you informed as to your article’s progress throughout the production process. Proofs will be sent by PDF to the corresponding author and should be returned promptly.  Authors are reminded to check their proofs carefully to confirm that all author information, including names, affiliations, sequence and contact details are correct, and that Funding and Conflict of Interest statements, if any, are accurate.

    6.2 Online First publication

    Online First allows final articles (completed and approved articles awaiting assignment to a future issue) to be published online prior to their inclusion in a journal issue, which significantly reduces the lead time between submission and publication. Visit the Sage Journals help page for more details, including how to cite Online First articles.

    6.3 Access to your published article

    Sage provides authors with online access to their final article.

    6.4 Promoting your article

    Publication is not the end of the process! You can help disseminate your paper and ensure it is as widely read and cited as possible. The Sage Author Gateway has numerous resources to help you promote your work. Visit the Promote Your Article page on the Gateway for tips and advice.

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    7. Further information

    Any correspondence, queries or additional requests for information on the manuscript submission process should be sent to the Nursing Ethics editorial office as follows:

    Ann Gallagher
    Nursing Ethics 
    College of Medicine and Health
    St Luke's Campus
    Heavitree Road, Exeter
    EX1 2LU.

    E-mail: NursingEthicsJournal@hotmail.com

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