Focus and Scope

The International Journal of Nursing (IJN) is a peer reviewed, open access nursing journal devoted to publishing research papers and scholarship about nursing education, health care delivery, organisation, management, workforce, policy and research methods relevant to nursing, midwifery and other health related professions. The IJN aims to provide an international forum for the exchange of ideas and findings from researchers across different cultures and encourages research on the impact of cultural factors on nursing theory and practice. It also seeks to promote the transfer of knowledge between professionals in academia and industry by emphasizing research in which results are of interest or applicable to nursing practices

The journal particularly welcomes studies that aim to evaluate and understand complex health care interventions and health policies and which employ the most rigorous designs and methods appropriate for the research question of interest. The journal also seeks to advance the quality of research by publishing methodological papers introducing or elaborating on analytic techniques, measures, and research methods.

The journal has been publishing original peer-reviewed articles of interest to the international health care community, making it one of the longest standing repositories of scholarship in this field. The IJN offers authors the benefits of:

A highly respected journal in its field with consistently high impact
 
Indexed in major databases:
  • Elsevier /Scopus /EMBASE
  • ProQuest
  • J-Gateplus
  • Ulrich's Web Global Serial Directory
  • Infobase Index
  • Google Scholar
  • OAI
  • Open Jounal System (OJS)
  • Directory of Research Journal Indexing
  • Indian Citation Index
  • Awaiting Response from: PUBMED

A truly global readership

Highly efficient editorial processes: average time from submission to first decision of 4 weeks

Rapid initial screening for suitability and editorial interest

Excellent peer reviewers drawn from a range of health service research disciplines

Early online publication as Article in Press - fully citable by your peers - on average 8 weeks after acceptance.

The IJN endorses the Equator Network (External linkhttp://www.equator-network.org/) an international initiative that seeks to improve reliability and value of research literature in health care by promoting transparent and accurate reporting of studies. We ask our authors to make use of appropriate reporting guidelines to ensure excellence in scientific reporting. Guidelines for authors can be accessed at External linkhttp://ijnonline.com/index.php/ijn/about/submissions#authorGuidelines

Peer Review Process

The following is the review process that every manuscript submitted to the journal undergoes during the course of the peer-review process.

The entire review process is performed using the online submission. Once a manuscript is submitted, the manuscript is assigned to an Editor most appropriate to handle it based on the subject of the manuscript and the availability of the Editors. The editor first evaluates all manuscripts. It is rare but entirely feasible for an exceptional manuscript to be accepted at this stage. Those rejected at this stage are insufficiently original, have poor grammar or English language, or are outside the aims and scope of the journal. Should the Editor decide to not assign reviewers but instead reject the submission, he/she is required to provide comments to be returned to the author.

If the Editor determines that the submitted manuscript is of sufficient quality and falls within the scope of the journal, he/she assigns the manuscript to a minimum of 2 and a maximum of 5 external reviewers for peer-review. The deadline to complete the review process is 4 weeks. The reviewers submit their reports on the manuscripts along with their recommendation of one of the following actions to the Editor:

  • Accept
  • Consider after Minor Changes
  • Consider after Major Changes
  • Reject

When all reviewers have submitted their reports, the Editor can make one of the following editorial recommendations:

  • Publish
  • Consider after Minor Changes
  • Consider after Major Changes
  • Reject

If the Editor recommends Publish the manuscript is accepted for publication.

If the Editor recommends to Consider after Minor Changes, the authors are notified to prepare and submit a final copy of their manuscript with the required minor changes suggested by the reviewers. Only the Editor reviews the revised manuscript after the minor changes have been made by the authors. Once the Editor is satisfied with the final manuscript, the manuscript can be accepted.

If the Editor recommends to Consider after Major Changes, the recommendation is communicated to the authors. The authors are expected to revise their manuscripts in accordance with the changes recommended by the reviewers and to submit their revised manuscript in a timely manner. Once the revised manuscript is submitted, the Editor can then make an editorial recommendation which can be Published or to Consider after Minor Changes or Reject.

If the Editor recommends rejecting the manuscript, the rejection is immediate. Also, if two of the reviewers recommend rejecting the manuscript, the rejection is immediate.

The Editors have the authority in rejecting any manuscript because of the inappropriateness of its subject, lack of quality, or incorrectness of its results.

The peer-review process is double-blinded, i.e., the reviewers and the authors do not have access to the information of who the peer-reviewers are and vice-versa.

Publication Frequency

International Journal of Nursing is Published Biannually. Journal items are published collectively, as part of an issue with its own Table of Contents. Alternatively, individual items will be published as soon as they are ready, by adding them to the "current" volume's Table of Contents.

Open Access Policy

This journal provides immediate open access to its content on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge.