Publication Ethics and Publication Malpractice Statement

The process of publishing includes the author, journal editor(s), peer reviewers and the publisher. At Nursing Praxis in Aotearoa New Zealand we aim for high standards of ethical behaviour in the publishing process not only to protect the interests of the journal, authors, reviewers and editors, but to also achieve our mission of publishing papers relevant to aspects of health care practice that have the potential to influence nursing practice.

Aotearoa New Zealand is a bicultural nation and the journal is committed to working within the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi (The Treaty of Waitangi) and promoting culturally responsive approaches to publishing.

The publication ethics and publication malpractice statement is largely based upon the COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics) Core Practices.

Editor’s Responsibilities

Editors are referred to the COPE website and to the Short guide to ethical editing for new editors .

Publication decisions

The editor, in discussion with the co-editors-in-chief, are responsible for deciding whether a submitted manuscript is published. Submitted manuscripts are evaluated without regard to race, gender, sexual orientation, religious belief, ethnic origin, citizenship, or political philosophy of the authors. The decision to publish is based upon the manuscript’s relevance to the journal’s vision and mission, as well as its originality and clarity. Legal requirements such as libel, copyright, and plagiarism will also be considered.

Confidentiality

The editors and any administrative staff must not disclose any information about a submitted manuscript to anyone other than the corresponding author, reviewers, potential reviewers, and the publisher, as appropriate. Editors who have submitted a manuscript as an author or co-author will not access the editor’s confidential review and decision process, unless communicated with as an author.

Disclosure and conflicts of interest

Unpublished materials disclosed in a submitted manuscript will not be used by any members of the editorial board for their own research without the explicit written consent of the author(s).

Reviewer’s Responsibilities

Reviewers are referred to the COPE website Ethical guidelines for peer reviewers.

Contribution to editorial decisions

The peer review process assists the editor and editorial board to make editorial decisions, including recommendations to improve the manuscript. Communication is between the editor and the author.

Promptness

Any invited reviewer who feels unqualified to review the manuscript or knows that its timely review will be impossible should immediately notify the editor so that alternative reviewers can be contacted.

Confidentiality

Any manuscripts received for review must be treated as confidential documents. They must not be shown to or discussed with others unless authorised by the editor.

Standards of objectivity

Reviews should be conducted objectively. Personal criticism of the author is unacceptable. Referees should express their views clearly with appropriate supporting arguments. Reviews should be written constructively.

Acknowledgement of sources

Reviewers should identify relevant published work that has not been cited by the authors. They should point out where observations or arguments have been previously published and include the relevant citation. Reviewer’s will also let the editor know if there is any substantial similarity or overlap with other work known to the reviewer.

Disclosure and conflict of interest

Privileged information or ideas obtained through peer review must be kept confidential and not used for personal advantage. Reviewers should not consider evaluating manuscripts in which they have conflicts of interest resulting from connections with any of the authors or organisations, or other competitive or collaborative relationships with the associated manuscript.

Author’s duties

Reporting standards

Authors reporting results of original research or reviews should present an accurate account of the work performed as well as an objective discussion of its significance. Underlying data should be represented accurately in the manuscript. A manuscript should contain sufficient detail and references to permit others to replicate the work. Fraudulent or knowingly inaccurate statements constitute unethical behaviour and are unacceptable.

Originality, plagiarism, and acknowledgement of sources

The authors should ensure that they have written entirely original works. Authors will appropriately cite or quote the work and/or words of others including any work that has been influential in determining the nature of the manuscript. A plagiarism report is required.

Multiple, redundant or concurrent publication

An author should not in general publish manuscripts describing essentially the same research in more than one journal or primary publication. Submitting the same manuscript to more than one journal constitutes unethical publishing behaviour and is unacceptable. Authors cannot submit the same manuscript to another journal during the review process.

Manuscripts that have been published as copyrighted material elsewhere cannot be submitted. Authors of dissertations who have submitted a manuscript based upon their dissertation, need to abide with legal copyright requirements.

Authorship of a manuscript

Authorship should be limited to those who have made a significant contribution to the conception, design, execution, or interpretation of the manuscript. All those who have made significant contributions should be listed as co-authors. Others who have participated in certain substantive aspects of the manuscript should be named in an Acknowledgement section. The corresponding author needs to verify that all co-authors have approved the final version of the manuscript and have agreed to its submission for publication.

Data access and retention

Authors may be asked to provide the raw data of their study together with the manuscript for editorial review. Authors should be prepared to make the data publicly available, provided confidentiality of participants is protected.

Disclosure and conflicts of interest

All authors should disclose in their manuscript any financial or other substantive conflict of interest that might be construed to influence the results or their interpretation in the manuscript. All sources of financial support for the project should be disclosed.

Fundamental errors in published works

When an author discovers a significant error or inaccuracy in his/her own published work, it is the author’s obligation to promptly notify the journal’s editor or publisher and cooperate with them to either retract the paper or correct the paper through an erratum.

Suspected ethical problem in publishing process

The editors and publisher of Nursing Praxis in Aotearoa New Zealand will take all reasonable steps to identify and prevent the publication of papers where research misconduct has occurred. Should a suspected ethical problem be identified during the publication process or post-publication, the editors and publisher will follow the guidance provided by COPE flowcharts. 

The editors and publisher have the right to retract any published manuscript(s) with or without prior notification to the author(s). The editors and publisher will publish corrections, clarifications, retractions and apologies as needed.