Publication Ethics

Nursing Target Journal is committed to upholding the highest standards of integrity and transparency in scholarly publishing and adheres strictly to the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) guidelines. All parties involved—authors, editors, reviewers, and the publisher—are expected to uphold ethical responsibilities throughout the submission, review, and publication process. The journal maintains a zero-tolerance policy for misconduct, including plagiarism, data fabrication, falsification, duplicate submission, and unethical authorship practices. Authors must ensure the originality of their work, provide accurate data, cite sources appropriately, disclose conflicts of interest, and obtain ethical approvals. Editors are responsible for fair, unbiased decision-making and for addressing ethical concerns in line with COPE procedures. Reviewers must conduct objective, confidential, and constructive evaluations, free from conflict of interest. By enforcing rigorous ethical standards, Nursing Target Journal fosters trustworthy, responsible, and globally respected nursing research.

Ethical Responsibilities of Authors

1. Authors submitting to Nursing Target Journal must adhere to the highest standards of ethical conduct as outlined in the journal’s policies and in accordance with the guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). All authors are expected to uphold integrity, transparency, and accountability throughout the research and publication process. Failure to comply with these ethical responsibilities may result in serious consequences, including rejection, retraction of published articles, or permanent bans from submitting to the journal.
2. Authors are required to take full responsibility for the entire content of their submitted manuscripts. All data and findings presented must be truthful, accurate, and free from fabrication, falsification, or any form of scientific misconduct. Deliberate misrepresentation of data or findings will not be tolerated under any circumstances.
3. Authors must ensure the originality of their work. Nursing Target Journal does not accept manuscripts—or any substantial part thereof—that have been previously published, submitted, or are under active consideration elsewhere. Authors must also comply with the journal’s policy on the reproduction of previously published material, ensuring that all reused content is properly licensed, credited, and accompanied by appropriate permissions where necessary.
4. All submitted manuscripts must be free from plagiarism, including both verbatim copying and improper paraphrasing. Authors are strongly advised to maintain a similarity index of no more than 15%, excluding references and properly quoted material. The use of plagiarism detection software is recommended prior to submission. Any use of text or data from previously published work—including the authors’ own—must be clearly attributed, and direct quotations must appear within quotation marks and accompanied by accurate citations.
5. Authors should make every effort to ensure that the underlying data supporting their findings are available, verifiable, and transparently reported. Editors and reviewers may request access to raw data during peer review. Authors are encouraged to deposit their data in institutional or domain-specific repositories to promote transparency and reproducibility. Exceptions are granted for sensitive or confidential data involving human participants, which must be handled in accordance with ethical and legal standards of data protection.
6. All competing interests—financial, institutional, or personal—must be fully disclosed in the appropriate section of the manuscript (see Instructions for Authors). Likewise, funding sources must be clearly identified. Authors must explicitly confirm that funding bodies had no role in the design, execution, interpretation, or publication of the research unless otherwise stated.
7. Authors have an obligation to immediately notify the editorial office of any factual or ethical errors identified prior to publication so that appropriate corrections can be made. In the case of post-publication discoveries of significant errors or inaccuracies, authors are required to contact the Editor-in-Chief without delay. The journal will issue an erratum or retraction following consultation with the Editor-in-Chief, the handling editor, and, where necessary, the peer reviewers.
8. Authors are expected to follow responsible citation practices. All cited material must be accurately referenced, relevant to the work, and properly sourced. Authors must not engage in excessive self-citation, citation padding, or cite sources they have not personally reviewed. Any original language taken from another publication—including the authors’ own prior work—must be clearly quoted and cited. Citation manipulation, including the intentional inflation of citation metrics, is a serious breach of publication ethics and will be treated accordingly. Authors are expected to comply with COPE’s guidance on citation integrity and proper scholarly attribution.

 

Ethical Responsibilities of Editors

Editors of Nursing Target Journal are expected to uphold the highest standards of editorial integrity and must operate in strict adherence to the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) guidelines.

1. Editorial decisions must be based solely on the academic merit of the manuscript—such as its originality, scientific validity, methodological rigor, and relevance to the journal’s aims and scope—without any influence from personal biases or external pressures.
2. Editors must remain impartial and must not discriminate based on authors’ race, gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, nationality, religious or political beliefs, institutional affiliation, or personal background. All manuscripts must be evaluated fairly, transparently, and consistently.
3. Editors are prohibited from allowing external entities, including governments, funders, or political groups, to influence editorial decisions. Manuscripts may only be accepted based on scientific quality and the independent, evidence-based recommendations of qualified peer reviewers. Editors are responsible for ensuring that authors are promptly and clearly informed of the editorial decision, whether acceptance, revision, or rejection.
4. Editors must treat all submitted materials with strict confidentiality. No information regarding a manuscript under review may be shared with individuals or organizations not directly involved in the editorial or peer review process. Editors must ensure that no privileged information is used for personal gain.
5. Editors must also respect authors’ justified requests to exclude specific reviewers from the peer review process, provided such requests are based on reasonable and documented concerns, such as conflicts of interest or previous unfair assessments.
6. In cases where the Editor-in-Chief or any member of the Editorial Board submits their own manuscript to Nursing Target Journal, a rigorously impartial review process will be ensured. The manuscript will be handled by an independent editorial team member, and the submitting editor will have no involvement whatsoever in the editorial decision-making process, including reviewer selection or correspondence. This procedure is in strict alignment with COPE’s ethical guidelines to prevent conflicts of interest and to maintain the integrity and transparency of the peer review process.

 

Ethical Responsibilities of Reviewers

Peer reviewers play a pivotal role in upholding the scientific quality and ethical rigor of all content published in Nursing Target Journal. Each submitted manuscript is subject to independent, confidential, and objective peer review by at least two qualified experts, selected based on their subject matter expertise and scholarly credentials. Upon accepting an invitation to review, all reviewers are expected to adhere to the following ethical responsibilities:

 

1. Objectivity and fairness: Reviewers must provide an unbiased, constructive, and critical evaluation of the manuscript based solely on scientific merit, originality, methodology, and clarity, without influence from personal, financial, or professional conflicts.
2. Confidentiality: All materials received for review must be treated as strictly confidential. Reviewers must not share, disseminate, or use the manuscript content for any purpose outside of the review process.
3. Anonymity: Nursing Target Journal follows a single-blind peer review policy. Reviewers must not reveal their identities to authors under any circumstances and must refrain from any communication with the authors during the review process.
4. Constructive feedback: Reviewers are expected to provide detailed, respectful, and well-supported comments. Recommendations should be explained point-by-point, offering clear justifications for suggestions or requested revisions to assist both the authors and editors.
5. Timeliness: Reviewers must submit their evaluations within the agreed timeframe. If additional time is needed, reviewers should notify the handling editor promptly to ensure timely processing of the manuscript.
6. Reporting ethical concerns: Reviewers have a duty to alert the editors immediately upon identifying any indication of scientific or ethical misconduct, including but not limited to plagiarism, data fabrication, image manipulation, duplicate publication, or inappropriate research practices.

 

Conflicts of Interest

All authors, editors, and reviewers involved in the publication process at Nursing Target Journal are required to disclose any actual or potential conflicts of interest that could influence the objectivity, integrity, or perceived impartiality of the research, review, or editorial decision.

For all types of submissions, authors must clearly declare any financial, institutional, personal, or other relationships with individuals, organizations, or entities that could be perceived to have influenced the research. This declaration must be included in a separate “Conflicts of Interest” section prior to the reference list. If no conflicts exist, authors must explicitly state: “The authors declare no conflicts of interest.” For details, see the journal’s Instructions for Authors.

Conflicts of interest may also arise during the editorial or peer-review process. Editors are strictly prohibited from handling manuscripts authored by individuals from their own institution, by research collaborators, recent co-authors, close colleagues, or direct competitors. In such cases, the manuscript will be reassigned to an alternate editor with no conflicting interests.

Likewise, reviewers must recuse themselves from evaluating manuscripts in which they have any conflict of interest—including relationships with the authors as colleagues, co-authors, collaborators, institutional affiliates, or competitors. Reviewers are ethically obligated to inform the handling editor immediately upon identifying a potential conflict and to decline the review assignment when appropriate.

 

Ethical Approval Requirements

 

Nursing Target Journal (NTJ) upholds the highest standards of research ethics and strictly requires that all studies involving human participants receive prior approval from an accredited Institutional Review Board (IRB) or Ethics Committee. Manuscripts that do not comply with these requirements may be rejected outright or considered a form of research misconduct.

 

Human Subjects: All research involving human participants must adhere to the ethical principles outlined in the Declaration of Helsinki (1964, and its subsequent amendments). Authors must explicitly state in the manuscript that ethical approval was obtained, including the name of the approving institution and the approval number/code. Additionally, a clear statement must confirm that informed consent was obtained from all participants prior to data collection. No identifying information or personal data that could compromise participant confidentiality may be disclosed. NTJ reserves the right to reject any submission that does not demonstrate full compliance with these ethical standards.

 

Note on Animal Studies: Nursing Target Journal does not accept or publish research involving animal subjects. Authors submitting manuscripts involving in vivo or animal-based experiments will be informed that such submissions fall outside the scope of the journal and will not proceed to peer review.

 

Clinical Trial Registration

 

All clinical trials must be prospectively registered in a publicly accessible trial registry. Accepted registries include ClinicalTrials.gov, ISRCTN, the EU Clinical Trials Register, and the Open Science Framework (OSF). The manuscript must include the registry name, registration number, and date of registration. If the study is not a clinical trial, please state:
“This study is not a clinical trial and is not subject to trial registration requirements.”

 

 

Reproducing Published Material from Other Publishers

Nursing Target Journal requires authors to obtain formal written permission to reproduce any copyrighted material—such as figures, tables, graphs, schemes, images, or substantial textual extracts—that is not in the public domain or for which the authors do not hold copyright. This includes content from the authors’ own previously published work if the copyright is held by another publisher. Permission must be secured directly from the copyright holder (typically the publisher, as identified in the imprint of the original source) prior to submission. Reproduction without proper authorization will result in immediate rejection or removal of the content. Permission is mandatory for: (1) reuse of any previously published work not under the author’s copyright, (2) substantial portions of text from any source, (3) images, tables, charts, or illustrations reused with or without minor modifications, and (4) photographs not owned by the author. Permission is not required for: (a) reconstruction of original tables using previously published data—provided the source is clearly cited as “Data from…” or “Adapted from…”; (b) brief quotations falling within fair use limitations; and (c) graphs, charts, or artwork that are completely redrawn and substantially transformed by the authors. Authors are solely responsible for securing permissions and ensuring compliance; failure to do so constitutes a breach of publication ethics.

 

Obtaining Permission

To prevent publication delays and ensure full compliance with copyright law, authors are strongly advised to begin obtaining all necessary permissions at the earliest possible stage of manuscript preparation. If there is any uncertainty regarding copyright ownership, authors must seek formal permission without delay. Nursing Target Journal will not publish any material—figures, tables, images, or textual extracts—reproduced from other sources without documented permission from the copyright holder. When permission is granted, authors must follow any specific acknowledgment instructions provided by the rights holder. In the absence of such guidance, the following citation format must be used: “Reproduced with permission from [Author], [Book/Journal Title]; published by [Publisher], [Year].” This acknowledgment should be clearly included in the figure, table, or scheme caption. Failure to obtain and document the required permissions will result in rejection or removal of the material from the submitted manuscript. Authors bear full responsibility for ensuring legal use of third-party content.

 

Publication Misconducts

 

Nursing Target Journal (NTJ) maintains a zero-tolerance policy toward all forms of publication misconduct. Authors are expected to uphold the highest standards of academic integrity, and any violation may result in immediate rejection, retraction, or reporting to the appropriate institutional or regulatory bodies. The following definitions outline core forms of misconduct as recognized by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE):

 

1. Fabrication: The intentional creation of non-existent data, results, or findings and presenting them as if they were real.
2. Falsification:  The deliberate manipulation, alteration, or omission of data, methods, or equipment to mislead or distort the interpretation of research outcomes.
3. Plagiarism: The use of others’ ideas, words, figures, or findings without appropriate attribution, including self-plagiarism and unauthorized reproduction.
4. Improper authorship: The inclusion of individuals as authors who did not contribute significantly to the research or manuscript preparation, or exclusion of those who did.

 

 

Addressing Research and Publication Misconduct

 

Nursing Target Journal upholds the highest standards of publication ethics and research integrity. The journal enforces a strict zero-tolerance policy toward all forms of research and publication misconduct, including but not limited to fabrication, falsification, plagiarism, improper authorship, undisclosed conflicts of interest, duplicate submissions, salami slicing, manipulation of citations, and ethical approval violations. The editorial office and Board are committed to detecting, investigating, and responding to any form of misconduct at all stages of the publication process—before, during, and after peer review and publication.

All allegations of ethical breaches—whether raised by editors, reviewers, readers, or third parties—will be treated seriously and investigated thoroughly in line with COPE Core Practices, COPE Flowcharts, and relevant institutional policies. Investigations may be initiated by the Editorial Office or in response to credible complaints.

Upon receiving an allegation, NTJ’s Editorial Board will:

• Assess the validity of the claim, including a preliminary review for consistency with NTJ’s definitions of misconduct.
• Contact the corresponding author for a formal response, requesting clarification and relevant supporting documentation.
• Involve independent experts (e.g., statistical reviewers or ethical advisors) if needed to evaluate complex cases.
• Where appropriate, refer the matter to the author's affiliated institution for independent investigation and request regular updates.

If the misconduct is confirmed prior to publication, the manuscript will be rejected outright, and the author(s) may face sanctions including temporary or permanent bans from future submissions to NTJ. If the misconduct is discovered post-publication, the journal will take corrective actions which may include:

• Publishing a correction (erratum or corrigendum) in cases of honest error.
• Publishing an expression of concern during ongoing investigations.
• Issuing a formal retraction with a clear explanation and links to the original article.
• Replacing the article with a corrected version (retraction with republication), if scientifically valid.

Severe cases of misconduct may be escalated to indexing services, funding bodies, or regulatory institutions. The names of offending authors may also be reported to relevant academic institutions or published publicly in accordance with COPE’s guidance on transparency.

Importantly, editors and reviewers are also held to the highest ethical standards. Editors must recuse themselves from handling manuscripts in cases of conflict of interest, and reviewers are required to report any suspicion of misconduct confidentially to the handling editor.

All parties involved in NTJ’s editorial process share collective responsibility for preserving the accuracy, transparency, and reliability of the scientific record. Through rigorous editorial oversight and unwavering adherence to ethical norms, Nursing Target Journal affirms its commitment to safeguarding the credibility of scholarly communication and protecting the public trust in science.