Policies

  1. Advertising
  2. AI tools
  3. Archiving
  4. Article processing and submission charges
  5. Authorship
  6. Complaints and appeals
  7. Conflict of interest declaration
  8. Copyright
  9. Corrections, retractions and editorial expressions of concern
  10. Editorial Advisory Board
  11. Frequency of publication
  12. Human rights
  13. Indexing
  14. Informed consent
  15. Journal Charter
  16. Peer review
  17. Plagiarism
  18. Republishing and translation

Advertising

Journal of Perioperative Nursing does not accept advertising.

AI tools

In any instance where generative AI tools have been employed in the creation of written content, generation of images or graphical elements, or the collection and analysis of data within a submitted work, authors are required to disclose these uses in a statement on the title page. This statement should provide explicit information about the specific tasks performed by AI tools, including the identification of the tool(s) and their respective versions. AI tools used to improve or correct spelling and grammar do not require credit.

Archiving

Journal of Perioperative Nursing is included in the PKP Preservation Network for long‐term preservation and archiving.

Article processing and submission charges

Journal of Perioperative Nursing is a diamond open-access journal, meaning articles are freely available to readers, and authors have no submission or processing charges.

Authorship

An author is generally considered to be someone who has made substantive intellectual contributions to a published study. In accordance with COPE’s position statement on the use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools, AI tools such as Large Language Models, chatbots and image creators cannot be credited with authorship of any manuscript submitted to this journal.

The International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) recommends that authorship be based on the following four criteria:

  1. Substantial contribution to the conception or design of the work or the acquisition, analysis or interpretation of data
  2. Drafting the work or revising it critically for important intellectual content
  3. Final approval of the version published
  4. Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work.

Individuals who do not meet all four criteria should be acknowledged on the title page.

Complaints and appeals

We are committed to maintaining high editorial standards and transparency. Authors, reviewers, and readers who wish to raise concerns or lodge complaints regarding editorial decisions, publication ethics, or journal policies are encouraged to contact the editorial office.

All complaints and appeals will be handled promptly and fairly, in accordance with the principles and procedures outlined by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). We adhere to COPE guidance to ensure due process, integrity, and accountability in resolving disputes.

Appeals of editorial decisions must be made in writing and should include a clear rationale. These will be reviewed by the Editor-in-Chief or an independent member of the editorial board, as appropriate.

Conflict of interest declaration

Journal of Perioperative Nursing requires authors to declare all competing interests concerning their work. All submissions must include a declaration in the title page listing all competing interests (financial and non-financial). Where authors have no competing interests, the statement should read, 'The authors have declared no competing interests'.

Editors and reviewers must also declare any competing interests and will be excluded from the peer review process if a competing interest exists.

Authors retain the copyright of their work. By submitting to this journal, authors agree to license their work under the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits others to share and adapt the work for any purpose, including commercial use, provided appropriate credit is given to the original author(s).

Corrections, retractions and editorial expressions of concern

Journal of Perioperative Nursing follows the guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). We aim to ensure the integrity of the academic record of all publications. Whenever a significant inaccuracy, misleading statement or distorted report has been published, it will be corrected promptly. If, after an appropriate investigation, an item proves to be fraudulent, it will be retracted.

Errors in published papers will be identified as a corrigendum or erratum and appear as a new article in the journal, citing the original published article. A paper will be retracted if there is significant errors or evidence of publication malpractice, such as plagiarism, duplicate publication or unethical research.

Where substantial doubt arises as to the honesty or integrity of an article, the Editor may issue an expression of concern linked back to the published article.

Editorial Advisory Board

The Editorial Advisory Board (EAB) comprises highly regarded perioperative nurses from Australia and abroad with expertise in clinical practice, management, governance, and academia. The role of members is stipulated in the Terms of Reference.

Frequency of publication

There are four issues per year. Articles will be published online as soon as they have been accepted for publication by the Editor. The current average turn-around time from submission to online publication is three months.

Human rights

The editor might reject or contact the author's ethics committee if there was suspicion of any work that was not carried out within an appropriate ethical framework.

Research involving human subjects, human material or human data must have been performed per the Declaration of Helsinki and approved by an appropriate ethics committee. A statement detailing this, including the name of the ethics committee and the reference number, where applicable, must appear in the manuscript.

Indexing

Journal of Perioperative Nursing is indexed in Scopus, EBSCO, Proquest, CrossRef, OCLC (WorldCat), Ex Libris (Primo), DOAJ (Directory of Open Access Journals), and Informit.

For all research involving human subjects, informed consent to participate in the study should be obtained from participants (or their parents or guardians in the case of children), and a statement to this effect should appear in the manuscript.

For all manuscripts that include details, images or videos relating to individual participants, written informed consent for the publication of these must be obtained from the participants (or their parent or legal guardian in the case of children), and a statement to this effect should appear in the manuscript.

Journal Charter

Journal of Perioperative Nursing is owned and published by the Australian College of Perioperative Nurses (ACORN). The Journal of Perioperative Nursing Charter outlines the roles and responsibilities of the ACORN Board of Directors, the Editor, and the Editorial Advisory Board.

Peer review

Research and systematic reviews

The Editor assesses all research and systematic reviews before peer review. If the Editor is an author or has a conflict of interest, another editorial team member manages the submission. Submissions deemed suitable for consideration are sent for double-blind peer review by at least two independent experts. The Editor, or delegate, will decide based on the reviewers’ reports. The journal aims to send the peer review report and the editorial decision to authors within four weeks of submission.

Non-research manuscripts

The editor or one of the editorial team reviews and provides feedback on all non-research manuscripts before publication.

Plagiarism

Journal of Perioperative Nursing takes plagiarism very seriously. All submissions will be checked for plagiarism with iThenticate. The journal follows Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) guidelines if plagiarism is identified.

Plagiarism includes, but is not limited to:

  • Directly copying text from other sources
  • Copying ideas, images or data from other sources
  • Reusing text from your previous publications
  • Using an idea from another source with slightly modified language

If plagiarism is detected during the peer review process, the submission may be rejected. If plagiarism is detected after publication, the journal reserves the right to issue a correction or retraction as appropriate.

Under the Creative Commons licence (CC BY) members of the public are permitted to translate and republish JPN papers as long as:

  • appropriate attribution is provided
  • appropriate credit is given to the original authors
  • it is stated that the work is licensed under CC BY and the same license is retained for the republished version. A link to the license must also be provided.
  • it is clearly indicated if changes (such as translation) are made
  • it is clear that the original research is by the named authors and, if the paper has been translated, the party republishing the paper is responsible for the translation.