Peer Review and Editorial Governance Policy

The Nursing Scope (TNS) is committed to maintaining rigorous, independent, fair, and objective peer review as an essential component of its scholarly publishing process.

The Nursing Scope operates a double-blind peer-review system. The identities of authors are concealed from reviewers, and the identities of reviewers are concealed from authors throughout the peer-review process. Manuscripts that proceed beyond the initial editorial screening are assigned to a minimum of two independent external reviewers with appropriate expertise in the subject area of the manuscript. Peer reviewers are independent of the Editors responsible for administering the journal's editorial processes. Reviewers are selected on the basis of their subject-matter expertise, scholarly competence, independence, and absence of conflicts of interest relevant to the manuscript. Authors are required to prepare manuscripts in a manner that supports anonymous review by removing identifying information from the manuscript file where required by the journal's submission procedures.

Every manuscript that successfully completes initial editorial screening and proceeds to external peer review is evaluated by a minimum of two independent external reviewers. Publication decisions on peer-reviewed scholarly manuscripts are not routinely based on the evaluation of a single reviewer. Where the recommendations of the reviewers differ substantially, or where additional expert assessment is considered necessary, the journal may obtain an additional independent review before a final editorial decision is made.

Upon submission, manuscripts undergo an initial editorial screening to determine their suitability for The Nursing Scope. The screening may include assessment of:

• alignment with the journal's aims and scope
• compliance with submission and manuscript requirements
• completeness of required documentation
• originality and scholarly relevance
• ethical compliance
• plagiarism or inappropriate textual overlap
• basic methodological and reporting adequacy

A manuscript may be returned to the author for correction or declined at the initial screening stage where it clearly falls outside the journal's scope, fails to satisfy essential submission or ethical requirements, or is otherwise unsuitable for external peer review. Successful completion of initial editorial screening does not imply acceptance for publication.

Manuscripts that successfully complete initial editorial screening are forwarded to a minimum of two independent external reviewers. Reviewers are expected to assess manuscripts objectively and constructively, taking into consideration, as applicable:

• originality and scholarly contribution
• scientific and methodological rigor
• relevance to nursing and the journal's scope
• appropriateness of study design and analysis
• ethical considerations
• clarity and coherence of presentation
• interpretation of findings
• relationship between conclusions and the evidence presented
• relevance and adequacy of the scholarly literature cited

Reviewers submit their reports and recommendations to the journal. Reviewer recommendations inform the editorial decision but do not, by themselves, constitute the final decision regarding publication.

The Editorial Board of The Nursing Scope, headed by the Editor-in-Chief, is responsible for final publication decisions. Final decisions are informed by the independent external peer-review reports, authors' responses to reviewers' recommendations, subsequent revisions where applicable, compliance with journal policies, scholarly merit, relevance to the journal's scope, and the overall integrity of the manuscript. The Editorial Board may reach one of the following decisions:

• Accept
• Accept subject to specified revisions
• Revise and resubmit for further consideration
• Reject

No manuscript may be accepted for publication solely on the basis of Editorial Board consideration where the journal's policies require that manuscript to undergo external peer review. Where necessary, a revised manuscript may be returned to the original reviewers or submitted to another independent reviewer for further assessment before a final decision is made. The Editorial Board does not serve as a substitute for the journal's independent external peer-review process. Its role is to exercise editorial oversight and make the final publication decision after consideration of the independent peer-review process and other applicable editorial requirements.

The Editor-in-Chief provides overall scholarly and editorial leadership for The Nursing Scope and heads the Editorial Board. The Editor-in-Chief oversees the integrity of the editorial decision-making process and ensures that publication decisions are made in accordance with the journal's established editorial, peer-review, and ethical standards.

The Editorial Board supports the scholarly governance, quality, integrity, and strategic development of The Nursing Scope. The Board's responsibilities include editorial oversight, maintaining scholarly standards, ensuring consistency with journal policies, contributing relevant subject expertise to editorial deliberations, and participating in final publication decisions under the leadership of the Editor-in-Chief. Membership of the Editorial Board does not replace independent external peer review. Manuscripts requiring peer review must successfully undergo the journal's established external double-blind peer-review process before final consideration for publication.

The Editorial Secretary coordinates editorial correspondence and administrative communication relating to manuscript processing. Responsibilities include communication with authors, reviewers, Editors, and the Editorial Board; transmission of peer-review reports and editorial decisions; coordination of revisions and related documentation; and maintenance of appropriate editorial records. The Editorial Secretary's administrative and correspondence responsibilities do not replace the independent scholarly assessment performed by external peer reviewers or the final decision-making authority of the Editorial Board headed by the Editor-in-Chief.

The Nursing Scope applies the same scholarly, ethical, and peer-review standards to manuscripts submitted by its Editors, Editorial Board members, and other persons associated with the journal. Such manuscripts are not exempt from external peer review and do not receive preferential editorial treatment. Manuscripts submitted by an Editor or Editorial Board member undergo the same double-blind peer-review process by a minimum of two independent external reviewers and are subject to the same editorial requirements and standards applied to other submissions. An Editor or Editorial Board member who is an author or co-author of a manuscript must not participate in the selection of reviewers, handling of the peer-review process, deliberation concerning the manuscript, or final publication decision for that manuscript. Responsibility for handling such a submission must be assigned to other members of the editorial structure who have no conflict of interest with the manuscript or its authors.

Editorial decisions at The Nursing Scope are based on scholarly merit, scientific quality, relevance to the journal's aims and scope, ethical compliance, and the outcome of the journal's established peer-review and editorial processes. The publisher does not determine the acceptance or rejection of individual manuscripts on the basis of commercial, financial, organizational, personal, political, or other improper considerations. The Editorial Board, headed by the Editor-in-Chief, exercises final editorial authority in accordance with the journal's policies and standards.

Reviewers must treat manuscripts, associated data, and all materials received during peer review as confidential and must not use unpublished information obtained through the review process for personal or professional advantage. A prospective reviewer who has a financial, professional, institutional, personal, academic, or other conflict that could reasonably compromise, or appear to compromise, an impartial assessment must disclose the conflict and decline the review where appropriate. The journal may withdraw a review assignment or disregard a review where a material conflict of interest is identified.

Information concerning submitted manuscripts is treated as confidential. Manuscripts and peer-review materials are made available only to individuals involved in the legitimate editorial and peer-review process. The Nursing Scope does not disclose reviewer identities to authors under its double-blind peer-review model, except where disclosure is required by law or necessary for the investigation of serious publication misconduct in accordance with applicable procedures.