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Editor to Editor support for Journal Management

Guest article

Peggy L. Chinn, RN, PhD, FAAN and Leslie H. Nicoll, PhD, MBA, RN, FAAN

The International Academy of Nursing Editors (INANE) has been supporting the work of nursing editors and  the development of high quality nursing journals since 1982. INANE hosts an annual conference; the 37th meeting, in Boston, concluded with a formal COPE forum that was well-received by all in attendance. Starting in the early 2000s, INANE  became a true bellwether touchstone for nursing journal editors, bringing to the forefront effective approaches to meet the immense challenges of journal publishing in the digital age. Managing a scientific journal in a practice discipline such as nursing has always presented a delicate balancing act of  maintaining  high quality of content that is both scientifically and practically sound. But as the welcomed and easily embraced World Wide Web (also known as the wild wild west) entered the picture, the issues facing editors grew by leaps and bounds. INANE has played a pivotal role in assuring that nursing journal editors have the awareness, resources and support for their editorial work in the digital age.

Several INANE initiatives over the past decade have resulted in a number of guidelines and best practices for editors that now serve as “standards” that characterize journals as high quality publications, and that distinguish credible journals from those that are deceptive, predatory, or unethical. At the conference and in discussions throughout the year, INANE members have exposed the nature of deceptive publishing practices to assure that all who are involved in the dissemination of nursing knowledge are aware of the dangers that can undermine the quality and credibility of our scientific literature. But since these practices  are unrelenting at this point, we have focused our attention on supporting practices of journal management that assure and maintain quality of content and that rest on the highest ethical standards. 

Our resources are available to all on the INANE website (https://nursingeditors.com/) and in publications by INANE members. Here are four of our most important initiatives:

  • Exposing deceptive and predatory practices. At our 2014 conference in Portland, Maine, our program focused on informing editors about the dangers of predatory publishing, and as a result we formed a “Predatory Publishing Collaborative.” This collaborative produced a white paper titled Predatory Publishing: What Editors Need to Know (INANE "Predatory Publishing Practices...). This paper is published in Nurse Author & Editor and is freely available online. It generated 67 editorials (and counting) which are listed on the INANE website
     
  • Supporting editorial best practices. Our annual conference programs provide ample opportunity for editors, publishers, and librarians to discuss ways to meet the challenges of publishing in the digital age drawing on traditional approaches but also addressing creative and innovative possibilities, particularly in the realm of social media. A search of Nurse Author & Editor for articles on “social media” shows the wide range of topics that we have addressed (see http://naepub.com/?s=social+media). See in particular the article “INANE Editor Best Practices” (Miller and Burke 2017)
     
  • Guidelines for specific editorial functions. INANE guidelines serve as a vital resource, raising awareness of many details of journal management that in the past have been taken for granted. These guidelines often support greater transparency related to practices that are already in place. For example, see the guidelines developed for journal website content: Best Practices for Journal Websites (INANE collaborators 2016). Another related project is the recently published paper examining 80 nursing journals for adequacy of their author guidelines, conducted by Oermann and colleagues  (Oermann et al. 2018).

Finally, INANE  features an annual “Mentoring Editors Award” given to four new or aspiring nursing journal editors. First established in 2014, this award provides registration for our annual conference, and a mentoring relationship with an experienced Editor to assist in taking on the challenges of journal management. This program has far-reaching influence that supports our fundamental goal of promoting quality in nursing journals!

In conclusion, INANE has become a model for support, information and standards for professional journal editors. While the focus of the group is on nursing journal editing, our resources are freely available for journal editors in any field. We welcome you to visit our site, take advantage of resources that are helpful to you, and to contact us!

Peggy L. Chinn
[email protected]
Mobile: 860-573-7464
Professor Emerita, University of Connecticut
Editor, Advances in Nursing Science

Leslie H. Nicoll
[email protected]
Mobile: 207-415-1590
Editor-in-Chief, CIN: Computers, Informatics, Nursing and Nurse Author & Editor
President & Owner, Maine Desk LLC
Portland, ME 04101