Editorial & Publishing Policies

Peer Review

The Central European Journal of Nursing and Midwifery is a member of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). Reviewers are asked to adhere to the COPE Ethical Guidelines for Peer Reviewers. To be included in the review process the manuscript must fulfil all of the formal conditions stated in the instructions for authors. The review process is anonymous double-blind. Manuscripts are judged based on content and formality at the editorial level. All manuscripts submitted to the journal are submitted to two reviewers independent from the editorial committee of the journal, and who are not professionally or personally connected to the author(s). If an Editor-in-Chief, any other Editor or Editorial board member is (co)-author of a submitted article, the process is organized so that this person will not be involved with neither evaluation nor decision taking. The editorial board and the executive editor base their decision on the peer review, however the final result of the review process is the decision of the editorial board. The results of the review are sent to the author(s) within two months of the date the manuscript was first received. The review process may result in recommendations for further development of, or corrections in, the manuscript. In this case, the author is given three weeks, from the date the results of the review were sent to the author, to rework the document and make the necesssary changes. The author must then include, in a seperate file, a complete list of all major changes made to the manuscript. The editor reserves the right to make basic corrections to the manuscript.

Publication Ethics Policy

The Central European Journal of Nursing and Midwifery makes an effort ensuring the best quality of published manuscripts from the field of nursing and midwifery through the double-blind peer-review process. To ensure such quality the peer-review process has to be objective, accurate and right minded – it has to be realized on the base of the ethical principles and ethical decision making of authors, editors, reviewers and publisher. All participants in the publication process, are expected to adhere to ethical standards in scientific publications. This journal follows the Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals formulated by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE). The authorship criteria from ICMJE need to be followed by author(s).

Plagiarism detection

The Central European Journal of Nursing and Midwifery is the member of CrossRef, and the participant of SimilarityCheck which is multi-publisher plagiarism prevention initiative to screen published and submitted content for originality. All publications are indexed and checked. Journal uses the iThenticate software to detect instances of overlapping and similar text in submitted manuscripts. If plagiarism is identified, the COPE guidelines on plagiarism will be followed.

Research Ethics Policy

The Central European Journal of Nursing and Midwifery is committed to maintaining high standards of research ethics, publication integrity, and transparency. The journal expects research to be conducted in accordance with internationally recognised ethical principles, including respect for persons, beneficence, and justice, and that ethical considerations are clearly reported and appropriately addressed. This policy outlines the journal’s framework for research involving human and animal subjects, clinical studies, sensitive data, and ethical reporting practices in accordance with international standards such as those of the Declaration of Helsinki (2024 version), the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), and ICMJE recommendations for reporting about patients.
For research involving human participants or human data the journal expects that appropriate ethical approval or exemption has been obtained prior to the start of the research. Ethics committee approval is also required for studies involving surveys, interviews, experiments, or any research method that collects data directly from human participants. Where ethical approval is not required under local regulations, authors are expected to provide a clear justification. The journal may request further information or documentation where the ethical status of a study is unclear. The journal expects that informed consent has been obtained where required and that participants’ rights, dignity, and welfare have been protected throughout the research process.
To ensure transparency and accountability, CEJNM requires that clinical trials be prospectively registered in a public trials registry prior to participant enrollment. Clinical trial registration numbers should be included in all publications reporting on clinical trials. Manuscript that report the results of clinical trials should follow the CONSORT guidelines. Also refer to the ICMJE’s clinical trial registration policy.
The journal expects authors to present research honestly and transparently. Concerns relating to research ethics, authorship, data integrity, or other aspects of publication ethics may be raised before or after publication. Such concerns are handled by the editorial team in accordance with recognised publication ethics guidance.
Responsibility for ethical oversight rests with the editorial team. Editorial decisions are made independently of the publisher and any external interests.

Correction and retraction

The Central European Journal of Nursing and Midwifery recognize the importance of post-publication discussion on published papers which can involve challenges, clarifications or corrections. Complaints should be addressed to the Editor-in-Chief of the journal (redakce@osu.cz). The complainant will be given always appropriate feedback. Complaint about scientific content - the Editor-in-Chief considers the authors’ argument, the reviewer reports and decides whether the decision to reject should stand or another independent opinion is required or the appeal should be considered. Complaint about processes - the Editor-in-Chief together with the editors will investigate the matter. Complaint about publication ethics - the Editor-in-Chief follows guidelines of COPE.
Honest errors are a part of science and publishing and require publication of a correction when they are detected. Cases requiring editorial expressions of concern or retraction follow the COPE´s Retraction Guidelines. In case of correction CEJNM follows the ICMJE Recommendation for Corrections and Version Control. If an author is found to have made an error, the CEJNM will issue a corrigendum. If the journal is found to have made an error, they will issue an erratum. Retractions are usually reserved for articles that are so seriously flawed that their findings or conclusions should not be relied upon. CEJNM may make minor changes in Accepted Manuscripts occured during typesetting or proofreading.

Open Access

The Central European Journal of Nursing and Midwifery is published in accordance with the BOAI (Budapest Open Access Initiative) and is fully open access; all articles will be immediately and permanently free for everyone to read and download. Author(s) contributing to CEJNM agree to publish their articles under the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-4.0) license for non-comercial purpose. Lets others copy, distribute, display, perform, and modify and use the creator’s work for any purpose other than commercially unless you get permission first.

Archiving

The Central European Journal of Nursing and Midwifery is distributed electronically as each new number appears. All issues are freely available electronically with fully searchable content. The distribution process includes transmission of all numbers of the journal to digital archive/depository. The CEJNM has partnered with PORTICO, a leading digital preservation service worldwide. By archiving within Portico, we are ensuring that all content of CEJNM are preserved and available for future scholars, researchers, and students around the world, no matter what happens to the journal.