Clinical Learning in Nursing
Clinical Learning in Nursing (CLN) is an international peer-reviewed, open-access journal published by KENAZER Publisher. The journal is dedicated to advancing evidence-based nursing education, clinical practice, professional development, simulation-based learning, patient safety, healthcare innovation, and interdisciplinary collaboration.
Clinical Learning in Nursing is committed to maintaining the highest standards of integrity, transparency, and ethical publishing throughout the editorial and publication process. All parties involved in scholarly publishing—including authors, editors, reviewers, and the publisher—are expected to adhere to internationally recognized ethical principles.
The journal follows the recommendations and best practices established by:
• Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE)
• International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE)
• World Association of Medical Editors (WAME)
• Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing (COPE, DOAJ, OASPA, and WAME)
These principles are intended to ensure that all published articles are scientifically sound, ethically conducted, and contribute meaningfully to the advancement of nursing knowledge and healthcare practice worldwide.
The essential principles of publication ethics for all parties involved in the publication process are outlined below.
The publication of an article in Clinical Learning in Nursing (CLN) represents an essential contribution to the advancement of nursing science, clinical education, and evidence-based healthcare practice. Peer-reviewed publications serve as a foundation for the dissemination of reliable scientific knowledge and reflect the quality, integrity, and professionalism of the authors, reviewers, editors, and institutions involved.
Clinical Learning in Nursing is committed to maintaining the highest standards of ethical publishing throughout the editorial and publication process. The journal recognizes that ethical conduct is fundamental to ensuring the credibility, transparency, and integrity of scholarly communication.
Accordingly, all parties involved in the publication process—including authors, editors, peer reviewers, and the publisher (KENAZER Publisher)—are expected to adhere to internationally accepted standards of publication ethics and responsible research conduct.
KENAZER Publisher takes its responsibility for safeguarding the integrity of scholarly publishing seriously. Editorial decisions are made independently and are based solely on the scientific quality, originality, ethical standards, and relevance of submitted manuscripts. Commercial interests, sponsorship, advertising, or any other financial considerations shall not influence editorial decisions.
The Editorial Board is committed to ensuring a fair, transparent, confidential, and unbiased peer-review process. When appropriate, the journal will cooperate with authors, institutions, publishers, and other journals to investigate and resolve cases of suspected publication misconduct in accordance with the COPE Core Practices and established ethical guidelines.
Clinical Learning in Nursing (CLN) is committed to maintaining the highest standards of research integrity and publication ethics. Research misconduct includes, but is not limited to, fabrication, falsification, plagiarism, citation manipulation, image manipulation, duplicate publication, redundant publication, inappropriate authorship, and peer-review manipulation.
When allegations of research misconduct arise, the Editor-in-Chief and Editorial Board will handle the matter confidentially, fairly, and in accordance with the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) Core Practices and internationally recognized ethical guidelines.
Upon receiving an allegation, the editorial office will conduct an initial assessment to determine whether the concern is credible and whether sufficient evidence exists to warrant further investigation. The corresponding author will be contacted and invited to provide a detailed explanation or supporting documentation on behalf of all co-authors.
Where appropriate, the journal may seek advice from independent experts, statistical reviewers, or the authors' affiliated institutions to assist in evaluating the allegation. During the investigation, the editorial process may be suspended until a final decision is reached.
If misconduct is confirmed before publication, the manuscript will be rejected. If misconduct is identified after publication, the journal may take appropriate corrective actions, including but not limited to:
• Publication of a correction (Erratum or Corrigendum);
• Publication of an Expression of Concern;
• Retraction of the published article;
• Notification to the authors' institution, funding agency, or relevant authority, when appropriate.
Clinical Learning in Nursing recognizes that research institutions play a central role in investigating allegations of scientific misconduct. Therefore, the journal may collaborate with the relevant institutions to ensure that investigations are conducted thoroughly, objectively, and fairly.
KENAZER Publisher and the Editorial Board are committed to preserving the accuracy, integrity, and reliability of the scientific record. All decisions regarding corrections, retractions, or other editorial actions will be made transparently and in accordance with COPE Retraction Guidelines and the Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing.
Clinical Learning in Nursing (CLN) is committed to maintaining the highest standards of academic integrity and originality. Authors must ensure that all submitted manuscripts are original works and that the ideas, data, words, figures, tables, and other intellectual contributions of others are properly acknowledged through appropriate citation and referencing.
Any form of plagiarism, including direct plagiarism, self-plagiarism, mosaic plagiarism, data plagiarism, image plagiarism, citation manipulation, or the use of artificial intelligence-generated content without proper disclosure, is considered unethical and unacceptable.
All submitted manuscripts are screened for textual similarity using plagiarism detection software, including iThenticate (Crossref Similarity Check) and/or Turnitin, before entering the peer-review process.
As a general guideline, Clinical Learning in Nursing expects the overall similarity index to be less than 20%, excluding references, quotations, and commonly used phrases. However, editorial decisions are based not only on the similarity percentage but also on the nature, context, and significance of any overlapping text. A low similarity score does not automatically indicate originality, nor does a higher similarity score necessarily constitute plagiarism.
If plagiarism or other forms of academic misconduct are identified before publication, the manuscript will be rejected. If misconduct is discovered after publication, the journal may issue a correction, expression of concern, or retraction in accordance with the COPE Retraction Guidelines. Serious cases may also be reported to the authors' affiliated institutions or funding agencies when appropriate.
Clinical Learning in Nursing encourages all authors to carefully review their manuscripts for originality before submission and to uphold the highest standards of ethical scholarly publishing.
The Editor-in-Chief has the ultimate responsibility for deciding whether a submitted manuscript should be accepted, revised, or rejected for publication in Clinical Learning in Nursing. Editorial decisions are based exclusively on the manuscript's scientific merit, originality, methodological quality, ethical compliance, clarity, and relevance to the journal's aims and scope.
Each submission undergoes an initial editorial assessment, followed by a double-blind peer review conducted by at least two independent experts in the relevant field. The editors consider the reviewers' recommendations while making an independent editorial decision.
Editorial decisions are made without discrimination based on the authors' nationality, ethnicity, gender, institutional affiliation, religion, political beliefs, or other personal characteristics. Commercial interests, sponsorship, advertising, or financial considerations do not influence editorial decisions.
Editors may consult members of the Editorial Board, statistical reviewers, or subject-matter experts whenever additional expertise is required. All editorial decisions are made in accordance with the journal's editorial policies, publication ethics, and internationally recognized guidelines established by COPE, ICMJE, and the Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing.
Authors have the right to appeal editorial decisions by submitting a written justification to the Editor-in-Chief. Appeals will be evaluated objectively, and the final decision of the editorial office shall be considered binding.
Editorial Responsibility
The Editor-in-Chief and members of the Editorial Board are responsible for ensuring the quality, integrity, and credibility of all manuscripts submitted to Clinical Learning in Nursing (CLN). Editorial decisions are based solely on scientific merit, originality, methodological rigor, ethical compliance, and relevance to the journal's aims and scope.
Fairness and Impartiality
Editors evaluate all submitted manuscripts fairly, objectively, and without discrimination based on race, ethnicity, nationality, gender, age, religion, disability, institutional affiliation, political beliefs, or any other personal characteristics of the authors.
Editorial decisions must be free from commercial interests, personal relationships, or any form of bias.
Confidentiality
Editors and editorial staff must maintain the confidentiality of all submitted manuscripts throughout the editorial and peer-review process. Information regarding a manuscript must not be disclosed to anyone other than the corresponding author, reviewers, editorial advisers, the publisher, or other individuals directly involved in the editorial process, when appropriate.
Conflict of Interest
Editors must disclose any actual or potential conflicts of interest that may affect their editorial judgment. Editors shall not participate in the review or editorial decision of manuscripts in which they have personal, professional, financial, or institutional conflicts of interest.
Unpublished information obtained through submitted manuscripts must not be used for personal research or any other purpose without the authors' explicit written permission.
Editorial Independence
Editors shall exercise full editorial independence in all publication decisions. Editorial judgments must not be influenced by the publisher, advertisers, sponsors, funding agencies, or any commercial interests.
Publication Integrity
Editors are responsible for safeguarding the integrity of the scholarly record. When necessary, the journal will publish Corrections (Errata or Corrigenda), Expressions of Concern, or Retractions in accordance with the COPE Retraction Guidelines to ensure the accuracy and reliability of published research.
Handling Allegations of Misconduct
Editors are responsible for responding promptly and fairly to allegations of research misconduct, including plagiarism, data fabrication, data falsification, duplicate publication, citation manipulation, image manipulation, inappropriate authorship, and peer-review manipulation.
All allegations will be investigated confidentially following the COPE Core Practices. When appropriate, editors may seek advice from independent experts or collaborate with authors' institutions to ensure a fair and transparent investigation.
Ethical Oversight
Editors should ensure that manuscripts involving human participants, animals, or sensitive data comply with applicable ethical standards and have received approval from the appropriate ethics committee where required.
Commitment to Quality
Editors are expected to uphold the highest standards of scholarly publishing by ensuring a rigorous, timely, transparent, and constructive peer-review process, thereby contributing to the advancement of nursing science, clinical learning, and evidence-based healthcare.
Authors submitting manuscripts to Clinical Learning in Nursing (CLN) are expected to uphold the highest standards of research integrity, ethical conduct, and scholarly publishing. Authors are responsible for ensuring that their work complies with internationally recognized ethical principles throughout the research, writing, submission, and publication processes.
Reporting Standards
Authors must present an accurate, honest, and complete account of their research. Manuscripts should clearly describe the study objectives, methodology, results, and conclusions to allow readers to evaluate and, where appropriate, replicate the research. Fabrication, falsification, selective reporting, or deliberate misrepresentation of data constitutes research misconduct and is strictly prohibited.
Data Availability and Retention
Authors should retain the original research data for a reasonable period after publication and provide access to supporting data upon reasonable request, where permitted by ethical, legal, or institutional requirements. Manuscripts should include a Data Availability Statement describing how the underlying data can be accessed.
Originality and Plagiarism
Submitted manuscripts must be original and must not contain plagiarism, self-plagiarism, duplicate publication, or unauthorized use of copyrighted material. All sources of information, data, figures, tables, and ideas from other works must be appropriately cited.
All manuscripts are screened using plagiarism detection software prior to peer review.
Multiple or Concurrent Submission
Authors must not submit the same manuscript simultaneously to more than one journal or submit work that has been previously published unless clearly disclosed and permitted under the journal's policies.
Citation and Acknowledgment of Sources
Authors must appropriately acknowledge the work of others by providing accurate and relevant citations. References should reflect the current state of knowledge and should not be manipulated to artificially increase citation metrics.
Authorship
Authorship should be limited to individuals who have made substantial intellectual contributions to the research in accordance with the ICMJE Recommendations. All authors must approve the final manuscript and agree to its submission.
The corresponding author is responsible for ensuring that:
• All eligible contributors are listed as authors.
• No inappropriate authors are included.
• All authors have reviewed and approved the final manuscript.
• All authors agree to be accountable for the published work.
The journal encourages authors to report individual contributions using the CRediT (Contributor Roles Taxonomy).
Ethical Approval
Research involving human participants or animals must comply with applicable ethical standards and must receive approval from the appropriate Institutional Review Board (IRB) or Ethics Committee. Authors should provide the ethics approval number and confirm that informed consent was obtained whenever applicable.
Clinical trials should be prospectively registered in a publicly accessible trial registry.
Conflict of Interest
All authors must disclose any financial, institutional, personal, or other relationships that could be perceived as influencing the research or interpretation of the findings. If no competing interests exist, authors should state:
The authors declare no competing interests.
Funding
Authors must disclose all sources of financial support for the research and describe the role of the funding agency, if any, in the study design, data collection, analysis, interpretation, or publication of the manuscript.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) Disclosure
The use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools in manuscript preparation must be transparently disclosed. AI tools may assist with language editing or formatting but cannot be listed as authors or assume responsibility for the scientific content. Authors remain fully accountable for the accuracy, originality, and integrity of the manuscript.
Corrections and Retractions
If authors discover a significant error or inaccuracy in their published work, they must promptly notify the Editor-in-Chief and cooperate fully in issuing a correction, corrigendum, or retraction when necessary.
Copyright Permissions
Authors are responsible for obtaining written permission to reproduce any copyrighted figures, tables, images, questionnaires, or other materials from previously published sources. Evidence of permission must be provided during submission whenever required.
Compliance with Publication Ethics
Authors are expected to comply with the publication ethics policies of Clinical Learning in Nursing, the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), and other internationally recognized standards governing responsible research and scholarly publishing.
Authors are responsible for ensuring that all research is conducted in accordance with internationally accepted ethical principles and applicable national regulations.
Research involving human participants must comply with the Declaration of Helsinki and receive approval from an appropriate Institutional Review Board (IRB) or Research Ethics Committee prior to the commencement of the study. Authors must provide the name of the ethics committee, approval number, and approval date within the manuscript. Written informed consent should be obtained from all participants or their legal representatives whenever applicable.
Research involving animals must comply with internationally recognized animal welfare regulations and institutional ethical guidelines. Authors should provide details of the ethical approval and describe measures taken to minimize animal suffering.
If the study involves hazardous chemicals, biological agents, medical devices, or potentially dangerous procedures, authors must clearly identify these risks and describe the safety precautions implemented during the research.
For studies involving confidential, proprietary, or sensitive data, including patient information, institutional records, or commercially sensitive information, authors must ensure compliance with applicable data protection and privacy regulations. Any restrictions on data sharing should be clearly explained in the Data Availability Statement, and appropriate measures must be taken to protect participant confidentiality.
Where required, authors must provide documentary evidence of ethical approval, informed consent, research permits, or other regulatory approvals upon request by the Editorial Office.
Failure to comply with applicable ethical standards may result in the rejection of the manuscript, withdrawal of the submission, or retraction of the published article in accordance with the journal's publication ethics policies and the COPE Core Practices.
Commitment to Scholarly Publishing
KENAZER Publisher is committed to promoting excellence, integrity, transparency, and ethical standards in scholarly publishing. As the publisher of Clinical Learning in Nursing (CLN), KENAZER Publisher supports the dissemination of high-quality scientific research while safeguarding the integrity and permanence of the scholarly record.
The publisher works collaboratively with editors, reviewers, authors, and readers to ensure that all editorial and publication processes are conducted fairly, transparently, and in accordance with internationally recognized ethical standards.
Safeguarding the Scholarly Record
KENAZER Publisher is committed to preserving the accuracy, reliability, and integrity of the scientific record. The publisher supports the Editorial Board in maintaining high editorial standards and ensuring that published articles remain trustworthy and accessible.
Where necessary, the journal will publish Corrections (Errata or Corrigenda), Expressions of Concern, or Retractions in accordance with the COPE Retraction Guidelines to maintain the integrity of the scholarly literature.
Handling Publication Misconduct
In cases of suspected or confirmed research misconduct, including plagiarism, data fabrication, data falsification, duplicate publication, citation manipulation, image manipulation, or peer-review manipulation, KENAZER Publisher will work closely with the Editor-in-Chief and Editorial Board to investigate the matter confidentially and fairly.
Appropriate actions may include:
• Rejection of the manuscript;
• Publication of corrections or expressions of concern;
• Retraction of published articles;
• Notification of the authors' affiliated institutions or funding agencies when appropriate.
All investigations are conducted in accordance with the COPE Core Practices and internationally accepted publication ethics guidelines.
Editorial Independence
KENAZER Publisher fully respects the editorial independence of Clinical Learning in Nursing. Editorial decisions are made solely by the Editor-in-Chief and Editorial Board based on scientific merit, originality, methodological quality, ethical compliance, and relevance to the journal's scope.
Commercial interests, sponsorship, advertising, or financial considerations shall not influence editorial decisions under any circumstances.
Long-Term Preservation and Accessibility
KENAZER Publisher is committed to ensuring the long-term preservation and accessibility of published content through recognized digital archiving services, secure institutional repositories, regular system backups, and other preservation initiatives where applicable.
Support for Editors and Reviewers
KENAZER Publisher provides editorial, technical, and administrative support to the Editorial Board to facilitate a rigorous, efficient, and transparent peer-review process. The publisher also supports editors in resolving publication ethics issues and, where necessary, cooperates with other publishers, institutions, and professional organizations.
Compliance with International Standards
KENAZER Publisher supports the implementation of internationally recognized publishing standards, including those established by:
• Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE)
• International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE)
• World Association of Medical Editors (WAME)
• Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ)
• Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing
The publisher continually reviews and improves editorial policies to ensure compliance with evolving international standards.
Education and Research Integrity
KENAZER Publisher encourages responsible research and ethical scholarly communication by providing guidance and educational resources for authors, reviewers, and editors regarding publication ethics, research integrity, reporting standards, authorship, data sharing, and the responsible use of artificial intelligence in academic publishing.
Continuous Improvement
KENAZER Publisher is committed to continuously improving the quality of its journals by adopting best editorial practices, strengthening peer-review procedures, enhancing digital publishing infrastructure, and supporting the global dissemination of reliable scientific knowledge.
