AIMS & SCOPE

RESEARCH & PUBLICATION ETHICS

• Research Ethics

  The journal’s policies on research and publication ethics follow the guidelines of the Korean Association of Medical Journal Editors, the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE, http://publicationethics.org/), the Ministry of Education, and the National Research Foundation of Korea for the resolution of misconduct.

  All manuscripts must be prepared in strict accordance with the research and publication ethics guidelines recommended by the Council of Science Editors (CSE, http://www.councilscienceeditors.org/), the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE, http://www.icmje.org/), and the Korean Association of Medical Journal Editors (KAMJE, http://www.kamje.or.kr/).

  Authors must be able to state that research involving humans or animals was approved by the responsible institutional review board (IRB) or ethics committee and was conducted in accordance with accepted national and international standards. JKAN follows the guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE, http://publicationethics.org/) when resolving misconduct. All studies involving human participants or human data must be reviewed by a responsible research ethics committee or IRB and receive approval or an exemption. Investigations involving human participants or materials should follow the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki (https://www.wma.net/policies-post/wma-declaration-of-helsinki-ethical-principles-for-medical-research-involving-human-subjects/). For human studies, including case reports, authors must state whether informed consent was obtained from the study participants. This principle applies without exception to preliminary (pilot) studies. For manuscripts that received IRB approval, the name of the approving institution, the approval number, and the date of approval must be stated in the final published manuscript. The editor of the journal may request the submission of copies of informed consent received from human subjects in clinical studies, or IRB approval documents. Animal experiments should also be reviewed by an appropriate committee (e.g., the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee) for the care and use of animals. If the study is exempted from such approval, the basis of such an exemption and the regulatory framework should be described.

  • Representation of study subjects. In accordance with ICMJE recommendations, study subjects should be representative in terms of sex, age, and race, and the terms sex (biological attribute) and gender (social/cultural identity) should be used correctly in line with WHO standards. When only one sex is studied, the rationale should be provided.

  • Use of inclusive language. This journal is committed to scholarly expression that respects diversity and equity. Authors should avoid language that is discriminatory or that may perpetuate bias in relation to age, sex, gender, race, ethnicity, culture, disability, or health condition. Authors should distinguish biological attributes from social and cultural identity, use accurate terminology, and describe personal characteristics only when directly relevant to the research. The editorial board may request revisions to expressions that are not inclusive or that may cause stigma.

  Submission Declaration: Submission of a manuscript implies that all authors comply with JKAN's publication principles. The submitted manuscript has not been previously published (excluding abstracts, parts of published lectures, or theses/dissertations), and manuscripts currently under review at another journal constitute duplicate submission and must not be submitted. Submission of a manuscript implies that all authors have approved the submission and that all applicable institutional requirements have been met. Once accepted, the work must not be published in the same form in another language or another journal, including in electronic form, without the written permission of the copyright holder. If the authors intend to submit any part of the work to another journal, prior approval must be obtained from JKAN to avoid plagiarism. If all or part of your patient population has been previously reported, this should be mentioned in the Methods section, along with citations to the appropriate reference(s).

  Permissions: Authors must obtain permission from copyright owners to use measurement tools in their studies. Written permission to reproduce previously published material must also be obtained from the copyright holder, usually the publisher, and acknowledged in the manuscript.

• Conflict of Interest

  The corresponding author of an article is asked to inform the Editor of the authors' potential conflicts of interest that may have influenced the research or interpretation of data. Examples of potential conflicts of interest include employment, consultancies, stock ownership, honoraria, paid expert testimony, patent applications/registrations, and other research grants or funding. Potential conflicts of interest should be disclosed on the title page and at the end of the main text, even if the authors are confident that their respective judgments have not been influenced when preparing the manuscript. To address potential conflicts of interest, the disclosure form should be the same as the ICMJE Uniform Disclosure Form (https://www.icmje.org/disclosure-of-interest/). On the title page, in addition to direct or potential conflicts of interest, authors should describe research grants or other financial support. Authors submitting a manuscript are obligated to inform the Editor of any conflicts of interest related to the submission. Authors with no conflicts of interest should state "nothing to declare." All sources of funding for a study should be explicitly stated, including the role of any sponsor or funder in study design, data collection/analysis/interpretation, manuscript preparation, and the decision to submit.

  Editors who make final decisions regarding manuscripts should recuse themselves from making editorial decisions if they have relationships or activities that pose potential or actual conflicts with the articles under consideration (authors, institutions, etc.), and should disclose these to other editors. Editors do not participate in decisions on manuscripts they authored or that were authored by their family members or colleagues; such manuscripts are reviewed independently of the editor concerned. Staff involved in the editorial process must not use information obtained during the review and publication process for private gain. The editor should publish a statement disclosing any conflicts of interest of the editor and staff that may arise in the course of publishing manuscripts.

• Authorship

  JKAN follows the ICMJE recommendations for authorship (https://www.icmje.org/icmje-recommendations.pdf).

  Authorship credit should be based on all of the following criteria: 1) substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work, or to the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data; 2) drafting the work or reviewing it critically for important intellectual content; 3) final approval of the version to be published; and 4) agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work, including ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.

  Any designated author should meet all four criteria for authorship, and anyone who meets all four criteria should be identified as an author. The authors have confidence in the integrity of the contributions of their coauthors. All other contributors not listed as authors should be mentioned in the Acknowledgements section. A manuscript derived from a master's thesis or doctoral dissertation must be clearly identified as such, and the first author must be the degree recipient. As a rule, such manuscripts are accepted only when submitted within three years of the conferral of the degree. The title of the thesis or dissertation, the degree awarded, and the year of conferral must be stated.

  If there are two or more authors, the corresponding author should be designated. The corresponding author has the primary responsibility for addressing all issues with the editor and readership. Any comment by the corresponding author is regarded as the opinion of all co-authors. The corresponding author should confirm that all appropriate persons are listed as authors of the manuscript, and all coauthors should approve the final version to be published. The corresponding author is also responsible for revisions after review and must inform and obtain approval from all co-authors.

  When a large multicenter group conducts a study, the group should identify the individuals who accept direct responsibility for the manuscript. When submitting a manuscript authored by a group, the corresponding author should indicate the preferred citation and identify all individual authors as well as the group name. Journals generally list group members who are not included as authors in the Acknowledgments section. Acquisition of funding, data collection, or general supervision of the research group alone does not constitute authorship.

  These criteria are intended to preserve authorship for individuals who deserve credit and take responsibility for the work. Authors are expected to carefully consider the author list and author order before submission and to provide a definitive author list at the time of original submission. At submission, all authors and the order of their names must be confirmed. All authors are requested to provide their ORCID, which can be obtained from https://orcid.org.

  Any addition, deletion, or rearrangement of author names in the authorship list may be made before the main review begins; thereafter, and up until acceptance of the manuscript, any change requires the prior approval of the editorial board. To request such a change, the editor must receive the following from the corresponding author: (a) the reason(s) for the change in the author list; (b) written confirmation (e-mail, letter) from all authors that they agree with any addition, removal, or rearrangement; and (c) reasonable supporting documentation. In the case of the addition or removal of authors, there is a requirement for confirmation from the author being added or removed. If the article has already been published, the matter is determined through discussion by the editorial board, and all corrections are issued as a corrigendum.

• Artificial Intelligence (AI)-Assisted Technologies

  At submission, authors are required to disclose whether they utilized artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted technologies, such as Large Language Models (LLMs), chatbots, or image creators, in the preparation of their manuscript. Authors must detail how these AI-assisted technologies were used in both the cover letter and the appropriate section of the submitted manuscript. For instance, if AI was used for writing assistance, this should be described in the acknowledgments section. If AI was used for data collection, analysis, or figure generation, authors should describe this use in the methods section. AI and AI-assisted technologies should not be listed as authors because they cannot be responsible for the accuracy, integrity, and originality of the work—responsibilities required for authorship. Therefore, authors are responsible for any submitted materials that involve the use of AI-assisted technologies. Authors should thoroughly review and edit any AI-generated output, as it may appear authoritative but could be incorrect, incomplete, or biased. Additionally, authors must ensure appropriate attribution of all quoted material, including full citations, and must not list AI or AI-assisted technologies as an author or co-author, nor cite AI as an author.

  Declaration of generative AI and AI-assisted technologies in the manuscript preparation process. When AI-assisted technologies are used in conducting the research and preparing the manuscript, this should be disclosed transparently as follows.

  Example statement: "During the preparation of this work, the author(s) used [tool/service name] in order to [purpose of use]. After using this tool/service, the author(s) reviewed and edited the content as needed and take(s) full responsibility for the content of the publication."

• Redundant Publication and Plagiarism

  Redundant publication, or duplication, is defined as “reporting (publishing or attempting to publish) substantially the same work more than once, without attribution of the original source(s).” Reports are considered substantially similar when they have the following characteristics: (a) at least one author is common to all reports; if there are no common authors, the case is more likely to involve plagiarism than redundant publication; (b) the subjects or study populations are the same or overlap; (c) the methodology is identical or nearly identical; and (d) the results and their interpretation differ little, if at all.

  Authors should not submit the same research to more than one journal and should not publish the manuscript in different languages without appropriate approval. If authors wish to pursue secondary publication in another language, they should obtain approval from the editors-in-chief of both journals. The editorial board determines the nature and extent of any duplicate publication or duplicate submission.

  Plagiarism refers to the appropriation of another person's ideas, research processes, results, or texts. This includes using previously published material or any other author without citing a reference. The authors are required to submit original manuscripts and confirm that they have cited or quoted others' ideas and texts appropriately and accurately. Where a researcher partially uses another's research ideas, data, or text within a scope that does not impair the originality of the research, prior approval must be obtained and an accurate source must be provided (e.g., indicating the data-sharing source via a link).

• Process for Managing Publication Malpractice

  When reviewers or readers suspect publication malpractice, such as fabrication, falsification, salami slicing, plagiarism, simultaneous or duplicate publication, inappropriate changes in authorship, undisclosed conflicts of interest, ethical problems with a submitted manuscript, appropriation of an author’s idea or data by a reviewer, or complaints against editors, the resolution process will follow the flowcharts provided by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE, http://publicationethics.org/resources/flowcharts). The ethics committee will discuss and adjudicate suspected cases of publication malpractice, as well as complaints and appeals involving editors.

• Withdrawal and Retraction

  Withdrawal of a manuscript is classified as either author withdrawal, which is requested by the authors before publication, or retraction, which applies to articles that have already been published. Each process is handled according to the procedures below. Authors are advised to make careful decisions regarding both submission and withdrawal.

  1) Author Withdrawal

  Author withdrawal refers to the removal of a manuscript at the authors’ request before final acceptance or publication.

  (1) Procedure for Requesting Withdrawal

  When authors wish to withdraw a manuscript, the corresponding author must obtain written consent from all coauthors and submit a formal request to the editorial board specifying the reason for withdrawal. The editorial board reviews the request and determines whether to approve the withdrawal.

  (2) Principles by Review Stage

  • Before prereview: The manuscript may be withdrawn without restriction.

  • During peer review: The reason for withdrawal must be clearly stated, and withdrawal is permitted only after approval by the editorial board.

  • After acceptance: Withdrawal is considered only when justified by legitimate reasons, and the editorial board may publish a withdrawal notice if necessary.

  2) Retraction

  Retraction refers to the invalidation of an already published article in the scholarly record and applies in cases such as research misconduct, substantial error, or duplicate publication. A retraction may be initiated not only at the authors’ request but also by the editorial board or in response to reports from readers or third parties.

  Circumstances requiring retraction of a published article are handled in accordance with the guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE, http://publicationethics.org/). Specific decisions are made by the editorial board, which may refer cases to the Ethics Committee of the Korean Society of Nursing Science when necessary. Retracted articles are clearly identified for readers through a retraction notice.

MANUSCRIPT SUBMISSION

• Online Submission

  Manuscripts should be submitted electronically through the journal’s online submission system (https://submit.jkan.or.kr/submission/Login.html). The first author and corresponding author should be members of the KSNS, except when they are non-Korean authors. All correspondence, including notifications of editorial decisions and requests for revision, will be processed through the submission system. Questions about the online submission system should be directed to the publication director of the KSNS by telephone or e-mail (tel: +82-2-567-2590; e-mail: kaneditor@kan.or.kr).

TYPES OF PUBLICATION AND WORD LIMITS

• JKAN publishes original research articles, reviews, and discussion papers. Manuscript length varies according to article type. The word limit excludes the title page, abstract, references, tables, figures, and any supplemental digital content. All pages should be numbered consecutively. Word limits for each manuscript type are listed below.

  Research Papers: up to 6,000 words

  JKAN publishes original research that aligns with the journal’s aims and scope. These articles report empirical findings from high-quality basic and clinical research within JKAN’s focus. Relevant studies may use diverse approaches, including qualitative methods, instrument development, observational studies, quasi-experimental studies, experimental studies, e-science and information-based studies, and mixed-method designs. Research papers should adhere to recognized reporting standards and checklists. Instrument development or validation papers are considered only if a copy of the full instrument is included as a supplementary file at submission so that it can be published online as an appendix if accepted.

  Reviews and Discussion Papers: up to 6,000 words

  These articles include critical presentations on topics relevant to nursing theory, practice, and education. A review article should provide a comprehensive, scholarly, evidence-based review of the literature, accompanied by critical analysis that leads to reasonable conclusions. JKAN publishes systematic reviews that address focused research questions and broader literature reviews, including scoping reviews. The journal also publishes discussion papers, which are scholarly articles of a debating or discursive nature. In all cases, manuscripts must engage with and critically analyze a substantive body of research or other scholarship. Systematic reviews should adhere to recognized reporting standards.

  Editorials: up to 1,000 words. No abstracts required.

  Editorials include comments by organizations or individuals on topics of current interest, as well as invited contributions written by authors invited by the editor-in-chief or editorial board. Editorials submitted voluntarily must receive prior approval from the editorial board before submission. References are limited to 10 or fewer.

  Letters to the Editor: up to 1,000 words. No Abstracts required.

  These include responses to previous articles and editorials. Designed to stimulate academic debate and discussion, the editor invites readers to submit letters that refer to and comment on recent journal content, introduce new comments and discussions of clear and direct relevance to the journal's aims and scope, or briefly report data or research findings that may not warrant a full paper.

MANUSCRIPT PREPARATION AND FORMAT

• General Guidelines

  Manuscripts should be written in Korean or English. They must be prepared according to the National Library of Medicine’s (NLM) style guide, Citing Medicine: The NLM Style Guide for Authors, Editors, and Publishers (http://www.nlm.nih.gov/citingmedicine). If discrepancies arise between the JKAN guidelines and the NLM style guide, the JKAN guidelines take precedence.

  Authors are required to complete the Manuscript Checklist during submission to confirm that the basic submission requirements have been met, including disclosure of funding-source roles and conflicts of interest. The Manuscript Checklist is a self-assessment tool that helps authors prepare their manuscripts. A completed checklist must be submitted to show that all required parts of the submission have been included.

• Research Reporting Guidelines

  Reporting guidelines endorsed by the journal are listed below (http://www.equator-network.org).

  Observational cohort, case-control, and cross-sectional studies

  Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE)

  Meta-analysis of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (MOOSE)

  Qualitative studies

  Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research (COREQ)

  Standards for Reporting Qualitative Research (SRQR)

  Quasi-experimental/ non-randomized trials

  Transparent Reporting of Evaluations with Non-randomized Designs (TREND)

  Randomized (and quasi randomized) controlled trials

  Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT)

  Study of Diagnostic accuracy/assessment scale

  Standards for the Reporting of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies (STARD)

  Systematic Review and meta-analysis

  Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA)

  Meta-analysis of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (MOOSE)

  Quality improvement studies

  Standards for Quality Improvement Reporting Excellence (SQUIRE)

• Manuscript Components

  The manuscript should be organized as follows: title page, abstract and keywords, main text, references, tables and figures, and appendices. Each section should begin on a new page. To ensure double-anonymized review, the main body of the manuscript, including the references, tables, and figures, must not contain identifying information such as author names or affiliations.

  Title Page

  The title page should include the following: (1) article title; (2) running head; (3) author names and affiliations, including department, location, and ORCID; (4) corresponding author’s name and complete address, including e-mail address, telephone number, ORCID, and fax number; (5) any acknowledgments, credits, or disclaimers; (6) information related to submission from a thesis or dissertation; (7) acknowledgment of funding sources; (8) authorship statement; (9) declaration of the use of generative AI and AI-assisted technologies; (10) conflict of interest statement; and (11) data availability statement.

  Abstract and Keywords

  An abstract of up to 250 words should be typed double-spaced on a separate page. It should summarize the main factual points of the study, including the purpose, methods, results, and conclusions. The abstract should be accompanied by three to five keywords for indexing. Keywords should be specific and should use Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) terms when possible (http://www.nlm.nih.gov/mesh/meshhome.html).

  Main Text

  For most papers, the following basic structure is used: Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion, and Conclusion. Articles may require subheadings within certain sections to clarify their content.

  Introduction: A brief background, references to the most pertinent papers that are sufficiently general to inform readers, and relevant findings from others should be included. It is recommended that the introduction include a "general and specific background," "debating issues," and the "specific purpose of this study."

  Methods: Describes the study design, setting, and samples, measurements/instruments, data collection/procedure, ethical considerations, and data analysis used. However, this instrument can be omitted if it is qualitative. Authors should describe how sex and, where relevant, gender were considered in the study design, analysis, and reporting. When only one sex or gender was studied, or when sex- and gender-based analyses were not applicable, the rationale should be provided. In the section on ethical considerations, the author states that the study protocol was approved by the institutional review board (IRB No. ##-####-##). Please provide the initials of institutional names at the time of submission for peer review. Where exemption from review or from informed consent was granted, supporting documentation should also be submitted.

  Results: Describes the main results logically using text, tables, and figures in a concise paragraph. This is the most descriptive section.

  Discussion: Discussion should be based only on the reported results. The data should be interpreted concisely without repeating the materials presented in the results. Discussions on advances in nursing practice, nursing knowledge development, and their implications for nursing are strongly recommended.

  Conclusion: State the conclusions and recommendations for further study. Do not summarize the study results.

  References

  In-text Citation

  In-text citations should follow Citing Medicine: The NLM Style Guide for Authors, Editors, and Publishers, 2nd edition (http://www.nlm.nih.gov/citingmedicine). References should be numbered consecutively in the order in which they appear in the text, with numbers placed in brackets [ ]. When multiple references are cited together, use commas for nonconsecutive numbers and hyphens for inclusive ranges (e.g., [1], [2,3], [4-6], or [7-9,13]). If a reference is cited more than once, use the original reference number. If a cited work has one or two authors, include the last name of each author. If it has three or more authors, include only the last name of the first author followed by “et al.” (e.g., Beck [3], Jo and Kim [7], Cox et al. [11]).

  Reference lists

  References should be listed on a separate page at the end of the manuscript in order of citation. Authors are responsible for the accuracy and completeness of references and corresponding in-text citations. Regular articles should include 50 or fewer references, except manuscripts reporting meta-analyses, systematic reviews, or structural equation models, for which there is no reference limit.

  Tables and Figures

  Tables and figures should be self-contained and should complement, rather than duplicate, the information in the text. Tables and figures should be numbered consecutively using Arabic numerals. Each table and figure should be placed on a separate page. No more than five tables and figures should be included in total. Additional tables or figures should be provided as supplementary material. Table titles should be placed above the table and should use sentence case, with only the first word and proper nouns capitalized (e.g., Table 1. Overall responses to question types). Figure titles should be placed below the figure and should also use sentence case (e.g., Figure 1. Scatter plot of study variables between cancer survivors and their spouses). When two or more panels are included under the same figure number, alphabetically sequenced letters should be placed after the Arabic numeral (Figure 1A, B).

  Abbreviations may be used in tables and figures but must be defined in a footnote, even if they have already been defined in the text. Abbreviations should be listed in alphabetical order, without “and” before the final abbreviation (e.g., HR, heart rate; T, temperature). Descriptive footnotes should be indicated with superscript lowercase letters in alphabetical order (a–z) and listed at the bottom of the table or figure (e.g., a) By Fisher’s exact test).

  Means, standard deviations, and test statistics (t, F, Z) should be reported to two decimal places; percentages and mean ages should be reported to one decimal place (e.g., p = .002, 23.98 ± 3.47, 45.7%, 37.2 years old). When a statistic can exceed 1, use a leading zero (i.e., 0 before the decimal point) for values less than 1. However, when a statistic cannot exceed 1, such as r or R2, omit 0 before the decimal point (e.g., t = 0.26, F = 0.92, r = .14, R2 = .61). p-values should be reported to three decimal places. If p-values are .000 or 1.000, report them as p < .001 and p > .999, respectively. If p-values are reported using footnotes, use * and ** (e.g., * p < .05, ** p < .01).

  Appendices

  Authors should submit an appendix showing the final measurement developed in an instrument-development study and a list of reviewed articles for systematic reviews or meta-analyses.

  Supplementary material can support and enhance the scientific content of a research article. Supplementary files allow authors to publish supporting applications, high-resolution images, background datasets, sound clips, and other materials. These items are published online exactly as submitted and are not typeset. Submit supplementary materials together with the article and provide a concise, descriptive caption for each file. If supplementary data must be changed at any stage of the process, provide an updated file rather than annotating corrections in the previous version. In Microsoft Office files, turn off the “Track Changes” option because tracked changes will appear in the published supplementary file(s). For systematic reviews and meta-analyses, the full search strategy used for the literature search, including databases, search filters, and search dates, must be submitted as supplementary material.

• Registration

  JKAN encourages prospective registration of all clinical trials, as defined by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors, in a publicly accessible trial registry before enrollment of the first participant. Prospective registration is also strongly encouraged for all other study types, including systematic reviews. If a study has been registered, the registration number should be cited in both the abstract and the main text. The journal accepts registration in any primary registry that participates in the World Health Organization International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (https://trialsearch.who.int/), National Institutes of Health ClinicalTrials.gov (http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/), International Standard Randomized Controlled Trial Number Registry (www.isrctn.com), Clinical Research Information Service (CRIS) of the Korean Disease Control and Prevention Agency (https://cris.nih.go.kr/cris/index.jsp).

  Systematic reviews, scoping reviews, and umbrella reviews are encouraged to be prospectively registered in PROSPERO or the Open Science Framework (OSF). The registration number should be stated in the abstract and in the Methods section. If a study is eligible for registration but has not been registered, the reason should be stated in the manuscript.

• Research Data Sharing and Transparency

  This journal encourages and enables you to share data that supports your research publication, where appropriate, and to interlink the data with your published articles. Research data refers to the results of observations or experiments that validate the research findings. To facilitate reproducibility and data reuse, this journal encourages you to share your software, codes, models, algorithms, protocols, methods, and other useful materials related to the project. For this purpose, consent to share the data should be obtained when preparing the participant information sheet and consent form for data collection.

  Data generated through the participation of study participants and the public should be used as fully as possible by the research community and, whenever possible, translated into patient benefit. Data sharing supports many research-related activities, including reproducing analyses, testing secondary hypotheses, developing and evaluating novel statistical methods, teaching, designing future trials and meta-analyses, and helping to prevent error, fraud, and selective reporting.

  All manuscripts should follow the data-sharing policy described in “Data Sharing Statements for Clinical Trials: A Requirement of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors” (https://doi.org/10.3346/jkms.2017.32.7.1051; http://icmje.org/icmje-recommendations.pdf). Since July 1, 2018, manuscripts submitted to ICMJE journals that report the results of interventional clinical trials have been required to include a data-sharing statement. Since January 1, 2019, clinical trials that enroll participants have been required to include a data-sharing plan in the trial registration. The ICMJE policy on trial registration is explained at http://www.icmje.org/about-icmje/faqs/clinical-trials-registration/. If the data-sharing plan changes after registration, the change should be reflected in the statement published with the manuscript and updated in the registry. Authors should de-identify data according to the extent of the sharing plan and report the digital object identifiers (DOIs) of the data and registration sites.

  The following are examples of data-sharing statements:

  • Example 1: The data that support the findings of this study are openly available in [repository name] at [DOI or URL].

  • Example 2: The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

  • Example 3: The data are not publicly available because they contain information that could compromise the privacy of research participants.

  • Example 4: Data sharing is not applicable to this article because no new data were created or analyzed in this study.

EDITORIAL AND PEER-REVIEW PROCESS

• Submitted Manuscript

  All contributions, including solicited articles, are critically reviewed by editorial board members and/or reviewers. The decision to publish a manuscript is based on editorial assessment and peer review.

  However, even after a manuscript has been accepted, if any defects or issues are discovered prior to publication, it may not be published following a re-review by the Editorial Board.

  Prereview: Initially, all manuscripts are assessed by an editorial committee consisting of members of the editorial team. The primary purpose of prereview is to determine whether a manuscript should be sent for peer review and to make a rapid decision on manuscripts that will not proceed. Manuscripts that do not meet basic standards or that are unlikely to be published even after favorable peer review, for example because their novel contribution is insufficient or their relevance to the discipline is unclear, may be rejected at this stage to avoid delays for authors who may wish to seek publication elsewhere.

  Review: Manuscripts that proceed to review are reviewed by members of an expert panel. All such manuscripts undergo double-anonymized peer review by two or more reviewers and the editor. The editorial board reserves the right to refuse any material for publication. The editor-in-chief reserves the right to make the final decision regarding acceptance. Authors will receive reviewer comments. If the manuscript is considered potentially suitable for publication, the author will be asked to respond to reviewer comments within two weeks.

• Revised Manuscript

  When preparing a revised manuscript, authors should carefully follow the instructions provided in the editor’s letter. Authors should submit both a clean copy of the manuscript and an annotated copy describing the changes made. Failure to do so will delay review of the revision. If references, tables, or figures are moved, added, or deleted during revision, they should be renumbered so that all tables, references, and figures are cited in numerical order. Changes in the annotated copy should be highlighted by using the “Track Changes” function in Microsoft Word or by highlighting or underlining the revised text, with notes in the text referring to the relevant editor or reviewer query.

• Accepted Manuscript

  Galley Proof: JKAN provides galley proofs to the corresponding author for correction. Corresponding authors will receive electronic page proofs to check copyedited and typeset articles before publication. Corrections should be kept to a minimum. The editor retains the prerogative to query minor stylistic changes and major alterations that may affect the paper’s scientific content. Any errors identified after publication are the responsibility of the author(s). Authors are urged to carefully proofread the accepted manuscript. The corresponding author may be contacted by the editorial office, depending on the nature of corrections made at the proof stage.

  Article Processing Charge: Authors whose manuscripts are accepted for publication in JKAN will be charged a publication fee of USD 1,500. Publication fees do not influence editorial decision-making.

  Copyright: All authors must sign the journal's "Transfer of Copyright Agreement" form and submit it through the online submission system upon manuscript submission. The agreement takes effect only for manuscripts that are finally accepted and published. Articles are published under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. This license permits copying and redistribution with appropriate attribution but prohibits commercial use and derivative works. The full license is available at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/deed.en.

• Revised Manuscript

  When preparing a revised manuscript, authors should carefully follow the instructions provided in the editor’s letter. Authors should submit both a clean copy of the manuscript and an annotated copy describing the changes made. Failure to do so will delay review of the revision. If references, tables, or figures are moved, added, or deleted during revision, they should be renumbered so that all tables, references, and figures are cited in numerical order. Changes in the annotated copy should be highlighted by using the “Track Changes” function in Microsoft Word or by highlighting or underlining the revised text, with notes in the text referring to the relevant editor or reviewer query.

• Reference Examples in Reference Lists

  Journals

  Journal titles should be abbreviated in the style used in NLM Catalog. If a DOI (Digital Object Identifier) has been assigned to the article that authors are using, authors should include this after the page numbers for the article. References should be listed according to the examples below. For citations from other sources, refer to the NLM Style Guide for Authors, Editors, and Publishers 2nd edition (2007) (http://www.nlm.nih.gov/citingmedicine).

  Journals with six or fewer authors list all authors

  Chen H, Nakatani H, Liu T, Zhao H, Xie D. The core knowledge and skills of nursing competency regarding mealtime assistance for hemiplegic patients in China. Asian Nurs Res. 2020;14(2):129-135. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anr.2020.04.005

  Journals with more than six authors list the first six followed by et al.

  Kim JI, Suh EE, Song JE, Im Y, Park JH, Yu S, et al. Development of caring as a human science: 50 years of history of the Korean Society of Nursing Science. J Korean Acad Nurs. 2020;50(3):313-332. https://doi.org/10.4040/jkan.20142

  Online ahead of print (Epub)

  Lin FF, Peet J, Murray L, Yin H, Ramanan M, Jacobs K, et al. Contextual factors influencing intensive care patients' discharge processes: a multicentre prospective observational study. J Clin Nurs. 2024 Oct 24 [Epub]. https://doi.org/10.1111/jocn.17515

  Newspaper articles

  Turner A. Parkinson’s drug a ‘life-changer’ for former nurse. BBC News. 2024 Oct 28.

  Shin JH. IV drips: a quick energy shot for overworked Koreans. The Korea Herald [Internet]. 2024 Jun 15 [cited 2026 Jul 23]. Available from: https://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20240613050778&ACE_SEARCH=1

  Books

  Entire book

  DeVellis RF. Scale development: theory and applications. 4th ed. Sage Publications; 2016. 280 p.

  Entire book on the internet

  Peterson K. Guide to life science careers [Internet]. NPG Education; c2014 [cited 2026 Jul 23]. Available from: https://www.nature.com/scitable/ebooks/guide-to-lifescience-careers-14053951/

  Chapter in an edited book

  Kone BC. Metabolic basis of solute transport. In: Brenner BM, Rector FC, editors. Brenner and Rector’s the kidney. 8th ed. Saunders Elsevier; c2008. p. 130-55.

  Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI). Enterobacteriaceae. In: CLSI, editor. Performance standards for antimicrobial susceptibility testing. 27th ed. CLSI; 2017. p. 32-39.

  Book with author(s) and translator(s)

  Cromar KC, Moebius C. Medical-surgical nursing made incredibly easy. 4th ed. Lee SH, Shin MK, Um JY, Kim AL, Kim HJ, Park JH, et al., translators. Academya; 2017. 992 p.

  Scientific and Technical Reports

  Kwon JH. A Study on the current status of infertility counseling and the development of infertility counseling delivery system. Ministry of Health and Welfare; 2016. Report No.: 11-1352000-001853-01.

  Entire Dissertations and Theses

  It’s recommended not to cite dissertation or theses, if it’s necessary it can be cited less than three.

  Zhao JJ. Design of a 3D virtual learning environment for acquisition of cultural competence in nursing education: experience of nursing and other health care students, instructors, and instructional designers [dissertation]. Vancouver: University of British Columbia; 2019.

  Conferences

  Salehi E, Yousefi H, Rashidi H, Ghanaatti H. Automatic diagnosis of disc herniation in two-dimensional MR images with combination of distinct features using machine learning methods. Proceedings of the 2019 Scientific Meeting on Electrical-Electronics & Biomedical Engineering and Computer Science (EBBT); 2019 Apr 24-26; Istanbul, Turkey. IEEE; 2019. https://doi.org/10.1109/EBBT.2019.8742052

  Web

  World Health Organization (WHO). Process of translation and adaptation of instruments [Internet]. WHO; c2020 [cited 2026 Jul 23]. Available from: http://www.who.int/substance_abuse/research_tools/translation/en/