The new Online Brazilian Journal of Nursing: what has changed?

 

Ana Carla Dantas Cavalcanti¹, Ana Lamdin Carvalho¹, Paula Vanessa Peclat Flores¹

 

1 Fluminense Federal University 

 

In August 2020, the Online Brazilian Journal of Nursing (OBJN) formed a new editorial team, which has strived to disseminate high quality scientific knowledge, with innovative and relevant results for nursing and related areas, as well as to ensure ethical aspects and good practices of scientific publishing(¹). To this end, it is developing strategies of internal and external articulation, to sensitize researchers from Brazil and the world about changes in management, editorial policy(2), code of ethics(3), standardization and marketing of the journal. This editorial aims to describe the changes and advances achieved by OBJN's new editorial team.

In March 2020, was approved by the unit collegiate of the Aurora de Afonso Costa School of Nursing (EEAAC), unit of the Fluminense Federal University (UFF), the Extension Program(4) Online Brazilian Journal of Nursing (OBJN), coordinated by Professor Ana Carla Dantas Cavalcanti, containing the members of the new editorial team, who were selected according to the criteria established in the Internal Rules of OBJN(5), presenting an equitable division between professors from all departments and postgraduate courses of the EEAAC. It is emphasized that the program is directly linked to the direction of the unit.

Subsequently, this program was approved in the Information and Project Management System (SIGProj) (6), by the Technical Chamber of the Pro-Rectory of Extension of UFF(7), by the Pro-Rectory of Planning (PROPLAN)(8), Project Coordination (PLAP)(9) and Federal Attorney's Office with UFF(10), having as contract number 032/2020.

The program had as general objective to restructure the OBJN, enabling the dissemination of high quality scientific results, based on evaluation standards of the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES)(11), international indexation and Open Science(12). As specific objectives: to review the OBJN rules, together with the Commission defined by the Collegiate Unit; define the new editorial policy; hold an annual scientific and cultural technical event on health publishing and related areas; conduct updating courses on scientific publications of high quality standard and good practices of scientific publications(1); maintain the entire editorial flow via publishing system; elaborate a succession process plan with record of editorial practices and decision-making, with all the logins and passwords that the journal uses and make use of collaborative and shared spaces such as Dropbox and Google Drive; create two innovative sessions that incorporate high-standard scientific production; discuss in the editorial policy the concepts of Open Science(12); look at the Best Practices of Scientific Publications in all areas of editorial policy(1), and; propose strategies on accessibility for the visually impaired(13)  (new tools).

The new OBJN regiment was reviewed by the responsible committee, involving professors and students of the EEAAC. Its approval took place in October 2020 by the EEAAC Unit Collegiate. This, based on the new editorial policy of the journal, based on the premises of Open Science(12) and Best Practices of Scientific Publications(1).

The OBJN's new editorial policy(2) points to the mission of contributing to the scientific advancement of excellence, defending editorial freedom and the global integration of knowledge between institutions, researchers and professionals in the field of Nursing, health and related sciences. Its vision is to be an electronic journal of Nursing in Latin America and other countries, based on its recognition by the best international indexing bases and defense of excellence and ethical precepts.

Currently, manuscripts can be submitted in English, Portuguese and Spanish to the Editorial, Original Article, Review Article, Letter to the Editor, Implementation and Innovation Research and Systematic Review Protocol sections. They should be intended exclusively for OBJN. Manuscripts published in other journals or that have been submitted and are under evaluation in another journal simultaneously submit to OBJN are not accepted, except in cases of publications on preprint servers(14), in addition to texts, data, codes and other materials deposited in scientifically recognized repositories.

The OBJN magazine uses the Creative Commons license(15) - Attribution - Non-Commercial Use - Not Derivative Works (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) and is open access. It uses the main technologies for information retrieval, indexing and assigns the Digital Object Identifier (DOI)(16) to all publications, following best practices in scientific publishing. The journal follows the rolling pass.

Adopts successive and eliminatory evaluation checklists at three levels: (a) pre-analysis (metadata, relevance assessment and standardization); (b) method checklist (EQUATOR Network guides)(17) and; (c) peer review(18).

During submission, authors must report any type of conflict of interest in the evaluation of their manuscript. In addition, the ideas expressed in the manuscripts published in OBJN are the sole responsibility of the authors and co-authors, not involving the opinion of the editorial team.

The OBJN only evaluates the original manuscripts whose data collection was performed less than three years ago. Review articles should update the search by submission date.

High-quality manuscripts that demonstrate scientific advancement of excellence, with high methodological rigor, implications for clinical practice, teaching and/or development of public policies, recommendation of future research and worldwide interest/relevance, will be given priority to publication in OBJN.

The OBJN guarantees the rights and duties that concern research participants and the scientific community, so it does not publish manuscripts that do not meet the ethical-legal aspects of research with human beings.

Research involving human beings must comply with CNS Resolution No. 466/2012(19) and mention in the body of the text the number of the opinion approving the research project by the Ethics Committee recognized by the National Research Ethics Commission(20), the National Health Council(21), or equivalent, when held in another country.  

Research involving the care and use of animals must comply with Law No. 11,794 (October 8, 2008), regulated by item VII of §1 of Art. 225 of the Brazilian Federal Constitution(21) and follow the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals(22) and the Brazilian Guideline for the Care and Use of Animals for Scientific Purposes(23) and Didactics of the National Council for the Control of Animal Experimentation (CONCEA)(24).

The OBJN complies with the recommendations of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE)(25), regarding the functions and responsibilities of authors, reviewers, editors and owners; issues of publication and publishing in medical journals, and; preparation and submission of manuscripts. Therefore, editors and other editorial team members refrain from making decisions in the event of any conflicts of interest or relationships linked to the articles under consideration.

It is also recommended the registration in a system of public registration of clinical trials, protocols of reviews and systematic reviews, in addition to the methodological guidelines suggested in the EQUATOR Network(17).

The OBJN is affiliated with the Brazilian Association of Scientific Editors (ABEC)(26) and meets the recommendations for editors and authors of the Commitee on Publication Ethics (COPE)(1). To maintain its academic reputation, OBJN adopts the Ithenticate(27) to verify similarity in manuscripts. In case of manuscripts derived from dissertations and/or theses, the corresponding author must notify the Editor-in-Chief during submission in the Cover Letter to the Editor-in-Chief.

The OBJN accepts publications on preprints servers(14), valuing the development of open access scientific communication, provided that the Editor-in-Chief is notified in the Cover Letter to the Editor, with DOI indication(16) and name of the server in which it is deposited.

In March 2021, an extension project was submitted, which aims to carry out updating courses on scientific publications of high-quality standard and Best Practices of Scientific Publications and monthly webinars from May 2021, to train readers, researchers, reviewers, editors on research methods, textual writing and scientific publishing.

The ScholarOne platform(28) will maintain the entire editorial flow of the journal, from May 2021, ensuring automation of the editorial process and greater security for editors, reviewers and authors. 

All editorial practices and decision-making of OBJN are now recorded, with all the logins and passwords that the magazine uses, enabling a succession plan and collaborative and shared spaces such as Dropbox and Google Drive.

Two innovative sessions have been created that incorporate high-standard scientific production. The section "Protocols of Systematic Review and Scope Studies", aims to disseminate protocols with high methodological rigor, with records and that follow the reporting guidelines in the statement Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Protocols - PRISMA-P(29). The section "Implementation research and Innovation" aims to disseminate implementation studies, research applied to professional practice and or development of technological innovation, which follow the guide of SQUIRE(30).

In the second half of 2021, we will propose strategies on accessibility for the visually impaired(13), as soon as the new website and the new platform are in use.

Thus, the new editorial board has achieved the proposed objectives and believes to satisfy the responsibility of conserving the OBJN in faithful development and updating to achieve its mission.

 

References

  1. Committee on Publication Ethics. Promoting integrity in scholarly research and its publication [internet]. Ano [cited 2021 apr 05]. Available from: https://publicationethics.org/

  2. Online Brazilian Journal of Nursing.  Política editorial [internet]. Ano [cited 2021 apr 05]. Available from: http://www.objnursing.uff.br/index.php/nursing/politica_editorial

  3. Online Brazilian Journal of Nursing. Código de ética da OBJN [internet].  Ano [cited 2021 apr 05]. Available from: http://www.objnursing.uff.br/index.php/nursing/politica_editorial

  4. Fluminense Federal University. PROEXT - University extension program [Internet]. Year [cited 2021 apr 05]. Available from:  http://www.uff.br/?q=proext-programa-de-extensao-universitaria-no-grupo-extensao-proext-programa-de-extensao

  5. Online Brazilian Journal of Nursing. Regimento interno [internet]. Ano [cited 2021 apr 05].  Available from: http://www.objnursing.uff.br/index.php/nursing/regimento

  6. Information System and Project Management. What is [internet]. Year [cited 2021 apr 05]. Available from:  http://sigproj.ufrj.br/index.php?goTo=what&plataforma=%3C?=20$platform%20?%3E

  7. Fluminense Federal University. What is the extension technical chamber? [internet]. Year [cited 2021 apr 05]. Available from:  http://www.uff.br/?q=faq/o-que-e-camara-tecnica-de-extensao

  8. Fluminense Federal University. Planning [internet]. Year [cited 2021 apr 05]. Available from:  http://www.uff.br/?q=grupo/planejamento

  9. Fluminense Federal University. PLAP - Coordination of Projects with the Euclides da Cunha Support Foundation (FEC) [internet]. Year [cited 2021 apr 05]. Available from:  http://www.uff.br/?q=setor/plap-coordenacao-de-projetos-com-fundacao-de-apoio-euclides-da-cunha-fec

  10. Fluminense Federal University. Federal Prosecutor's Office with UFF [internet]. Year [cited 2021 apr 05]. Available from:  http://www.uff.br/?q=setor/procuradoria-federal-junto-uff

  11. Government of Brazil. Foundation Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES) [internet]. Year [cited 2021 apr 05]. Available from:  https://www.gov.br/pt-br/orgaos/fundacao-coordenacao-de-aperfeicoamento-de-pessoal-de-nivel-superior

  12. PACKER AL, SANTOS S. Open science and the new modus operandi of communicating research – Part II. SciELO in Perspective [internet]. 2019 [cited 05 Apr 2021]. Available from: https://blog.scielo.org/blog/2019/08/01/ciencia-aberta-e-o-novo-modus-operandi-de-comunicar-pesquisa-parte-ii/#.YGuMGuhKjDc

  13. Brazil. Law No. 13,146 of July 6, 2015. It establishes the Brazilian Law for the Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities (Statute of Persons with Disabilities). Official Gazette [internet]. 2015 Jul 7 [cited 2021 apr 05]. Available from:  http://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/_Ato2015-2018/2015/Lei/L13146.htm

  14. Scielo. About the server [internet]. Ano [cited 2021 apr 05]. Available from: https://preprints.scielo.org/index.php/scielo/about

  15. Creative Commons. Sobre as licenças [internet]. Ano [cited 2021 apr 05]. Available from: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/?lang=pt_BR

  16. Doi. The DOI® System [internet]. Ano [cited 2021 apr 05]. Available from: https://www.doi.org/

  17. Equator Network. Enhancing the QUAlity and Transparency Of health Research [internet]. Ano [cited 2021 apr 05]. Available from: https://www.equator-network.org/about-us/

  18. Elsevier. What is peer review? [internet].  Ano [cited 2021 apr 05]. Available from: https://www.elsevier.com/reviewers/what-is-peer-review

  19. Brazil. National Health Council. Resolution 466 of 12 December 2012. It provides for guidelines and regulatory standards for research involving human beings. Official Gazette [internet]. 2012 dec 12 [cited 2021 apr 05]. Available from:  https://conselho.saude.gov.br/resolucoes/2012/Reso466.pdf

  20. National Health Council. National Commission on Ethics in Research [internet]. Year [cited 2021 apr 05]. Available from:  http://conselho.saude.gov.br/comissoes-cns/conep/

  21. National Health Council. Presentation [internet]. Year [cited 2021 apr 05]. Available from:  http://conselho.saude.gov.br/apresentacao-cns

  22. National Research Council (US) Committee for the Update of the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals. Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals. 8th ed. Washington (DC): National Academies Press (US) [internet]. 2011 [cited 2021 apr 05]. Available from: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21595115/

  23. Brazil. National Council for The Control of Animal Experimentation. Normative Resolution No. 12 of September 20, 2013. Lower sums up the Brazilian guideline for the care and use of animals for scientific and didactic purposes - DBCA. Official Gazette [internet]. 2013 sep 20 [cited 2021 apr 05]. Available from:  https://www.in.gov.br/materia/-/asset_publisher/Kujrw0TZC2Mb/content/id/31061653/do1-2013-09-25-resolucao-normativa-n-12-de-20-de-setembro-de-2013-31061649#:~:text=794%2C%20%202008%2C%20e%20e%204,os%20princ%C3%ADpios%20define%20nesta%20Guideline.

  24. Brazil. Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation. National Council for Animal Experimentation Control. Normative Resolution No. 25 of September 29, 2015. Download the chapter "General Introduction" of the Guide of the Brazilian production, maintenance or use of animals [...]. Official Gazette [internet]. 2015 Oct 02 [cited 2021 apr 05]. Available from:  https://www.in.gov.br/materia/-/asset_publisher/Kujrw0TZC2Mb/content/id/33252781/do1-2015-10-02-resolucao-normativa-n-25-de-29-de-setembro-de-2015-33252777

  25. International Committee of Medical Journal Editors. Recommendations [internet]. Ano [cited 2021 apr 05]. Available from: http://www.icmje.org/recommendations/

  26. Brazilian Association of Scientific Editors. Welcome to ABEL! [internet]. Year [cited 2021 apr 05]. Available from:  https://www.abecbrasil.org.br/novo/abec-brasil/

  27. Ithenticate. About ithenticate plagiarism checking [internet]. Ano [cited 2021 apr 05]. Available from: https://www.ithenticate.com/about

  28. Clarivate. ScholarOne Manuscripts [internet]. Ano [cited 2021 apr 05]. Available from: https://clarivate.com/webofsciencegroup/solutions/scholarone/

  29. Prisma. PRISMA for systematic review protocols (PRISMA-P) [internet]. Ano [cited 2021 apr 05]. Available from: http://www.prisma-statement.org/Extensions/Protocols.aspx

  30. Equator Network. SQUIRE 2.0 (Standards for QUality Improvement Reporting Excellence): revised publication guidelines from a detailed consensus process [internet]. Ano [cited 2021 apr 05]. Available from: https://www.equator-network.org/reporting-guidelines/squire/