Readers Ask

Abstract

“I am seeking information from you regarding criteria for indexing journals in the CINAHL® database. Any advice or guidelines you can give me regarding this process will be appreciated.” This question is often asked of us at Cinahl Information Systems by editors or publishers wanting their journals indexed. The core subjects of the CINAHL database are nursing and allied health. One of the criteria for accepting journal titles is that the journals should cover the subjects indexed in the database. The database also indexes journals on alternative therapy, consumer health, biomedicine, health sciences librarianship, and the psychosocial aspects of illness. All nursing and allied health titles are considered, whether or not they are peer reviewed. In order to assist the users in evaluating the journal articles, editors and publishers are requested to complete a questionnaire to indicate if or how their journals are reviewed. Even newsletters are accepted for indexing so long as there is more information than just news items. The editors or publishers are also asked to sign a permission form to allow inclusion of abstracts and cited references in the database. It is important that users of a bibliographic database are able to determine whether the content of the full article will be relevant. The relevancy can be assessed from the title, abstract, and cited references of the article. They are also asked about document delivery — if it is available through the publisher the information is passed on to the user in the database record. Cinahl will provide document delivery if the copyright holder indicates that is what they prefer. The journal description information required from the publisher (at the same time as the permissions mentioned above) includes editorial information (editor, publisher, address), ISSN, scope, and audience information for the journal title, etc. This information is made available in the database to assist librarians and other users to locate journal titles. Journal Name: __________ Journal Editor: __________ Please select the most appropriate response. In some cases, more than one response may be justified. 1. Is your journal peer reviewed? □ Yes □ No 2. If yes, could you be more specific about the process of peer review you follow? □ Blind review. Blind to: □ Author's Name(s) □ Credentials □ Institution □ Double blind review. Blind to □ Author(s) and Reviewer(s) Names □ Author(s) and Reviewer(s) Credentials □ Author(s) and Reviewer(s) Institutions □ Use Editorial Board only as reviewers □ Use subject matter experts only as reviewers □ Use both Editorial Board and subject matter experts as reviewers □ We have guidelines in place for peer reviewers to use 3. What percentage of your research articles is subject to the peer review process? _____ % What percentage of your non-research articles is subject to the peer review process? _____ % Overall percentage of peer review _____ % How many reviewers do you use per article? □ 1 □ 2 □ 3 or more 5. Approximately how many articles do each of your reviewers process annually? _____ Is there a second peer review after an article has been revised? □ always □ sometimes □ rarely □ never If an article is rejected can the authors request a second review by a different set of reviewers? □ Yes □No Do you have set criteria for participation in your Editorial Board such as education, certification, etc.? □ Yes □ No If yes, please specify □ education (must have earned _____) □ certification (must have certification in some area of specialization) □ other expertise □ professional reputation □ knowledge of research methodology □ __________ How do you select experts for participation in your Review Panel -- if separate from Editorial Board? □ expertise in □ education □ professional reputation □ other A concern in the scientific community is duplicate publication. If this is a concern of yours, how do you prevent it in your journal? □ Search CINAHL® or MEDLINE® for similar publications □ Rely on your own knowledge or the knowledge of your reviewers □ Rely on the author's integrity □ Other. Please describe __________ __________ __________ Thank you very much for your time. Please return the survey in the enclosed postage paid envelope. Cinahl also requests a complimentary subscription of the journal from publishers, without which it is impossible to index the articles. If you are going to move, send us your new address before you move. Nurse Author & Editor is full of timely information you'll want right away, so give us your address change early, so you don't miss an issue. Just send us your old address with the new one, so we can find your subscription label. See our Web page at: http://members.aol.com/suzannehj/hello.htm