Ethical Consideration

Ethical integrity is a fundamental requirement for all submissions to the Celebes Nursing Journal (CNJ). Authors must ensure that any research involving human participants, animals, biological materials, identifiable data, or sensitive information complies with internationally recognized ethical standards. Ethical approval, informed consent, participant protection, and transparency in research conduct are mandatory where applicable.
This Ethical Consideration policy applies to all manuscript types and complements the journal’s overarching Publication Ethics & Malpractice Statement (PEMS).

1. Ethics Approval
All studies involving human participants; identifiable or re-identifiable human tissues, biological samples, or data; or animals must receive prior review and approval from an appropriate formally recognized Ethics Committee, Institutional Review Board (IRB), animal ethics committee, or equivalent authority, or receive a formal determination of exemption where applicable, before the research begins.
The manuscript must clearly state:

For research involving animals, authors must provide a statement confirming approval by the relevant animal ethics committee or equivalent authority, where required, and adherence to internationally accepted standards for animal care and welfare.
If ethics approval was not required, authors must provide:

For manuscripts that do not involve human participants, identifiable or re-identifiable human material or data, or animals—such as literature-based reviews, concept analyses, and theory-development articles—authors should state: “Ethics approval: Not applicable.”
Studies lacking mandatory ethical approval will be rejected.

2. Informed Consent
Appropriate informed consent or consent for publication is required, where applicable, for manuscripts involving:

Authors must report:

Informed consent to participate and consent for publication are separate requirements. For research involving human participants, free and informed consent to participate must be obtained from the participant or legally authorized representative unless a modification or waiver of consent has been approved by an ethics committee or IRB in accordance with applicable institutional and national requirements.
Written or electronic consent should ordinarily be obtained. If consent cannot be expressed on paper or electronically, non-written consent must be appropriately justified, formally witnessed, and documented.
For case reports or case series, written consent for publication must be obtained from the participant or patient, legal guardian, or legally authorized representative. Ethics approval for case reports or case series must also be reported where required by institutional or national policy.
If consent for publication cannot be obtained (e.g., deceased patient or archival material), authors must provide appropriate ethical justification and authorization from an IRB, ethics committee, or other competent institutional authority. Acceptance for publication remains subject to editorial assessment of privacy, confidentiality, and the risk of identification.

3. Confidentiality & Data Protection
Authors must ensure the protection of participants’ privacy and data confidentiality by:

CNJ prohibits the publication of identifiable data, including names, patient identification numbers, facial photographs, or other potentially identifying information, unless explicit written permission for publication has been obtained.

4. Research Conduct & Scientific Integrity
Authors are expected to adhere to principles of responsible research conduct, including:

Any concerns raised during peer review regarding ethical or scientific integrity must be addressed thoroughly and transparently.

5. Plagiarism & Originality
CNJ does not tolerate plagiarism or unethical text or data reuse.
All submissions are screened using similarity-detection software, such as Turnitin or iThenticate. Similarity-screening results are interpreted contextually and are not treated as automatic evidence of plagiarism.
Forms of plagiarism include:

Where plagiarism or unethical reuse is established, the manuscript or published article may be rejected, corrected, or retracted, as appropriate to the nature and seriousness of the issue and in accordance with COPE guidance.
Full details are provided in the Plagiarism & Similarity Policy (POLICIES menu).

6. Conflict of Interest Disclosure
All authors must disclose any financial or non-financial relationships, activities, or interests that could influence, or reasonably be perceived to influence, their work.
Each author must complete the ICMJE Disclosure Form and submit the completed form at the time of initial manuscript submission. The corresponding author is responsible for ensuring that completed forms from all authors are submitted.
Completion of the ICMJE Disclosure Form does not replace the conflict-of-interest statement required in the manuscript. Authors must update their disclosures if relevant circumstances change during review or before publication.

Example statement when no relevant conflict exists: “The authors declare no conflicts of interest.”
Where relevant conflicts exist, they must be described clearly and transparently in the manuscript.
See full requirements in the Conflict of Interest Policy (POLICIES menu).

7. International Ethical Frameworks
Research submitted to CNJ must comply with internationally recognized ethical guidelines applicable to the study design and context, including:

These frameworks reinforce key principles related to:


8. Manuscripts Lacking Ethical Information
Submissions will be returned or rejected if they lack:

Incomplete or unclear ethical statements will delay peer review.