Editorial Process
Editorial & Publication Workflow
Last update: 15 January 2026
Submitting a manuscript to Dignity Nursing Journal (DNJ) for review implies that the manuscript has not been published anywhere else, is not being simultaneously submitted to other journals, and has not already been accepted for publication elsewhere, except in the form of an abstract or as part of a published lecture, academic thesis, or archived in an institutional repository or the author's webpage, as stated in the deposit policy.
1. Editorial Review Stage
Upon submission, the Editor-in-Chief conducts an initial evaluation of all manuscripts for their suitability for formal review. Those manuscripts which lack novelty, originality, suffer from scientific or technical flaws, display a high rate of similarity with prior publications (indicating plagiarism), or lack a significant message are rejected without undergoing formal peer review. Furthermore, manuscripts which are unlikely to be of interest to the readers of DNJ are also subject to rejection at this stage.
schedule Timeline: 1 to 7 days
2. Peer Review Stage
Manuscripts that meet the suitability criteria for publication in DNJ are forwarded to the Editorial board member(s), who will recommend one or two expert reviewers. In case they are unable to do so, the Editor-in-Chief will select the reviewers. The journal follows a double-blind peer-review process, where both the reviewers and authors remain anonymous to each other.
For editorials, the decision is made during the editorial review stage, and only editorial board members review the article. There is no need for an external peer-review process.
For editorials, the decision is made during the editorial review stage, and only editorial board members review the article. There is no need for an external peer-review process.
schedule Timeline: 4 to 16 weeks (More info here)
3. Editorial Decision Stage
Editor-in-Chief, based on the feedback from the reviewers and editorial board members. The Editorial Board Members can provide an initial decision or recommendation to be reviewed by the Editor-in-Chief. The corresponding author is notified of the comments and suggestions received from the reviewers and editorial board members, which may include acceptance, rejection, or revision of the manuscript.
The author may be requested to provide a point-by-point response to reviewers' comments and submit a revised version of the manuscript. This process continues until the reviewers and editors are satisfied with the manuscript.
The author may be requested to provide a point-by-point response to reviewers' comments and submit a revised version of the manuscript. This process continues until the reviewers and editors are satisfied with the manuscript.
4. Copyediting Stage
Once a manuscript is accepted for publication, it undergoes copy editing to ensure proper grammar, punctuation, print style, and format. The corresponding author is then provided with a page proof in doc. format.
warning Author response required within 3 to 7 days.
5. Proofreading & Layout Editing Stage
The final proof of the article in PDF format will be sent to the author for final checking. Authors must verify names, affiliations, and formatting.
history Deadline: 5 days
6. Online First Publication
To ensure rapid dissemination, DNJ publishes accepted articles online as Early View before issue assignment.
These articles are peer-reviewed and considered officially published.
These articles are peer-reviewed and considered officially published.
DNJ Submission Lifecycle Average Process: ~20 Weeks
