TY - JOUR AU - Lambert, Vickie A. AU - Lambert, Clinton E. PY - 2013/02/06 Y2 - 2024/03/29 TI - Why Manuscripts are Not Acceptable for Publication JF - Pacific Rim International Journal of Nursing Research JA - PRIJNR VL - 15 IS - 1 SE - Editorial DO - UR - https://he02.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/PRIJNR/article/view/6544 SP - 1-2 AB - <p>As editors, we often are asked why some manuscripts are not considered acceptable for publication.<br />Writing a scholarly piece of work is not a skill that people automatically acquire simply by obtaining an<br />advanced academic degree. Being capable of producing a manuscript of publishable quality takes time, effort<br />and, generally, numerous rewrites and revisions.</p><p>There are a number of reasons manuscripts are not considered acceptable by the editors of the Pacific<br />Rim International Journal of Nursing Research, as well as by other reputable nursing research journals. These<br />reasons include, but are not limited to:<br />• the topic is not suitable for or of interest to the journal;<br />• the content lacks depth and breadth or contains incorrect information;<br />• the content is poorly structured, difficult to follow or makes no sense;<br />• there are numerous grammatical and English language errors;<br />• relevant terms are not defined or explained;<br />• the review of literature fails to present sufficient background for the research;<br />• the description of how the sample was obtained is poorly described or not described;<br />• the sample characteristics are missing or poorly presented;<br />• a weak research design is used;<br />• the research procedure (data gathering process) is either lacking, poorly described or presented in a<br />confusing manner;<br />• information on the research instruments used is inadequate or lacking;<br />• in qualitative research, insufficient data are presented to support the themes or categories identified;<br />• in quantitative research, the statistical analyses are poorly explained or their use is questionable;<br />• the discussion section fails to address all significant study findings and/or fails to relate the findings<br />to prior research;<br />• conclusions are ill-founded and not based upon the actual study’s findings;<br />• the manuscript exceeds the length specified in the journal’s Instructions or Guidelines to Authors;<br />and,<br />• all or part of the manuscript is in non-compliance with the journal’s Instructions or Guidelines to<br />Authors.</p><p>As editors of the Pacific Rim International Journal of Nursing Research, we have found many of the<br />manuscripts submitted are, initially, not acceptable for publication because of any number of the reasons stated<br />above. Thus, manuscripts deemed to possibly be acceptable for publication are returned to the author(s) for<br />major revisions prior to being further considered for publication.</p><p>When an author prepares a manuscript, he/she needs to pay close attention to the journal’s Instructions<br />or Guidelines to Authors so as to avoid having their work considered unacceptable for publication.<br />Manuscripts that contain fewer flaws require less time to review and edit, thereby decreasing the cost of editing<br />to the author and deemed acceptable for publication sooner. Thus, it always is advisable for authors to adhere to<br />the journal’s Instructions or Guidelines to Authors, as well as to review articles that recently have been<br />published in the journal to see the editors’ expectations for manuscripts considered acceptable for publication.</p> ER -