A FREE, OPEN ACCESS RESOURCE FOR ALL NURSES INFORMATIONAL GUIDE
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ABOUT THE SIGMA REPOSITORY
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WHY SUBMIT TO THE SIGMA REPOSITORY?
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WHAT TYPES OF MATERIALS ARE ACCEPTED?
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HOW ARE MATERIALS EVALUATED?
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HOW DO YOU SUBMIT YOUR WORK?
About the Sigma Repository Have you authored research or educational, clinical, and evidence-based practice materials you’d like to share? Submit them to the Sigma Repository, a space to disseminate nursing knowledge and quantify your impact in nursing. The Sigma Repository is an online resource where nurses can find unique and relevant research, evidence-based practice resources, and educational materials across an unrestricted timespan. It is the only repository solely dedicated to sharing work created by nurses around the world. Nurses at any career stage or focus area can submit their materials to the Sigma Repository to disseminate nursing knowledge and quantify their impact in nursing.
1M VISITORS
The Sigma Repository has nearly 1 million visitors each year.
10K+ MATERIALS
There are 10,000+ unique, previously unpublished materials available on the Sigma Repository. (This does not include the indexing of traditional journal articles.)
193 COUNTRIES
Materials are viewed in EVERY COUNTRY in the world.
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Why submit to the Sigma Repository? Reach a global audience and increase your impact on nursing by disseminating or publishing your work in the Sigma Repository. DYNAMIC DISSEMINATION Author materials are available to anyone with internet access and are indexed in all major search engines. Plus, it’s full-text searchable. When someone enters a word or phrase into a search engine, every word of every item in the repository is examined for a possible match. All materials are assigned permanent URLs for easy citation and identification. It’s also easy for authors to view and track statistics for their work, allowing them to see record views and file downloads from around the globe. This quantifiable data may be added to a tenure dossier or annual review and presented to administrators and funders as proof of impact and as evidence of a need for future funding. The Sigma Repository also offers authors free Altmetric© tracking, which captures and collates digital mentions surrounding scholarly content from a range of online sources. Authors can know what people are saying about their work, see if it is influencing policy or making news outlets, and address any misinterpretations about their work as it appears.
AUTHORS RETAIN COPYRIGHT One of the major benefits of the Sigma Repository is that the authors retain copyright rather than the Sigma Repository, allowing authors control over their work. Submitters are required to agree to a non-exclusive distribution license, which allows Sigma to permanently post submissions. The submitting author also guarantees they have received all necessary rights and permissions to any material(s) contained in their submission that has/have been created by others.
OPEN, PEER-REVIEW PUBLICATION What is open peer review? In one word, transparency. Qualified submissions are reviewed by an editor, and comments made by the reviewers as well as any author rebuttals will be visible to everyone. This allows authors to receive constructive criticism and advice; reviewers to receive public recognition for their guidance; and visitors to have access to critical, behind-the-scenes discussions. To see reviewer comments, look for the open review designation in the item record and locate the attached comments file.
FREE TO SUBMIT, FREE TO ACCESS Sigma supports all nurses and is committed to having material easily accessed by nurses across the globe. There is absolutely no cost to submit or view materials on the Sigma Repository.
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SIGMA REPOSITORY
What types of materials are accepted? The Sigma Repository accepts a wide range of materials and currently includes 10,000+ unique, previously unpublished materials. ACCEPTED MATERIALS: y Reports y Research Studies y Patient-Centered Outcomes
ACQUIRING MATERIALS: y Continuing Education Materials
The Sigma Repository acquires materials in several ways:
y Classroom Projects
y Self-archiving: Authors submit their materials
y Quality Improvements and Clinical Projects
y Tools, Instruments, and Measurements
y Best Practice Guidelines
y Theses and Dissertations
y Position Papers y Faculty-created Learning Objects
y DNP Capstones y Event Materials y And more!
y Patient Education Materials
y Proxy submissions: Authors allow another person to submit materials on their behalf by completing a proxy form y Indexing: Repository staff works with publishers to obtain articles from nursing journals 
Because there are a variety of different publishing and dissemination methods available for nurses, it’s easy to get lost in the jargon. Now that you know more about what the Sigma Repository is, here are a few things that the Sigma Repository is not.
THE SIGMA REPOSITORY IS NOT: y A traditional journal. This repository posts more than article manuscripts, and there are no topic, length, or formatting restrictions. y In competition with traditional publishing venues. There are more than enough scholarly and clinical works for both venues. y Traditional/proprietary databases (e.g., CINAHL, Ovid). Those types of databases are indexing services of published articles versus self-archiving services. y Traditional archive. Archives preserve historical materials and corporate records (digital and hard copy), with limited access to records. y Pay-to-publish venue. There are no open access fees or processing fees charged to authors. Submissions are based on merit and importance to the nursing profession.
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THE REPOSITORY DOES NOT ACCEPT THE FOLLOWING: y Materials that violate the mission, vision, or policies of Sigma y Business archives y Marketing/promotional materials y Submissions for which the submitting individual/group does not own copyright y Abstract-only entries y Previously-published materials y Manuscripts that may/will be published in journals y News, opinions, and personal narratives
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How are materials evaluated? The Sigma Repository is committed to transparency. Materials are evaluated using one of the following methods, disclosed in each item record. y Abstract Review Only — Event materials reviewed by the event host prior to the event y External Evaluation — Corporately authored materials such as, pamphlets and guidelines that undergo professional editing and proofing prior to repository submission y External Review — Materials that have previously undergone peer review (e.g., articles) y Faculty Approved — Degree-based student submissions (e.g., capstone projects) selected by faculty as appropriate submissions y None: Educational Material — Materials created to facilitate teaching (may be directed towards students, other nurses, patients, or a community) y None: Journal Accepted Preprint — Manuscripts that have been accepted by a journal, but not sent for peer-review y None: Event Material, Invited Presentation — Presentation slides or papers from invited speakers or plenary sessions
y None: Degree-based Submission — Theses and dissertations that are complete and have gone through committees and defense y None: Professionally Edited Material — Previously published materials (e.g., books and book chapters) that have been edited, but not peer-reviewed due to length and formatting y None: Reputation-based Submission — Materials created by nationally/internationally recognized topic experts (groups or individuals) y Peer-review: Open — Original qualified materials submitted to the repository for peer-review publication (see Open Review section). y Peer-review: Single-blind — Materials submitted to collections in the Independent Submission community. Blind reviewer comments seen only by the submitter. The submitter’s identity is open to the peer reviewer. This is an option that is no longer available and is noted in older item records.
A NOTE ON PRIOR/SIMULTANEOUS PUBLICATION Most publishers and journals do not consider the dissemination of posters, slides, theses, dissertations, reports, etc., to be prior publication for the following reasons: y Posters and slides are not in-depth and do not y Manuscripts based on these items that are disclose the heart of the study/investigation/issue. then submitted to journals for publication undergo many changes prior to publication — y Theses, dissertations, and reports are inbecoming a new work after review, edits, depth and touch on many aspects of a study/ and formatting. investigation/issue. Publishers and journals retain tight control over all versions of published manuscripts. Their policies on open access self-archiving are subject to frequent change without warning. For this reason, the Sigma Repository does not disseminate manuscripts which may be, or have been, submitted to journals. Sigma’s repository deals directly with publishers, as copyright holders, when indexing journal articles.
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SIGMA REPOSITORY
How do you submit your work? To submit your work to the Sigma Repository, follow these easy steps:
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Visit SigmaRepository.org.
Select Policies | Instructions | Guidelines in the Quick Guides menu located on the lower left side of the screen.
3 Read the instructions and policies for authors, labeled Author Assistance Page and follow the instructions.
QUESTIONS? Email Repository@SigmaNursing.org.
SUBMISSION POLICY Nurses1, nursing students1, and nursing-associated groups 2 may submit their own materials. Co-authors may be from other professions. A nurse does not have to be the lead author. There are no specific formatting requirements or enforced citation styles. Documents must be legible, in final form, use appropriate terminology, and the author-selected citation style must be consistently used throughout the submission. Submitted materials must follow accepted norms and methodologies for research, clinical output, and evidence-based practice in accordance with item type. Proofing, copy-editing, and formatting are not provided. 1 2
BSN and above from appropriately accredited nursing programs. Current students and retirees can submit, too. Groups: any professional setting where nurses or nursing students work or learn, such as schools of nursing, hospitals, other clinical settings, national/international nursing organizations, professional groups/consortia, or health-related businesses.
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550 West North Street Indianapolis, IN 46202 USA ph 888.634.7575 (us/canada toll-free) ph + 1. 317.634 .817 1 (international) fx + 1. 317. 634 .8188 SigmaRepository.org
*The Sigma Repository was formerly the Virginia Henderson Global Nursing e-Repository.
