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Edited Material — Previously published materials (e.g., books and book chapters) that have been edited, but not peer-reviewed due to length and formatting y None: Reputation-based Submission — Materials created by nationally/internationally recognized topic experts (groups or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 disclose the heart of the study/investigation/issue. y Theses, dissertations, and reports are indepth and touch on many aspects of a study/ investigation/issue. y Manuscripts based on these items that are then submitted to journals for publication undergo many changes prior to publication — becoming a new work after review, edits, and formatting.

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.