Leslie H. Nicoll, PhD, MBA, RN, FAAN
Writer’s Camp Director
When I introduced the Journal Systems Framework (JSF) in January 2026, I hoped it would provide a useful way to talk about scholarly journals—not by relying on labels, prestige, or publisher reputation, but by looking at journals as systems.
Eight months later, the framework is beginning to travel.
A Small but Important Update
Today I published Version 2 of How Journals Work: A Systems-Based Framework for Understanding Scholarly Publishing. The revision does not change the framework itself. Instead, it standardizes the terminology used to describe its four dimensions:
- Editorial intent
- Editorial capacity
- Infrastructure pathways
- Scholarly function
The change grew out of a simple observation. In several places in the original article, I used ethical intent where editorial intent more accurately described the dimension of the framework. Ethical intent remains an important concept within the JSF—indeed, legitimate journals may operate with strong ethical intent while having limited resources or infrastructure—but it is not the broader dimension being described.
Version 2 clarifies that distinction and uses the four terms consistently throughout. The framework itself has not changed. The version published here in The Writer’s Camp Journal has also been updated to reflect these revisions.
The revised version is also available in Zenodo. The original January version remains preserved there as Version 1, and both versions are linked as part of the same scholarly record.
Journal Systems Framework—all versions:
doi:10.5281/zenodo.18037408
Where Has the JSF Traveled?
Updating the article prompted me to look at something else: Who is citing and using the Journal Systems Framework?
Citation databases are never quite as quick—or as comprehensive—as we would like, particularly for editorials, online-first articles, preprints, and newer publications. So I started keeping my own list.
So far, I have identified eight publications that cite one or both of the foundational JSF articles:
Mastorovich ML. Editorial stewardship in practice: Shaping TELN through the Journal Systems Framework. Teaching and Learning in Nursing. 2026;21(3):209. doi:10.1016/j.teln.2026.04.023.
Melissa Mastorovich uses the JSF explicitly as a lens for thinking about editorial stewardship and the development of Teaching and Learning in Nursing.
Thorne S. Editorial: What’s the impact of an impact factor? And why CONJ should stay out of the competition. Revue canadienne de nursing oncologique [Canadian Oncology Nursing Journal]. 2026;36(2):126–127. Article.
Sally Thorne brings the framework into a discussion of Journal Impact Factors, journal identity, and the hazards of equating citation metrics with scholarly value.
Nicoll LH, Oermann MH, Owens JK, Carter-Templeton H. Retractions in nursing as a systems problem: A Journal Systems Framework perspective. Journal of Nursing Scholarship. 2026;58(4):e70103. doi:10.1111/jnu.70103.
This commentary returns to data from a 2024 study of retracted articles in nursing and reconsiders those findings through the lens of the JSF. Rather than viewing retractions primarily as isolated events, the commentary considers what becomes visible when they are examined as system-level signals reflecting differences in editorial capacity, infrastructure, and corrective processes.
Original study: Nicoll LH, Carter-Templeton H, Oermann MH, Bailey HE, Owens JK, Wrigley J, Ledbetter LS. An examination of retracted articles in nursing literature. Journal of Nursing Scholarship. 2024;56(3):478–485. doi:10.1111/jnu.12952.
Nicoll LH, Oermann MH, Eisenhauer ER, Mastorovich ML. Predatory publishing in nursing journals: A systems-based analysis using the Predation Index. Canadian Journal of Nursing Research. 2026;58(3):463–471. doi:10.1177/08445621261449308.
Here, the JSF is used to move beyond a simple predatory/legitimate binary and examine differences in journal systems and infrastructure.
Nicoll LH, Quazi M, Carter-Templeton H, et al. Journal impact factors and the structure of the nursing journal ecosystem. Nursing Outlook. doi:10.1016/j.outlook.2026.102904.
This study examines Journal Impact Factors within the larger nursing journal ecosystem and uses the JSF to consider journal structure, editorial capacity, mission, and the limitations of citation metrics. An earlier pre-peer-review version was posted on SSRN.
Three articles in The Writer’s Camp Journal also cite and build on the JSF:
Watson R. Academic publishing survives despite its flaws. The Writer’s Camp Journal. 2026;2(2):2. doi:10.5281/zenodo.18285119.
Nicoll LH, Oermann M, Chinn PL, Conklin JL. Author guidance as editorial infrastructure: What we knew, what has changed, and why this still matters. The Writer’s Camp Journal. 2026;2(1):17. doi:10.5281/zenodo.18776278.
Nicoll LH, Oermann M, Eisenhauer E, Mastorovich M. Trail Pack: Predatory publishing: Beyond lists and labels. The Writer’s Camp Journal. 2026;2(3):2. doi:10.5281/zenodo.20706392.
What interests me most is not the number eight. It is the range of questions to which the framework is being applied: predatory publishing, retractions, editorial stewardship, Journal Impact Factors, author guidance, journal identity, and the structure of scholarly publishing itself.
That is exactly what a framework ought to do. It should give us shared language that can be carried into new questions, tested in different settings, and perhaps changed as we learn more.
Have You Cited the JSF?
And this is where I need your help.
I am quite certain my list is incomplete.
Have you cited either of the original Journal Systems Framework articles in something you have published, had accepted, posted as a preprint, or currently have in press?
If so, please let me know. Send me the citation, DOI, or link. I would like to keep track not simply of how often the framework is cited, but how it is being used—and where people are taking it next.
The two foundational articles are:
Nicoll LH. Journals as systems: Rethinking how scholarly publishing works. The Writer’s Camp Journal. 2026;2(1):3. doi:10.5281/zenodo.18099850.
Nicoll LH. How journals work: A systems-based framework for understanding scholarly publishing. The Writer’s Camp Journal. 2026;2(1):4. doi:10.5281/zenodo.18037408.
If the JSF has made its way into your work, send word back to camp. I’d love to know where it landed.
Author: Leslie H. Nicoll
Copyright © 2026 Writer’s Camp and Leslie H. Nicoll. CC-BY-ND 4.0
Citation: Nicoll LH. The Journal Systems Framework: An Update—and a Request. The Writer’s Camp Journal, 2026. 2(3):18. 10.5281/zenodo.22962373