The peer-review process is described on the website of JMIR journal - click on the Peer Review Process e.g., Peer-Review Process for JMIR.
Type of Peer Review
JMIR Publications does not attempt to "blind" reviewers about the identity of the authors (single-blind review). Authors do not know the names of the reviewers unless they opt to sign their review and unless the paper is published, in which case the reviewer names are acknowledged at the end of an article.
Peer Review Process
Generally, when we receive a manuscript, the Managing Editor and/or Editorial Assistant and/or the Section Editor will first decide whether the manuscript meets the formal criteria specified in the Instructions for Authors and whether it fits within the scope of the journal. When in doubt, the editor will consult other members of the Editorial Board. Manuscripts are then assigned to a Section Editor, who sends them to 2-4 external experts for peer review.
Authors are required to suggest at least 2 peer-reviewers (who do not have a conflict of interest) during the submission process. JMIR reviewers will not stay anonymous after acceptance; their names will be revealed and stated below the article if the manuscript is published. For details, see Will I stay anonymous as peer-reviewer? (double blind peer-review?). Authors and reviewers should not directly contact each other to enter into disputes on manuscripts or reviews.
In addition to editor-selected reviewers, authors can opt-in to open peer-review, where the Abstract is made public, and any user can sign up to review a paper (see What is open peer-review?). It will then appear on our Preprint server under Latest Submissions Open for Peer Review (Preprints) while the paper is under review (it will be deleted afterward).
Reviewers use a structured form to assess a submission (see What does the JMIR Review Form look like?).
After peer-review, the editor makes a decision based on the reviewer(s) recommendation(s) and their own assessment, which can be any of the following:
- A-accept (almost never after the first review round)
- B-minor revisions required (no further formal external peer-review round required, editor makes decision)
- C-revise & re-review
- D-major revisions & re-review
- E-reject
Any of these decisions can be combined with a recommendation (or decision) to transfer the manuscript to another journal (see Why has my article been transferred to another journal (or a transfer has been suggested), and what are my options?).
Decision B, C, or D means that the author is supposed to respond to the reviewer comments and upload a revision. See How do I respond to reviewer comments and upload a revised manuscript?
The manuscript may then go into another round of external (if the previous decision was C/D) or internal (if the previous editorial decision was B) peer-review, also called round 2 (3, 4, ...) re-review (see What happens after I submitted a revised version and my responses to reviewer comments?). Reviewers who have previously rated the manuscript as A (accept) or B (minor revisions) will not see the revision again as they already found it acceptable. Previous reviewers who rated the manuscript as C, D, or E will be invited to re-review the revision.
It is JMIR policy to avoid assigning new reviewers in round 2 (3, 4, ...). If reviewers from the previous round are not available (no response or decline to re-review), then it is the task of the editor to evaluate if the comments have been addressed satisfactorily.
It is also JMIR policy that an editorial decision B is usually followed by an editorial decision A (accept) after the authors address all minor comments. In some cases, however, the manuscript may be transferred to another journal even after a decision B (see Why has my article been transferred to another journal (or a transfer has been suggested), and what are my options?).
Having said that, occasionally, new requirements or questions may arise, which may lead to new comments or (rarely) necessitate the assignment of a new reviewer.
Related:
- I am submitting a paper and I am asked to suggest peer-reviewers, but don't know who to suggest. Can I bypass this step?
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How do I respond to reviewer comments and upload a revised manuscript?
- What happens after I submitted a revised version and my responses to reviewer comments?
- What does the JMIR Review Form look like?
For editors (login to Zendesk required):
- (for editors) My previous decision was C or D, after a revised version was submitted, what do I do?
- (for editors) My previous decision was B, after a revised version was submitted, what do I do?
- (for editors) Does the JMIR system automatically send to reviewers the authors' responses to reviewers' comments?