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What does the peer review process at JMIR journals look like?

Editorial Director
Updated

The peer review process is described on the website of each JMIR Publications journal — e.g., Peer Review Process for JMIR.

Type of Peer Review

JMIR Publications utilizes a single-anonymized peer-review model. The reviewers can see the author names, but the authors do not know the names of the reviewers unless they opt to sign their review. Reviewer names are acknowledged at the end of an article once the paper is published.

Peer Review Process

When a manuscript is first received, the Editor-in-Chief or their designated editor (e.g., an experienced Associate Editor) will evaluate the manuscript for whether it fits within the scope of the journal and adheres to the requirements and format of an article type in the journal. Manuscripts undergo technical checks by editorial staff and manuscripts are assigned to an expert JMIR Editor for further evaluation. 

Authors are requested to suggest at least 2 peer reviewers during the submission process. Author-suggested reviewers should not have a conflict of interest: How does JMIR Publications define a Conflict of Interest (COI)?) JMIR Publications has a single-anonymized review process, which means that reviewers will not stay anonymous after acceptance of a manuscript; 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 anonymized peer review?). Authors and reviewers should not directly contact each other during the peer review process regarding manuscript peer reviews.

In addition to editor-selected reviewers, authors can opt in to ‘open participation peer review’, where the Abstract is made public, and any user can nominate themselves to review a paper (see Open Peer Review at JMIR Publications). It will then appear on the JMIR Preprints server under Latest Submissions Open for Peer Review while the paper is under review (it will be removed after the ‘open participation peer review’ period is complete).

Reviewers use a structured form to assess a submission (see What does the JMIR Review Form look like?).  For guidance on how to prepare a high-quality peer review, reviewers may refer to our online information: (for reviewers) How to write a high-quality peer review

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 (not recommended after the first review round)
  • B-minor revisions required (no external peer review round required, editorial review by the expert handling editor and then 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 JMIR Publications 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 required 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 undergo another round of external peer-review (if the previous decision was C/D) or internal editorial review (if the previous editorial decision was B), also called round 2 (3, 4, ...) re-review (see What happens after I submitted a revised version and my responses to reviewer comments?).

It is JMIR Publications policy to avoid assigning new reviewers in round 2 (3, 4, ...), except in rare circumstances and at the discretion of the Editor-in-Chief or the handling editor. If reviewers from the previous round are not available (no response or decline to re-review), then it is the task of the handling editor to evaluate if the comments have been addressed satisfactorily.

Typically, an editorial decision B is often, but not exclusively, followed by an editorial decision A (accept) after the authors address all remaining minor comments. Authors should be aware that the editor may still recommend transfer to another JMIR Publications journal, even if the most recent decision was a B. (see Why has my article been transferred to another journal (or a transfer has been suggested), and what are my options?) In special cases, new requirements may necessitate additional comments or, rarely, a new reviewer. This will be determined by the expert handling editor. 

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Special Considerations

On occasion, authors of manuscripts include editors for JMIR Publications journals. In these instances, the assigned editor handling the manuscript would not be an active collaborator with with the author who is an editor. For example, if an Associate Editor in a journal submits their original research paper to their own journal for peer review, the manuscript may be assigned to another editor for the journal. Additionally, the Conflict of Interest section of the published manuscript, if accepted after peer review, would disclose the editor's role and for which journal they serve in that role. See also: How does JMIR define a Conflict of Interest (COI)?

JMIRx Peer Review

For more information about peer review for JMIRx superjournals, including JMIRx Med, JMIRx Bio, and JMIRx Psy, please visit the following pages:

Important for peer reviewers: Accepted papers in JMIRx superjournals are published along with the related Peer Review Reports and Author Responses to Peer Review Reports, providing an additional layer of transparency to the scholarly publishing process. By default, when peer reviewers accept an invitation to review a manuscript for JMIRx Med, JMIRx Bio, or JMIRx Psy, they are consenting to the publication of their peer review report with attribution to them as the author of the peer review report. Peer reviewers should also note that peer review reports are also indexed in Pubmed Central (PMC) and Pubmed along with the final published manuscript and author response(s) to peer review reports.

Related Information

 

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