Virtually all JMIR journals publish original papers, short papers, tutorials, viewpoints, commentaries/editorials, reviews and "Corrigenda and Addenda". Protocols and Proposals should primarily be published in JMIR Research Protocols, but JMIR Public Health and Surveillance also publishes protocols and system descriptions if they are relevant for public health and form the basis for subsequent regular Rapid Surveillance Reports (see below).
Please write out the article type on top of your manuscript (just before the article title), in particular if it is not a standard "Original Paper".
If you want to be perfect and use Microsoft Word, use the default Heading Style H2 for the article type (H1 for the article title, and H2 for all IMRD subheadings, H3 for sub-subheadings etc).
Standard Article Types
Original Paper
An original paper must have structured abstract: Background - Objectives - Methods - Results - Conclusions - (Optional: Trial Registration).
The main headings in the manuscript body must be IMRD: Introduction - Methods - Results - Discussion.
If an article does not fit into this structure (e.g. if it is thin on results, but more of a system description), it should be framed as tutorial or viewpoint or proposal (see below).
Short Paper
Same requirements as Original Paper. Short papers have typically 1500 words or less (plus references, tables etc).
Review
Includes systematic reviews and scoping reviews. Studies that review apps or websites should be formatted as Original Papers, not as Review articles. The "Review" paper type is reserved for studies that review other papers in the literature.
Abstracts must be structured.
The main headings within the paper must be IMRD.
If a paper does not have qualitative data, it should be framed as a viewpoint (see below).
Viewpoint
Opinion Articles or papers which would not otherwise qualify as "original papers", because they do not have much original data, but would also not qualify as reviews, because they are based on personal experiences, workshop results, etc.
Abstract can be unstructured (narrative), although if data are presented the structure of an original paper can be used.
The main headings within the paper can be IMRD or can be free.
Tutorial
A "how-to" paper on an important practical or research issue. We recommend to contact the editor to discuss suitability of a topic before submitting it. Submission of slides or audio/video files as supplementary files is strongly recommended.
Abstract can be unstructured (narrative), although if data are presented the structure of an original paper can be used.
The main headings within the paper can be IMRD or can be free.
Policy Proposal
Policy proposals should be based on a thorough review of the literature and stakeholder consultations, workshops or consensus building processes etc. If it is just the opinion of an individual (or small group of individuals), submit as viewpoint.
Abstract can be unstructured (narrative), although if data are presented the structure of an original paper can be used.
The main headings within the paper can be IMRD or can be free.
Protocol
All protocols should be submitted to JMIR Research Protocols. The abstract must be structured and a short results section must be included in both the abstract and the body text. See What should I put into the results section of a protocol or proposal? for more information.
Commentary
These are usually invited commentaries published alongside other articles. They may or may not be peer-reviewed.
Abstract can be unstructured (narrative), although if data are presented the structure of an original paper can be used.
The main headings within the paper can be IMRD or can be free.
Editorial
Usually written by an editor or guest editor. Editorials may or may not be peer-reviewed (check the information at the bottom of an editorial). If an editorial contains data we prefer to send it out for external peer-review.
Abstract can be unstructured (narrative), although if data are presented the structure of an original paper can be used.
The main headings within the paper can be IMRD or can be free.
Special additional article types for JMIR Public Health
JPH is dedicated to support rapid open data sharing and rapid open access to surveillance and outbreak data. As one of the novel features we plan to publish rapid surveillance reports (Examples) or even real-time surveillance reports and open data.
Rapid Surveillance Report
Rapid Surveillance Reports are brief reports with unstructured abstracts, which primarily report new data in table format from an existing well-described surveillance system, making some sections redundant. The idea of this new article type is to allow rapid publication of emerging trends, or continuous publication in regular intervals of public health relevant data. If a method or system description has been published previously in JMIR Public Health Surveill or JMIR Res Protoc, the report does not have to be peer-reviewed again (although in many cases they still are).
An IMRD structure for the text is recommended but not mandated. Please follow this structure as closely as possible with relevant headings.
The methods and description of the surveillance system may be peer-reviewed and published only once in detail, in a "baseline report" (in a JMIR Res Protoc or a JMIR Public Health & Surveill paper), and authors then have the possibility to publish data and reports in frequent intervals rapidly and with only minimal additional peer-review (we call this article type "Rapid Surveillance Reports"). JMIR Publications may even work with authors/researchers and developers of selected surveillance systems on APIs for semi-automated reports (e.g. weekly reports to be automatically published in JPHS and indexed in PubMed, based on data-feeds from surveillance systems and minimal narratives and abstracts).
Furthermore, during epidemics and public health emergencies, submissions with critical data will be processed with expedited peer-review to enable publication within days or even in real-time.
Open Source/Open Data
JPH also publishes descriptions of open data resources and open source software. Where possible, we can and want to publish or even host the actual software or dataset on the journal website.
See http://data.jmir.org/about/submissions#authorGuidelines for the recommended article structure.
Notes from the Field
Short practical case studies.
Abstract can be unstructured (narrative), although if data are presented the structure of an original paper can be used.
The main headings within the paper can be IMRD or can be free.
Special additional article types for JMIR Research Protocols
Protocol
- If you have an existing grant proposal or research protocol, we make it easy for you: We don't want authors having to spend a lot of time reformatting it, that's why our instructions are short and flexible. Just upload your existing word document for the initial peer-review. We do ask to shorten very long protocols to approximately 20 manuscript pages (plus tables and figures) - additional information can be moved to Multimedia Appendices. Ideally, add some top-level headings (IMRD, see below) to structure it more like a journal article (e.g., remove sections which describe the investigators and research environment, if this was required for a grant proposal).
- The preferred article structure is Introduction - Methods - Results - Discussion
- "Results" for protocols can be a very brief summary of progress to date, recruitment/enrolment status as of (date), timeline, when are results expected, screenshots of an application or flow diagrams etc, see What should I put into the results section of a protocol or proposal?), but we realize that for protocols and proposals the format may be different.
- The preferred abstract structure is Background - Objectives - Methods - Results (see remark above) - Conclusions - (Optional: Trial Registration).
- In-text citation must be numeric like this [1] and references must be in a section "References" at the end of the article
- If you write a clinical trials protocol from the scratch we strongly recommend to adhere to the SPIRIT Guidelines for a list of items to address in a clinical trials protocol
- Although most of the protocols we currently publish are "dry lab" research, we also publish "wet lab" protocols of methods in biochemistry, genomics etc.
Proposal
You may use the format you used for applying to the granting agency, although we prefer that you fit your existing subheadings under the main headings Introduction - Methods - Results - Discussion ("Results" for proposals can be a very brief summary of timelines, current recruitment/enrolment status, timeline, when are results expected, screenshots of an application or flow diagrams, etc).
Although the preferred abstract structure is Background - Objectives - Methods - Results (see remark above) - Conclusions - (Optional: Trial Registration), unstructured abstracts are permitted.
Early Reports
Early reports, formative research articles (e.g. describing the development of an intervention), methods articles, articles describing recruitment and engagement etc all have the "Original Paper" format IMRD and a structured abstract (see above under "Original Article"), although in some instances the "Results" section may be very short.
Special additional article types for JMIR Mental Health
In addition to regular original articles and the other article types listed above, JMH features special sections entitled Personal Perspectives and Guest Editorials. Papers in these new categories will each be 600 words or less and contain no more than 10 references. The headings are free. There should be a short unstructured abstract.
Personal perspectives will outline the opinions and views of leaders in the field (including industry and patients) and offer a forum to share evolving ideas. We welcome in particular the discussion of or personal experiences with new tools, methods, apps, devices, or personal experiences about the role of technology in mental health. We will aim to publish one personal perspective per month and thus expect we will not be able to publish all potential submissions. In keeping with JMIR’s innovative publishing model, we encourage patients to submit their perspectives on mental health and technology.
Guest editorials will be invited by the editor and feature the perspectives of important researchers, clinicians, policy leaders, and patients.
Article processing fees for personal perspectives and guest editorials will be heavily discounted (only US$350), and can be waived entirely for patients with no funding and commercial interest in the discussed topic.
Related:
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For staff:
- typesetting wiki: Article-Type
- copyediting wiki: Article Type
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