The editorial oversight process at JMIR Publications typically involves the following steps:
- Submission: Authors submit an article via an online portal. All co-authors are notified upon receipt. Where are your instructions for authors?
- Initial Screening: Editors and staff check for scope fit, originality, quality, and formatting. Submissions may be returned to the authors immediately without peer review, if it does not meet these basic requirements. Alternatively, the desk editor may provide a "reject and offer transfer" decision. In this case, the submission may be moved to a holding area called the Transfer Hub, pending the authors' response within a one-week period. How do I request a manuscript transfer to another journal if my paper was rejected or I am unable to address reviewer comments?
- Peer Review: Manuscripts that pass the initial screening undergo a rigorous peer review process. JMIR Publications journals use a single-anonymized system (reviewers are named only upon publication). The journal assigns knowledgeable experts in the field as peer reviewers who evaluate the manuscript's scientific merit, methodology, clarity, and significance. What does the peer-review process at JMIR journals look like?
- Editorial Decision: Editors send authors a decision after receipt and review of peer reviewers' comments. Most papers require at least one Revision and Resubmission (R&R) round. Possible decisions include acceptance, revision, rejection, or further review by additional experts. The decision is communicated to the authors along with the reviewers' comments and recommendations. Editorial decisions are independent from financial ones (e.g., advertising, APFs and discount/waiver considerations).
- Revision and Resubmission (R&R): Authors address feedback within a set timeframe. Typically, the same reviewers re-evaluate the changes to maintain consistency. As an author, how do I respond to reviewer comments and upload a revised manuscript (resubmission/revision of a manuscript)? & What happens after I submitted a revised version and my responses to reviewer comments?
- Acceptance: Once the article has been accepted by the Editor, it undergoes a technical quality verification before moving to APF payment and production.
- APF payment: To proceed to Production, the APF must be paid.
- Production: The article undergoes a copyediting process to ensure adherence to the journal's style and formatting guidelines. Authors would be asked to review and approve the edited version of their manuscript. What are the steps during copyediting? Authors receive proofs of their final article for review and corrections before publication.
- Proof review: All queries raised during the production process must be resolved and all authors must sign a JMIR Publications License to Publish (Publishing Agreement) Form for the paper to be scheduled for publication. What should the author do when proofreading the final galleys?
- Publication: After a final in-house quality check of the proofs for any remaining issues, the article is published and promoted.
- Post-publication: Corrections are handled via formally published corrigenda. How to submit a corrigendum (correction) or addendum). Ethical issues or concerns are addressed in accordance with the relevant COPE guidance. Ethical issues and post-publication review.
Additional information at JMIR Publications Resource Center & each journal website: