How can I get an International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID)?
Since May 2018, authors/projects are automatically given an International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID) if they submit and publish a research protocol or proposal (=RR1 stage 1 papers) in the journal JMIR Research Protocols or other participating journals.
What is the advantage for an author to get an International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID)?
A IRRID guarantees acceptance in any approved journal of the IRRID registry. All JMIR journals are members of the IRRID registry, thus, publication of a RR1 (protocol) in JMIR Research Protocols will guarantee acceptance of subsequent results papers (RR2) in any JMIR journal.
What is an International Registered Report Identifier?
An International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID) is a stable, unique identifier used to identify a protocol or proposal (RR1 papers) and link it to all subsequent results papers (RR2 papers). The IRRID is based on the DOI of the protocol paper (See What is a Registered Report? and Elements of an IRRID, below).
Note that IRRIDs were previously referred to as RRIDs, but to avoid confusion with the Research Resource Identifiers initiative (http://www.rrids.org), they are now referred to as IRRIDs.
An RR1 IRRID — issued by JMIR Research Protocols — also signifies that the project is in principle accepted for publication in any other JMIR journal, and should be cited in the abstract of the subsequent results (RR2) paper.
IRRIDs can and should be used in addition to the existing clinical trials registration system (Does my trial (RCT) have to be registered?).
The following screenshot shows an example of a research protocol with an assigned IRRID:
Elements of an IRRID
The IRRID consists of a prefix and a DOI, separated by a dash (-). Example: RR2-10.2196/7425.
The prefix component of the IRRID indicates the stage of the report (RR1 or RR2), as follows.
RR1 (protocol IRRID prefixes)
- The prefix PRR1 is used for a protocol or proposal (RR1) if it was submitted before data collection and analysis (ie, the protocol was actually preregistered). Example: PRR1-10.2196/10491.
- The prefix DERR1 is used for a protocol (RR1) when the protocol or proposal was submitted after data collection (DE=Data Exist) but before data analysis was fully completed.
- RR1 indicates that either the timeline is undetermined or the protocol/proposal was submitted after data collection and analysis (POST).
RR2 (results papers IRRID prefixes)
- The prefix RR2 indicates a results paper, and should link back to its respective RR1 protocol/proposal/registered report. Note: The prefixes used on RR1 are not applied to RR2 papers.
- A prefix NP, e.g. NPRR2, indicates that the protocol was published as preprint and not peer-reviewed. This is not recommended - the IRRID registry system (https://irridregistry.org/) relies on the protocol being peer-reviewed and NPRR2 results papers are not eligible for a 20% APC discount in Plan P compliant journals. Publishing the protocol as preprint is encouraged, but authors should make sure that protocols are peer-reviewed by an external peer-review service. Overlay journals such as JMIRx offer peer-review services in collaboration with other partners.
DOI component of the IRRID
The DOI component of the IRRID is simply the DOI of the protocol or proposal (RR1) paper, regardless of whether the IRRID in question applies to the protocol/proposal itself or a results (RR2) paper based on the RR1. The DOI consists of the following:
- A DOI prefix, indicating the publisher of the protocol/proposal (RR1) paper. Example: 10.2196 is the DOI prefix for JMIR Publications, but if the registered report is published elsewhere it would be a different number.
- A DOI suffix. At JMIR Publications, the DOI suffix is equivalent to the article ID of the final, published RR1 paper; however, not all RR1-publishers actually know the DOI before publication, in which cases the publisher may have used a manuscript tracking number or other string as the DOI suffix.
At JMIR Publications, authors have the opportunity to suggest a stage for their RR1 at the time of manuscript submission. This suggestion is verified by the Editor handling the paper. Authors of RR2 (results) papers have the opportunity at submission to indicate which RR1 (protocol) paper formed the basis of their RR2 work so that the published RR2 can link back to the relevant RR1 and vice versa.
The IRRID as a persistent identifier
Authors of any subsequent results paper based on a stage 1 paper (protocol) should, in addition to citing the protocol in their bibliography, add the IRRID to their abstract, replacing RR1 with RR2. The DOI portion of the IRRID remains stable.
For example, any results papers generated subsequently from a protocol with IRRID RR1-10.2196/7425 should be given the IRRID RR2-10.2196/7425. Remember that it is the DOI of the protocol that is used in all subsequent RR2s.
IRRIDs greatly facilitate the crosslinking of registered reports across journals. Please also add the Registered Report Identifier to the abstract of the results paper, even if it is not submitted to a JMIR journal but to a different journal.
We invite other publishers and journals to adopt the IRRID system to link back to protocols/registered reports when they publish results (RR2) papers by identifying IRRIDs in the abstract.
In JMIR Research Protocols, the PRE/DE/POST abbreviations are also used beneath a logo published next to the title.
Use at Other Publishers
IRRIDs are a proposal - implemented at JMIR Research Protocols and all JMIR journals - to link protocols to results papers and vice versa.
We hope to form an international collaboration with other publisher who adopt this format and encourage the publication of protocols / registered reports to improve accountability and quality of research.
If you are an editor/publisher and wish to adopt this format and want to be listed as partner journal/publisher, please contact support@jmir.org.
See also:
- What is a Registered Report?
- Why should I publish my protocol or grant proposal?
- (for staff) Registered Report Documentation