Instructions for Authors
All journals published by JMIR Publications, including the Journal of Medical Internet Research (JMIR) and other JMIR Publications journals, are innovative, international, peer-reviewed health science journals that aim to publish articles relevant for health care professionals, system developers, and system users alike.
Manuscripts are considered with the understanding that they have not been published previously in print or electronic format and are not under consideration by another print or electronic publisher. A complete report following a presentation at a meeting or the publication of preliminary findings elsewhere (e.g., in an abstract) will be considered. Material that has been published on the Internet (including Preprint servers) can also be considered, but any previous or simultaneous publication on the Internet must be disclosed in the cover letter. Include copies of potentially redundant or duplicative material that has been previously published, or is currently being considered elsewhere; provide links to duplicative material on the Internet. Point out possible overlaps with previously published or simultaneously submitted articles in your cover letter. Note that "duplicate submission or publication is not necessarily unethical, but failure to disclose the existence of duplicate articles, manuscripts, or other related material to editors and readers (covert duplication) is unethical and may represent a violation of copyright law." (AMA Manual of Style, 10th edition, p. 148). A content overlap of just 10% may be considered duplicative. For more information: What should be included in a cover letter?
JMIR Publications requires that all authors / coauthors have an ORCID (a unique researcher identifier) at the time of publication. Application for an ORCID is free of charge and only takes a few minutes - please go to ORCID.org to apply for one. We also recommend that corresponding authors contact all of their coauthors and encourage them to obtain an ORCID during the manuscript preparation process. While they can be added after submission, ORCIDs are required in case of acceptance.
Please review our Fee Schedule prior to submission to confirm the article processing fee for JMIR Publications journals.
Our requirements for submitted manuscripts are in accordance with the recommendations drawn up by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors. For general information about the structure and content of a biomedical manuscript, authors should become familiar with the ICMJE Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals before reading our specific instructions for authors below.
The following instructions for authors are valid for all JMIR Publications journals. Additional journal-specific instructions may also apply so please also be sure to look for those below. Author instructions are subject to revision so please refer to them frequently before submitting your manuscript.
Submit a cover letter. Prepare a cover letter containing all essential information for the journal staff and editors using information provided here: What should be included in a cover letter?
Prepare a paper for submission. A Word-template of an article compatible with journals from JMIR Publications can be downloaded from https://asset.jmir.pub/assets/public/InstructionsForAuthorsOfJMIR.docx. Note that this template can be modified to match the applicable article type submitted. Papers should be written in accordance with the American Medical Association Manual of Style: A Guide for Authors and Editors, 11th Edition (Oxford University Press; 2020)
All JMIR Publications journals require adherence to and upload of reporting guidelines and checklists for specific article types, such as randomized trials, systematic literature reviews, and scoping literature reviews. For these article types, a completed checklist must be uploaded in a multimedia appendix.
Here is the format for Original Papers (to see detailed information about word count and related information, and for requirements for other article types see What are the article types for JMIR journals?):
The following format ("IMRD Format") must be used for article types that contain original research data:
Title (What are JMIR's guidelines for article titles?)
Abstract (Guidelines for writing abstracts)
Keywords (Choosing keywords)
Introduction (e.g. theory, hypotheses, prior work)
Methods (e.g. with the subheadings, Study Design, Recruitment, Analysis, Ethical Considerations, etc. Note that special ethical considerations, including regarding informed consent, are required when studies involve potentially vulnerable populations)
Results (e.g. user statistics, evaluation outcomes). If your study consists of different stages/parts, subheadings in this section should mirror subheadings in the methods section to describe these parts.
Discussion (e.g. with the subheadings "Principal Results", "Limitations", "Comparison with Prior Work", "Conclusions")
Acknowledgements (How should the "Acknowledgments" section be formatted?)
Funding Statement (Note that funding sources must be declared, preferably in a separate section that Acknowledgement)
Conflicts of Interest (How does JMIR Publications define a Conflict of Interest (COI)?)
Data Availability (What is the JMIR Publications data sharing policy?)
Author Contributions (What is the "Authors' Contributions" section? How should I write mine?)
Abbreviations
[optional] Multimedia Appendix of supplementary files (e.g. a PowerPoint presentation of a conference talk about the study, additional screenshots of a website, mpeg/ Quicktime video or audio files, or Excel, Access, SAS, or SPSS files containing original data)
References
Please use further subheadings within the main "Introduction," "Methods," "Results," and "Discussion" sections. For example, if you describe three different methods, use three subheadings within the "Methods" section. Also, use matching subheadings in the "Results" section if you report the results from each of the described methods.
Please read this article regarding the reporting of P values.
Authors who are not sure how to report their quantitative results should consult this book: How to Report Statistics in Medicine: Annotated Guidelines for Authors, Editors, and Reviewers, Second Edition (American College of Physicians, 2006)
Submit your paper, create a user account as author and submit the paper in the author section of your user homepage.
As a service to our authors, we offer the possibility to have a submission considered in other JMIR Publications journals. This means that the manuscript and peer-review reports may be transferred to another JMIR Publications journal, if the paper is not found suitable for publication in this journal. For more information, see JMIR Publications cascading peer-review policy.
Policy information
Redundant/duplicate submission or publication
According to COPE, plagiarism is defined as “When somebody presents the work of others (data, words or theories) as if they were his/her own and without proper acknowledgment”. JMIR Publications policy on plagiarism is available here: How does JMIR Publications define plagiarism? Scientific, research, or publication misconduct are subject to investigation according to COPE guidance.
For additional information, please consult our Author Hub for Author-related FAQs.
For additional assistance or information, you can also file a ticket with the Helpdesk.