Peer Review Process
When we receive a manuscript, an assessment will be made to ensure the manuscript meets the formal criteria specified in the Instructions for Authors and that it fits within the scope of the journal. When in doubt, the editor will consult with other members of the Editorial Board. Manuscripts are then assigned to a Section Editor to send to 2-4 external experts for peer review. Authors are required to suggest at least 2 peer-reviewers (who do not have a conflict of interest) during the submission process.
JMIR Publications follows a single-blind model during the review process. Reviewers are aware of the names of the authors to avoid any potential conflict of interest when accepting the review invitation. Reviewers for JMIR journals will not remain anonymous. Their names will appear at the end of the published article and in JMIRx Bio, we also publish the actual peer-review reports and the authors' responses. As publication of peer-review reports is mandatory in this journal, a peer reviewer may opt to be anonymous on the published review (this will also mark them as an anonymous reviewer on the original paper). In some cases, at the discretion of the Editor or Editorial Director, we may decide to not publish a peer review. Authors and reviewers should not contact each other directly to discuss manuscripts or reviews.
Speed of Peer-Review
Internet-based research is a fast-moving field and JMIR Publications recognizes the need of our authors to communicate their findings rapidly. Our aim to facilitate a rapid, thorough, and rigorous peer-review process.
It is important to note that current turnaround times for reviewing and editing papers vary as these are primarily dependent on the quality of the paper upon first submission. With the exception of papers submitted under the fast-track process, in which we guarantee an editorial decision within 20 business days (4 weeks excluding weekends and public holidays) and publication of the article within 4 weeks after acceptance, JMIR Publications is not able to guarantee the speed of peer-review or publication. We aim for an average decision time of two months after submission for papers sent out for peer-review. There will however always be exceptions (papers that are more difficult to evaluate).
PREreview Live Review
JMIR Publications teamed up with PREreview to expand our innovative peer review offerings through live reviews. Live Reviews, in partnership with PREreview, are topic-centered, interactive preprint review calls via a video conference tool such as Zoom.
Output from a Live Review can be used to improve a manuscript or be integrated into journal review workflows. Authors are provided an initial editorial decision based on the live review session summary two (2) weeks after the Live Review is completed. Then, authors revise their manuscripts based on the comments provided from the Live Review.