JMIR Research Protocols

Ongoing trials and protocols, grant proposals, and current methods and approaches. 

Editor-in-Chief:

Amy Schwartz, MSc, Ph.D., Scientific Editor at JMIR Publications, Ontario, Canada


Impact Factor 1.4 CiteScore 2.4

JMIR Research Protocols  (JRP, ISSN 1929-0748) is a unique journal indexed in PubMed, PubMed Central (PMC), MEDLINE, Sherpa Romeo, DOAJ, Scopus, Web of Science(WoS)/ESCI/SCIE, and EBSCO, publishing peer-reviewed, openly accessible research ideas and grant proposals, and study and trial protocols (also referred to as Registered Report Stage 1 papers). 

In 2024, JMIR Research Protocols received a Journal Impact Factor™ of 1.4 (5-Year Journal Impact Factor™: 1.5) according to the latest release of the Journal Citation Reports™ from Clarivate, 2024. 

With a CiteScore of 2.4, JMIR Research Protocols ranks in the 66th percentile (#211 of 636) as a Q2 journal in the field of General Medicine.

It should be stressed however that most authors do not publish their protocols for "impact" or citations, rather to document their ideas to how to design experiments, to document their successful grant proposals, or to publish (and maybe brag a little about) their already funded protocols (which do not require additional peer-review). We offer this platform for scientists to publish peer-reviewed protocols for a very low APF, and unfunded protocols for a reasonable fee that includes peer-review. 

While the original focus was on eHealth studies, JRP now publishes protocols and grant proposals in all areas of medicine, and their peer-review reports, if available (preliminary results from pilot studies, early results, and formative research should now be published in JMIR Formative Research).

JRP is fully open access, with full-text articles deposited in PubMed Central.

Why should I publish my protocol? 

  • JRP publishes research protocols, grant proposals, pilot/feasibility studies and early reports of ongoing and planned work that encourages collaboration and early feedback, and reduces duplication of effort.
  • JRP will be a valuable educational resource for researchers who want to learn about current research methodologies and how to write a winning grant proposal.
  • JRP creates an early scientific record for researchers who have developed novel methodologies, software, innovations or elaborate protocols.
  • JRP provides a "dry-run" for peer-review of the final results paper, and allows feedback/critique of the methods, often while they still can be fixed.
  • JRP enhances rigor and demonstrates to reviewers of subsequent results papers that authors followed and adhered to carefully developed and described a-priori methods, rather than fishing for P-values (HARKing).
  • JRP facilitates and guarantees subsequent publication of results demonstrating that the methodology has already been reviewed, and reduces the effort of writing up the results, as the protocol can be easily referenced.
  • JRP is compatible with the concept of "Registered Reports" and since May 2018, published protocols receive an International Registered Report Identifier (What is a Registered Report Identifier?) and acceptance of the subsequent results paper is "in principle" guaranteed in any JMIR journal and partner journals - see What is a Registered Report?. We assign an IRRID (International Registered Report Identifier) to each published protocol, faciliating the linking between protocol and final study, and also indicating that results papers of studies are also "in principle accepted" for subsequent publication in other JMIR journals (or other members of the IRRID Registry Network) as long as authors adhere to their original protocol - regardless of study results (even if they are negative), reducing publication bias in medicine.
  • Authors publishing their protocols in JRP will receive a 20% discount on the article processing fee if they publish their results in another journal of the JMIR journal family (for example, JMIR for e-health studies, i-JMR for others).

Need more reasons? Read the Knowledge Base article on "Why should I publish my protocol/grant proposal"!

 

Recent Articles

Article Thumbnail
Systematic Review Protocols

Wearable technology is widely applied in performance monitoring, an integral part of sports and exercise sciences. The kick movement in soccer exemplifies a sports technique that could benefit from appropriate biomechanics assessment methodologies. However, the accuracy of wearables in quantifying soccer kick mechanics, particularly under field conditions, remains unclear.

|
Article Thumbnail
Systematic Review Protocols

Stress urinary incontinence (SUI), the most common form of urinary incontinence, is a condition that affects many women. It is characterized by involuntary urine leakage during activities that increase abdominal pressure, such as sneezing, coughing, or physical exertion, according to the International Continence Society. SUI affects patients’ quality of life and causes depression and emotional disorders, which negatively influences physical and mental health. The participants in the studies in this review comprised women with mild to moderate SUI, because there are more female patients than male patients, and most patients with severe SUI are treated surgically. Moreover, after retrieval, there were no systematic reviews or network meta-analyses (NMAs) of conservative treatments, such as electroacupuncture (EA), in women with mild to moderate SUI.

|
Article Thumbnail
Non-randomized Protocols and Methods (ehealth)

There is a growing prevalence of nonhealing wounds and chronic diseases in society, and there is an associated need for wound management solutions that include the use of telemedicine. A broad spectrum of factors influences the planning and execution of interventions within telemedicine in chronic wound management, spanning organizations, technologies, and individuals, including professionals and patients. The Telemedicine and Ambulatory Wound Care Team (TELE-AMBUS) project applies a whole-system research approach to account for this spectrum of factors.

|
Article Thumbnail
Participatory Research Protocols and Proposals

Clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) are designed to assist health care professionals in medical decision-making, but they often lack effective integration of shared decision-making (SDM) principles to reflect patient values and preferences, particularly in the context of preference-sensitive CPG recommendations. To address this shortcoming and foster SDM through CPGs, the integration of patient decision aids (PDAs) into CPGs has been proposed as an important strategy. However, methods for systematically identifying and prioritizing CPG recommendations relevant to SDM and related decision support tools are currently lacking.

|
Article Thumbnail
Systematic Review Protocols

Access to psychological health care is extremely difficult, especially for individuals with severely stigmatized disorders such as eating disorders (EDs). There has been an increase in children, adolescents, and adults with ED symptoms and ED, especially following the COVID-19 pandemic. Computer-based self-help platforms (± associated apps) allow people to bridge the treatment gap and receive support when in-person treatment is unavailable or not preferred.

|
Article Thumbnail
Scoping Review Protocols

Digital microscopy combined with artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly being implemented in health care, predominantly in advanced laboratory settings. However, AI-supported digital microscopy could be especially advantageous in primary health care settings, since such methods could improve access to diagnostics via automation and lead to a decreased need for experts on site. To our knowledge, no scoping or systematic review had been published on the use of AI-supported digital microscopy within primary health care laboratories when this scoping review was initiated. A scoping review can guide future research by providing insights to help navigate the challenges of implementing these novel methods in primary health care laboratories.

|
Article Thumbnail
Systematic Review Protocols

Patellofemoral pain syndrome is a highly prevalent overuse knee injury in athletic populations associated with pain and functional limitations, exacerbated by activities such as running, pivoting, cycling, and jumping. Self-management programs empowering athletes to take an active role in controlling their symptoms for chronic musculoskeletal conditions such as patellofemoral pain syndrome have grown in popularity. However, the efficacy of self-management programs specifically for athletes with patellofemoral pain syndrome is unclear due to limited and heterogeneous evidence.

|
Article Thumbnail
NIH funded proposals with peer-review reports (USA)

Sexual minority men are disproportionately affected by methamphetamine use, with recent studies suggesting an increase in use specifically among Black sexual minority men. Black sexual minority men face unique structural barriers to achieving optimal health. Given its harmful effects, and in light of existing health disparities, an increase in methamphetamine use among Black sexual minority men poses a significant public health concern.

|
Article Thumbnail
Scoping Review Protocols

Climate change and related environmental events represent major global challenges and are often accompanied by the spread of misinformation on social media. According to previous reviews, the dissemination of this misinformation on various social media platforms requires deeper exploration. Moreover, the findings reported applied mainly to the context of the United States, limiting the possibility of extending the results to other settings.

|
Article Thumbnail
RCTs - Protocols/Proposals (eHealth)

Midlife and older women who experience intimate partner violence (IPV) often have less access to supports and services than younger women. There is far less focus on research and supports for midlife and older women compared to younger women experiencing IPV, and often, neither elder abuse nor IPV services meet their needs. Few interventions are available to meet the needs of midlife and older women.

|
Article Thumbnail
Proposals (non-eHealth)

Burdening health and illness issues such as physical or mental illnesses, accidents, disabilities, and life events such as birth or death influence the health and functioning of families and contribute to the complexity of care and health care costs. Considerable research has confirmed the benefits of a family systems–centered care approach for patients, family caregivers, families, and health care professionals. However, health care professionals face barriers in working with families, such as feeling unprepared. Family systems–centered therapeutic conversations support families’ day-to-day coping, resilience, and health. A family systems care unit (FSCU) was recently established as a real-life laboratory at one of the Swiss Universities of Applied Sciences. In this unit, health care professionals offer therapeutic conversations to families and individual family members to support daily symptom management and functioning, soften suffering, and increase health and well-being. These conversations are observed in real time through a 1-way window by other health care professionals, students, and trainees and are recorded with video for research and education. Little is known about how therapeutic conversations contribute to meaningful changes in burdened families and the benefits of vicarious learning in a real-life laboratory setting for family systems care.

|
Article Thumbnail
Proposals (non-eHealth)

Hypospadias is a common congenital anomaly characterized by the displacement of the urethral opening to the ventral side of the penis. Surgical correction is often necessary for functional and psychological reasons. The etiology involves genetic and environmental factors, and chordee, a downward curvature of the penis, is a common complication. Proteins such as fibulin-1, elastin, matrix metalloproteinase-1, basic fibroblast growth factor, and α-smooth muscle actin play roles in hypospadias development.

|

Preprints Open for Peer-Review

|

Open Peer Review Period:

-

We are working in partnership with