JMIR Research Protocols

Protocols, grant proposals, registered reports (RR1)

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It should be stressed however that most authors do not publish their protocols for "impact" or citations, rather to document their ideas to how to design experiments, to document their successful grant proposals, or to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

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RCTs - Protocols/Proposals (funded, already peer-reviewed, non-eHealth)

People diagnosed with a co-occurring serious mental illness (SMI; ie, major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, or schizophrenia) but hospitalized for a nonpsychiatric condition experience higher rates of readmissions and other adverse outcomes, in part due to poorly coordinated care transitions. Current hospital-to-home transitional care programs lack a focus on the integrated social, medical, and mental health needs of these patients. The Thrive clinical pathway provides transitional care support for patients insured by Medicaid with multiple chronic conditions by focusing on posthospitalization medical concerns and the social determinants of health. This study seeks to evaluate an adapted version of Thrive that also meets the needs of patients with co-occurring SMI discharged from a nonpsychiatric hospitalization.

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Non-Randomized Study Protocols and Methods (Non-eHealth)

: Globally, there is significant variation in the out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) survival rate. Early links in the chain of survival, including bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and the use of an automated external defibrillator at the scene, are known to be of crucial importance, with strong evidence of increased survival rate with good neurological outcomes. The data from the Middle East are limited and report variable rates of bystander CPR and survival. It is crucial to get prospective, reliable data on bystander response in these regions to help plan interventions to improve bystander response and outcomes.

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Systematic Review Protocols

The interaction between stress and periodontal treatment is a topic of growing interest. It stands out as a field of research that sheds light on the complexity of oral health in individuals subjected to high levels of emotional stress.

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Proposals (eHealth)

Older adults belonging to racial or ethnic minorities with low socioeconomic status are at an elevated risk of developing dementia, but resources for assessing functional decline and detecting cognitive impairment are limited. Cognitive impairment affects the ability to perform daily activities and mobility behaviors. Traditional assessment methods have drawbacks, so smart home technologies (SmHT) have emerged to offer objective, high-frequency, and remote monitoring. However, these technologies usually rely on motion sensors that cannot identify specific activity types. This group often lacks access to these technologies due to limited resources and technology experience. There is a need to develop new sensing technology that is discreet, affordable, and requires minimal user engagement to characterize and quantify various in-home activities. Furthermore, it is essential to explore the feasibility of developing machine learning (ML) algorithms for SmHT through collaborations between clinical researchers and engineers and involving minority, low-income older adults for novel sensor development.

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Systematic Review Protocols

Monitoring of various clinical outcomes and parameters, such as lipid levels, is recommended in transgender individuals undergoing hormone therapies. However, comprehensive data to inform these recommendations is scarce.

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RCTs - Protocols/Proposals (eHealth)

Ecological momentary assessments (EMA) are ideal for capturing the dynamic nature of young adult substance use behavior in daily life and identifying contextual risk factors that signal higher-risk episodes. These methods could provide a signal to trigger real-time intervention delivery. Study compliance and engagement are common barriers to participation but may be improved by personalizing messages. This study compares compliance outcomes between one group of young adults receiving standard (generic) prompts at each assessment and another group that received additional personalization and an updated data dashboard (DD) showing study progress to date at 1 randomly selected prompt per day.

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Non-Randomized Study Protocols and Methods (Non-eHealth)

In organ donation from deceased donors, the interaction between the donor’s relatives and intensive care personnel is an important factor. The organ donation (OD) process is complex, and patients’ relatives play a vital role. Intensive care professionals need knowledge about how relatives perceive and experience the process to create a caring environment and support them throughout. Therefore, this collaborative project aims to explore both relatives’ and intensive care personnel’s perspectives of care in deceased organ donation in Scandinavia.

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RCTs - Protocols/Proposals (eHealth)

Gadget addiction is a common behavioral problem among children. It is known to hamper social and academic life as well as adversely affect the lives of children. Ayurveda offers many therapeutic modalities and Ayurvedic medicines that can be used in the management of gadget addiction in children. The purpose of this study is to evaluate and compare the effectiveness of nonpharmacological therapies and the pharmaceutical intervention Medhya Rasayana in treating childhood gadget addiction.

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Scoping Review Protocols

In Canada, more than 60% of persons living with dementia reside in their own homes, and over 25% rely heavily on their care partners (ie, family members or friends) for assistance with daily activities such as personal hygiene, eating, and walking. Assistive technology (AT) is a key dementia management strategy, helping to maintain health and social support in home and community settings. AT comprises assistive products and services required for safe and effective use. Persons living with dementia and their care partners often require multiple types of AT to maintain their needs, dignity, and autonomy. AT for dementia management is rapidly developing with abundant scientific literature, which can present a challenge to efficiently navigate and extract insights for policy and personal decision-making.

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Non-Randomized Study Protocols and Methods (Non-eHealth)

With advancing age among older adults, the associated debilities increase, indicating a deteriorating health status as there is a gradual loss of muscle mass, strength, and functionality. Ayush Rasayana A and B are coded Ayurvedic medicines developed from herbal extracts. This study has been planned to prevent debilitating conditions and improve the quality of life (QOL) in older adults.

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RCTs - Protocols/Proposals (eHealth)

Young people in low- and middle-income countries encounter significant barriers to accessing mental health support due to various factors, including a substantial treatment gap and limited health care budgets allocated to mental health. Using innovative strategies, such as scalable digital self-help psychological interventions, offers a potential solution for improving access to mental health support. However, digital mental health interventions come with their own set of challenges, including issues related to low user engagement. Chatbots, with their interactive and engaging nature, may present a promising avenue for the delivery of these interventions.

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Proposals (eHealth)

It is projected that drug-resistant infections will lead to 10 million deaths annually by 2050 if left unabated. Despite this threat, surveillance data from resource-limited settings are scarce and often lack antimicrobial resistance (AMR)–related clinical outcomes and economic burden. We aim to build an AMR and antimicrobial use (AMU) data warehouse, describe the trends of resistance and antibiotic use, determine the economic burden of AMR in Uganda, and develop a machine learning algorithm to predict AMR-related clinical outcomes.

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Preprints Open for Peer-Review

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Open Peer Review Period:

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