Editorial Process

As per the announcement made by the journal’s owner, the Canadian Medical Association (CMA), CMAJ Open will no longer be accepting submissions. Read more…

Pre-Accept

How Do We Decide Which Papers To Publish?

There are 3 steps in our process: selection of manuscripts for external review, selection for an editorial discussion, and offer of publication, subject to revision (see flow chart below).

  1. On submission: An editor reviews the submitted paper and makes an initial decision whether to send the paper for peer review or to reject the paper without peer review. Rejecting a paper requires a majority decision from 3 editors. Most of the time, 2 editors will suffice because, after reading a submitted manuscript, they agree to either reject it without peer review or to request reports from peer reviewers. If the 2 editors disagree, a third editor's opinion is used as a tie breaker. Most manuscripts are rejected at this stage.
  2. After peer review: If the reports from peer reviewers identify serious concerns, the manuscript will be rejected (a small proportion of papers are rejected at this stage). We require at least 2 peer review reports to make this decision. A majority decision from 3 editors is needed for rejection (as described above).
  3. Offer of publication: The remaining papers are discussed by the editors, including a statistician if applicable. For an offer of publication to be made, a majority decision is required from 3 editors. Most of the time, 2 editors will suffice because, after reading the manuscript and reviewer comments, they agree to work with the authors to move it to publication (revise or accept), request additional peer reviews, ask for more information from the authors (overhaul) or reject the paper. If the 2 editors disagree, a third editor's opinion is used as a tie breaker.
Process diagram for CMAJ Open Editorial Process

Post-Accept

  • Once a paper has been accepted and the publication fee paid, a scientific manuscript editor edits the manuscript for clarity, brevity, style and accuracy.
  • The paper will then undergo a final review by a senior editor.
  • You will be asked to review an edited proof and respond to all queries.
  • You may be contacted should there be any follow-up comments or queries prior to publication.
  • You should let the manuscript editor know if you will not be available after you have returned your proofs. Please provide the name and contact information of a coauthor who can field questions in your absence.
  • Prior to publication, all relevant forms will need to be received by the journal.
  • Your paper will be published when ready, as CMAJ Open has a continuous publication model. Quarterly, papers are collected into an issue.

Questions?

Please contact us at [email protected]