Overview
Submission Instructions
Recent Publications
Frequently Asked Questions
Research Topics
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BM
BMC Medical Research Methodology is an open access, peer-reviewed journal publishing original research articles in methodological approaches to healthcare research. Articles on the methodology of epidemiological research, clinical trials and meta-analysis/systematic review are particularly encouraged, as are empirical studies of the associations between choice of methodology and study outcomes.
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Subject
Health Care Sciences & Services
Impact Factor
3.4
Quartile
Q1
Open Access Type
Open
eISSN
1471-2288
Invitation Only
No
Cost Range
£2290.00 GBP / $3090.00 USD / €2690.00 EUR APC
Submission Instructions
Bmc Medical Research Methodology accepts the following article types. Click on an article type to view submission instructions.
Research Article
Cover Letter
A cover letter is required with the submission. The cover letter must explain why the manuscript should be published in BMC Medical Research Methodology, address any issues relating to journal policies, declare any potential competing interests, confirm all authors approved the submission, and confirm the manuscript has not been published or submitted elsewhere.
Abstract
An abstract is required. Abstract must not exceed 350 words. The abstract must be structured with separate sections. The abstract must include Background, Methods, Results, Conclusions, and Trial registration sections.
Manuscript
The manuscript must include Background, Methods, Results, Discussion, Conclusions, and a Declarations section with all required subheadings. The manuscript must include three to ten keywords and document any use of a Large Language Model in the Methods section or another suitable section if no Methods section is available.
References
References must follow Vancouver style. Only published articles, clinical trial registration records, and published or publicly available abstracts may be cited; unpublished abstracts, unpublished data, and personal communications must not appear in the reference list, journal abbreviations must follow Index Medicus/MEDLINE, and web links or URLs must be numbered and included in the reference list in full with the site title, URL, and access date.
Figures & Tables
Figure titles and legends must be provided in the main manuscript, tables shorter than one page may be placed within the manuscript, and tables longer than one page may be placed at the end of the document with their intended location indicated in the text. Figures must be numbered and uploaded in the order first mentioned in the text, multi-panel figures must be submitted as a single composite file, and tables must be numbered and cited in sequence and must not be embedded as figures or spreadsheet files.
Review
Cover Letter
A cover letter is required with the submission. The cover letter must explain why the manuscript should be published in BMC Medical Research Methodology, address any issues relating to journal policies, declare any potential competing interests, confirm all authors approved the submission, confirm the content has not been published or submitted elsewhere, and name the special issue if applicable.
Abstract
An abstract is required. The abstract must not exceed 350 words.
Manuscript
Review manuscripts must include Background, Main text, Conclusions, and a Declarations section. Review manuscripts must include three to ten keywords, an Availability of data and materials statement, the required Declarations subheadings with 'Not applicable' where a section is irrelevant, and any use of a Large Language Model must be documented in the Methods section or another suitable part of the manuscript if no Methods section is available.
References
References must follow Vancouver style. Only published articles, clinical trial registration records, and published or publicly available abstracts may be cited, unpublished abstracts, unpublished data, and personal communications must not appear in the reference list, journal abbreviations must follow Index Medicus/MEDLINE, and web links must be numbered and included in the reference list with the site title, full URL, and access date.
Figures & Tables
Tables shorter than one page may be placed within the manuscript, tables longer than one page may be placed at the end of the document, figure titles and legends must appear in the main manuscript rather than the graphic file, and figures must be uploaded separately in the order cited. Figures and tables must be numbered in the order cited, multi-panel figures must be submitted as a single composite file, and tables must not be embedded as figures or spreadsheet files.
Systematic Reviews
Cover Letter
A cover letter is required with the submission. Cover letter must explain why the manuscript should be published in BMC Medical Research Methodology, address any issues relating to journal policies, declare any potential competing interests, confirm all authors approved the submission, confirm the content has not been published or submitted elsewhere, and name the special issue if applicable.
Abstract
Abstract requirements are not specified.
Manuscript
Systematic Reviews must be submitted as Research articles.
References
References may include only articles, clinical trial registration records, and abstracts that are published, in press, or publicly available via e-print/preprint servers; unpublished abstracts, unpublished data, and personal communications must be excluded; journal abbreviations must follow Index Medicus/MEDLINE; and web links and URLs must be assigned a reference number and listed in full in the reference list with access dates.
Figures & Tables
Tables shorter than one A4 or Letter page may be placed within the manuscript, tables longer than one page may be placed at the end of the document with callouts in the text, figure titles and legends must appear in the main manuscript rather than in the graphic file, and figures must be uploaded separately in mention order. Figures must be numbered in text order, submitted as single composite files for multi-panel figures, and have keys incorporated into the graphic, while tables must be numbered and cited in sequence and created using the word processor's Table object rather than embedded as figures or spreadsheet files.
Database Article
Cover Letter
A cover letter is required with the submission. The cover letter must explain why the manuscript should be published in BMC Medical Research Methodology, address any issues relating to journal policies, declare any potential competing interests, confirm all authors approved the submission, and confirm the manuscript content has not been published or submitted elsewhere.
Abstract
A structured abstract is required. Abstract must not exceed 350 words. Abstract must be structured. Abstract must include Background, Main body of the abstract, and short Conclusion.
Manuscript
Manuscript should include Background, Construction and content, Utility and discussion, Conclusions, and a Declarations section with the required subheadings. Manuscript must include three to ten keywords, a Declarations section containing Ethics approval and consent to participate, Consent for publication, Availability of data and materials, Competing interests, Funding, Authors' contributions, and Acknowledgements, and any use of a Large Language Model must be documented in the Methods section or a suitable alternative section.
References
References must follow Vancouver reference style. Web links and URLs must be cited with a reference number in the reference list rather than in the text, journal abbreviations must follow Index Medicus/MEDLINE, and unpublished abstracts, unpublished data, and personal communications must not appear in the reference list.
Figures & Tables
Figure titles and legends must be provided in the main manuscript rather than in the graphic file, tables shorter than one page can be placed within the manuscript, and tables longer than one page can be placed at the end of the document. Figures must be numbered in the order first mentioned in the text and multi-panel figures submitted as a single composite file, while tables must be numbered and cited in sequence and must not be embedded as figures or spreadsheet files.
Software Article
Cover Letter
A cover letter is required with the submission. The cover letter must explain why the manuscript should be published in BMC Medical Research Methodology, address any issues relating to journal policies, declare any potential competing interests, confirm all authors approved submission, confirm the content has not been published or submitted elsewhere, and name the special issue if applicable.
Abstract
An abstract is required. The abstract must not exceed 350 words. The abstract must be structured. The abstract must include the headings Background, Results, and Conclusions and must not cite references.
Manuscript
The manuscript must include sections titled Background, Implementation, Results, Conclusions, an Availability and requirements section, and a Declarations section, with Results optionally combined with Discussion. The manuscript must include three to ten keywords, define abbreviations at first use and provide a list of abbreviations if used, document any Large Language Model use in the Methods section or equivalent, and include Declarations subheadings for Ethics approval and consent to participate, Consent for publication, Availability of data and materials, Competing interests, Funding, Authors' contributions, and Acknowledgements with 'Not applicable' where a section is not relevant.
References
References must follow Vancouver reference style. Only published or in-press articles, clinical trial registration records, abstracts, and publicly available preprints may be cited, unpublished abstracts, unpublished data, and personal communications must not appear in the reference list, web links and URLs must be cited as numbered references in the reference list, and journal abbreviations must follow Index Medicus/MEDLINE.
Figures & Tables
Tables shorter than one page may be placed within the manuscript, larger tables may be placed at the end of the document, and the software application or tool should be included as an additional file. Figure titles and legends must be provided in the manuscript rather than the graphic file, multi-panel figures must be submitted as a single composite file, tables must be created using the word processor's table function rather than embedded as figures or spreadsheet files, and tables must not use color or shading.
Matters Arising
Cover Letter
A cover letter is required. Cover letter must explain why the manuscript should be published in BMC Medical Research Methodology, address any issues relating to journal policies, declare any potential competing interests, confirm all authors approved the submission, confirm the content has not been published or submitted elsewhere, and name the special issue if applicable.
Abstract
No abstract should be included. The first paragraph should serve as the abstract for submission purposes, and the main text should ideally not exceed 1,200 words. No abstract should be included, and the first paragraph is used as the abstract for submission purposes.
Manuscript
The main text should ideally not exceed 1,200 words. Manuscript should begin with a brief first paragraph summarizing the message for non-specialists, may be broken into short informative subsections, and must include a 'Declarations' section with the subheadings 'Ethics approval and consent to participate', 'Consent for publication', 'Availability of data and materials', 'Competing interests', 'Funding', 'Authors' contributions', and 'Acknowledgements', with an optional 'Authors’ information' subsection. Include three to ten keywords, provide a list of abbreviations if abbreviations are used, and write 'Not applicable' under any irrelevant Declarations subsection.
References
Matters Arising articles may have up to 15 references. References should follow the Vancouver reference style. Only published or in-press articles, clinical trial registration records, abstracts, and public e-print or preprint items may be cited, unpublished abstracts, unpublished data, and personal communications must not appear in the reference list, journal abbreviations must follow Index Medicus/MEDLINE, and all URLs must be numbered and included in the reference list with full site title, URL, and access date.
Figures & Tables
Manuscripts should ideally require only one or two small figures or tables. Figure titles and legends must be provided in the main manuscript, tables under one page may be placed within the manuscript, and larger tables may be placed at the end of the document. Figures must be numbered in text order and multi-panel figures submitted as a single composite file, while tables must be numbered in sequence and not embedded as figures or spreadsheet files.
Scoping Reviews
Cover Letter
A cover letter must be included with the submission. Cover letter must explain why the manuscript should be published in BMC Medical Research Methodology, address any issues relating to journal policies, declare any potential competing interests, confirm all authors approved the submission, and confirm the content has not been published or submitted elsewhere.
Abstract
Abstract requirements are not specified.
Manuscript
Systematic Reviews and Scoping Reviews must be submitted as Research articles.
References
References may include only published articles, clinical trial registration records, and abstracts or items available through public e-print/preprint servers, and journal abbreviations must follow Index Medicus/MEDLINE.
Figures & Tables
Tables under one page may be placed within the manuscript, tables over one page may be placed at the end of the document, and figure titles and legends must be provided in the main manuscript rather than in the graphic file. Figures and tables must be numbered in the order cited in the text, and multi-panel figures must be submitted as a single composite file.
Recent Publications
Multilingual analysis of public discourse on opioid and non-opioid analgesics through social media: a cross-sectional infodemiological study
T. Valades, A. Ruiz-Iniesta, J. Domingo-Espiñeira, JP Chart-Pascual, O. Fraile-Martinez, C. García-Montero, M. Alvarez-Mon, I. Morales, F. Mora, J. Quintero, MA Ortega, R. Perez-Araluce, MA Alvarez-Mon
10.1186/s12874-026-02850-z
View Publication
How to design a ROCI (Response Over Continuous Intervention) randomised trial: guidance and a case study
Matteo Quartagno, Ehsan Ghorani, Tim P. Morris, Henry Bern, Michelle N. Clements, A. Sarah Walker, James R. Carpenter, Ian W. White, Koen B. Pouwels, Michael J. Seckl, Mahesh KB Parmar
10.1186/s12874-026-02786-4
View Publication
Creating an indexing scheme for case series articles
Andrew Shahidehpour, Arthur W. Holt, Ang Michael Troy, Joe D. Menke, Neil R. Smalheiser
10.1186/s12874-026-02861-w
View Publication
The Cartesian Gaussian additive noise model for directed network inference in omics data
Bailey Andrew, David R. Westhead, Luisa Cutillo
10.1186/s12874-026-02849-6
View Publication
Comparing methods for handling missing data in electronic health records for dynamic risk prediction of central-line associated bloodstream infection
Shan Gao, Elena Albu, Pieter Stijnen, Frank Rademakers, Veerle Cossey, Yves Debaveye, Christel Janssens, Ben Van Calster, Laure Wynants
10.1186/s12874-026-02819-y
View Publication
Frequently asked questions
How long does it take to publish?
Submission to first decision (median): 7 days.
Reformat to Bmc Medical Research Methodology using Livewrite PremiumIs a cover letter required?
A cover letter is required. It should explain why the manuscript should be published in BMC Medical Research Methodology, address any issues relating to journal policies, declare any potential competing interests, confirm that all authors approved the submission, confirm that the content has not been published or submitted elsewhere, and identify the special issue if applicable. Authors may also suggest preferred or non-preferred peer reviewers in the cover letter.
Reformat to Bmc Medical Research Methodology using Livewrite PremiumWhat are the publication costs?
Research Topics
Meta-analysis and systematic reviews
Health Systems, Economic Evaluations, Quality of Life
Statistical Methods in Clinical Trials
Advanced Causal Inference Techniques
Statistical Methods and Bayesian Inference
Statistical Methods and Inference
Health Policy Implementation Science
Ethics in Clinical Research
Health disparities and outcomes
Delphi Technique in Research
Reliability and Agreement in Measurement
Healthcare Policy and Management
Survey Methodology and Nonresponse
Clinical practice guidelines implementation
Machine Learning in Healthcare
Global Cancer Incidence and Screening
Patient-Provider Communication in Healthcare
Chronic Disease Management Strategies
Mental Health Research Topics
Obesity, Physical Activity, Diet
Health Sciences Research and Education
Primary Care and Health Outcomes
Data-Driven Disease Surveillance
COVID-19 epidemiological studies
Optimal Experimental Design Methods
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