JMIR Publications is looking for one or more (Co-) Editors-in-Chief for JMIRx-Med #xCovid-19 as well as several Editorial Board members.
JMIRx-Med is an innovative type of journal that we refer to as a “Superjournal”—an overlay journal on top of preprint servers.
The idea and concept of a Superjournal, conceptualized 20 years ago and announced in 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic, is the logical answer to the urgent need for making highly relevant scientific information available as early as possible without losing the quality of the peer-reviewed process. It is also an important step in fighting the global infodemic—with preprints sometimes shared tens of thousands of times on social media before they are peer reviewed to provide context and evaluation.
#xCOVID-19 is the first “subjournal” within a series of subjournals of JMIRx. The “#xCOVID-19” hashtag found in the titles of all articles in JMIRx-Med indicates the “subjournal.” Each subjournal has an editorial and peer-review community. Each JMIRx editorial group works like a traditional journal, with the advantage that the subjournal can be easily launched by a group of researchers with common interests and editorial/selection goals.
Our first “subjournal” will focus on #xCOVID-19, and we are giving applicants the unique chance to form the world’s first editorial board or hashtag community for a Superjournal.
The role of the Editor-in-Chief for #xCOVID-19 will be as follows:
- To rapidly identify (supported by our software) interesting and widely discussed preprints, primarily from MedRxiv and JMIR Preprints, but also from other preprint archives such as PsyArXiv, and from our member organizations, that can be peer reviewed and possibly published.
- To identify and approach potential peer reviewers, who can write a peer-review report or a commentary about the paper.
- (Optional) Moderating Preprint Journal Club Sessions with the authors of preprints and the public (Zoom-/Videobased)
- To build a community of Editorial Board members and peer reviewers around the #xCOVID-19 hashtag.
The EiC role is a paid position, with a nominal stipend/honorarium. Editorial Board positions are not remunerated.
Application and criteria:
- For the Editor-in-Chief role: You must have outstanding credentials (at least associate professor level) as a scientist in microbiology/virology, public health, epidemiology, or health policy to apply for the EiC position.
- For the Editorial Board member role: You must have at least a doctoral title (MD, PhD, or equivalent) or be enrolled in a PhD/MD program.
To apply, please send your CV and a short cover letter about what you can bring to this role. In addition, please nominate 3 recent (not older than 1 month) high-impact COVID-related preprints, with a list of potential peer reviewers.
The deadline for applications is July 23, 2020 but we will be onboarding Editorial Board members on a rolling basis.
Please submit your CV and cover letter with your 3 preprint nominations to ed-support@jmir.org.