A new 100 % ‘open’ scientific journal

If you have a look at the title of the new Canadian Medical Association Journal, CMAJ Open, the scope of this online publication is obvious. Its editor, the Canadian Medical Association, already publishes several high-quality journals. With CMAJ Open, it goes one step further.

CMAJ Open is publishing high-quality, peer-reviewed medical research papers without the need for authors to demonstrate high impact, indicates the association. The journal posts new content online as soon as it is ready. And, of course, all content will be available at no charge to readers from the publication date.

But the ‘open’ idea behind this initiative is not strictly limited to the availability of the online media. The new journal is also ‘open’ to medical and healthcare research articles, as well as those from allied healthcare professions.

The journal claims it is also open to all types of research papers. It will consider papers with a wide variety of methodologies, including randomised controlled trials, systematic reviews, meta-analyses, case-control studies, cohort studies, surveys and qualitative research. Protocols and pilot studies are also welcome.

Finally, it will also be ‘open’ with regard to the process of accepting manuscripts, and decisions and comments from peer reviewers.

CMAJ Open is committed to an open peer-review system in which reviewer comments, author responses and previous versions are available along with the final published version. This will provide a manuscript history for readers and serve as a resource for future authors.