Editorial Board Members (EBMs) of BMC Medicine will be directly engaged with the peer review of articles submitted to the journal. They will work together with internal, professional editors to serve the community by assessing, selecting and helping to improve the papers that the journal publishes. EBMs have responsibilities toward the authors who provide the content of the journals, the referees who comment on the technical correctness of manuscript, the journal’s readers, and the public as a whole.
Benefits of Joining the Editorial Board
As an EBM at BMC Medicine, you will have the opportunity to interact with and learn from professional BMC Editors. Some benefits to you include:
20% discounted Article Processing Charge (APC) when publishing with BMC Medicine or any other Journal within the BMC Series (for a complete list, please see: https://www.biomedcentral.com/p/the-bmc-series-journals).
Please note that the discount is only applicable when the EBM is the Corresponding author or a lead author on the paper submitted.
Contribute to your community: Our Boards serve the research community by providing efficient, robust and constructive handling of papers. We believe that the true value of research often exceeds its perceived value and that entire research community benefits from the publication of scientifically sound, reproducible research. You can contribute to this goal by becoming an Editorial Board member for a BMC Series journal.
Raise your profile and benefit your career: Being a member of an Editorial Board demonstrates to potential employers and funding bodies that you are an active participant in your field. As a Board Member your profile in the field will be raised through your work on the journal and interactions with authors, reviewers and fellow board members.
“Behind the scenes” view: Serving as a Board Member enhances your knowledge of how editorial decisions are made and gives insight into the peer review process. This experience can be applied to shape your own research papers to maximize your chances of publication by understanding what peer reviewers and editors are looking for.
Increase your knowledge of your research field: As a Board Member, you will have the opportunity to read the newest research before it is published, and by assessing reviewer reports you will be able to develop your own scientific knowledge through exposure to the expertise and opinions of your peers.
Primary Responsibilities
Our Editorial Boards serve the research community by providing efficient, robust and constructive handling of papers. We believe that the true value of research often exceeds its perceived value and that the entire research community benefits from the publication of scientifically sound, reproducible research. You can contribute to this goal by becoming an Editorial Board member for a BMC Medicine.
The primary responsibility of our Editorial Board Members is to manage the peer review process. As an Editorial Board Member you are responsible for the scientific quality of the manuscripts that you handle. You adhere to the ethos, editorial standards, policies and scope of the Journal and ensure that manuscripts are handled efficiently and appropriately.
Preliminary assessment
We expect EBMs to assess a minimum of three manuscripts per month and accept/decline invitations promptly, ideally within 2 working days. Assess manuscripts in your area of expertise, and occasionally in areas close to your field of research and decide whether a paper is in principle suitable for publication in the journal.Return a recommendation to the in-house editor within 5 days of manuscript assignment.In case the recommendation is to reject the paper, formulate a suitable message for the authors explaining the Editorial decision.
Sending papers out for review
You invite peer reviewers within 2 working days if an out-to-review decision is made. Identify suitable experts to review the work, ensuring that no known conflicts of interest exist. Reviewers should be chosen so that, collectively, they can evaluate all necessary technical aspects of the manuscript. Ensure that the reviews received are timely and informative.Communicate with authors and reviewers during the review process as needed.
Decisions after review
Make Editorial decisions with reasonable speed and communicating them in a clear and constructive manner to the internal editor. Recommendations for decisions post-review should be circulated to the relevant in-house editor within 5 days of at least two reports being returned. Communicate the decision to the authors in a way that explains the editorial decision and makes clear the next steps, if any.
Other Responsibilities
- You are responsible for notifying the in-house Editor if you want to step down so that appropriate action can be taken. We have a 1 month notice period
- Bring on-the-ground insights into your field of research, including suggesting potential authors and proposing special collection themes
- Act as ambassador for the journal and reach out to authors and readers in the community and in your geographical areas
- Suggest events, lab visit or other outreach activities that the journal may benefit from and that could be attended by the EBM or one of the internal Editors
- Consider writing Editorials for the journal
- Become familiar with and maintain the high ethical standards of the journal
- Make recommendations to improve the journal and the service that it offers to authors, reviewers, and readers
