Frequently asked questions

What is BMJ pico?

BMJ pico is an evidence abstract prepared by authors who have their research published in the BMJ print journal. As always, the full research article is published first on bmj.com with open access and no word limit.

Why are we making this change?

The main aim of BMJ pico is to increase the readership of research articles in the print BMJ and give authors control over the abridging. We are receiving and publishing more research and we want to publish it as quickly and usefully as possible. Moreover, we believe research belongs online. Many important journals have no print editions, and both authors and readers are now used to the idea of online only publication. BMJ pico will also allow us to fit more research papers into each print issue, thus offering speedier print publication while saving paper and freeing up resources  we would rather spend on improving our services to authors and readers. Print readers won’t confuse what they read in print with the full version, as has sometimes happened with the previous, longer, format for abridged research. They should also find it easier to quickly grasp the design and key results of a study and decide whether they would like to read it in full on bmj.com.

When shall I write the pico?

There is no need for authors to prepare a BMJ pico to submit along with their full research article. Authors produce their own BMJ pico, using a template from us, only when we make a provisional offer of publication.

Do I have to provide a BMJ pico for my research article?

Because publication of research on bmj.com is definitive, rather than interim “epublication ahead of print”, authors who do not wish to abridge their articles using BMJ pico will be able to opt for online only publication.

What does this change mean for our readers?

BMJ pico is a short and succinct research article which clearly states the research question and answer, sums up the key scientific points, and includes prominent statements about funding and any competing interests. It provides a more accessible read for busy clinicians.

How does BMJ pico affect citations?

The citation will be year, volume, elocator (a unique identifier for that article): ( eg BMJ 2008;337:a145)—and this is what will appear in Medline, PubMed, and other bibliographical indexes. As always, we will print this citation on every item we publish, in print and online, and authors will need to use it when they cite BMJ articles. And each BMJ pico will continue to carry a reminder like this: “This is a summary of a paper that was published on bmj.com: BMJ 2009;000:b000”.

How do I find research articles on bmj.com?

Several ways exist to find articles.

•        To browse content, scan the home and research channel pages – which are updated frequently and feature recently published articles.

•        For a more systematic scan of what has been published in the past 7 days – use the Online Table of Contents.

•        To search for specific research articles go to the Research channel page (which has a tab at the top marked Research) and use the search box in the second column. Select article type and time period and a list of all articles of that type within the period will be returned. A key word can also be inserted in this search box to narrow the search further

•        Use the Advanced search for searching for specific articles or across all article types by author, title word, keyword or by elocator, doi, or (for references predating our move to continuous online publication in July 2007) volume and page number.

What will BMJ pico mean for impact factor calculations?

Abridging research for the print BMJ has no bearing on impact factor calculation because this occurs via bmj.com.  

How do I prepare my full research article for the BMJ?

We continuously develop and update our advice and policies on research and our services to authors, however, so for all sorts of reasons you may want to check our resources for authors and particularly those about research articles  before submitting your work.

How do I submit my research?

Please send all submissions electronically to our online editorial office  - except letters to the editor, which should be sent to bmj.com as rapid responses to articles we have published, and obituaries which should be sent as Word files to obituaries@bmj.com