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The BMJ's Online First section allows us to publish articles as soon as they have been edited, ahead of the publication in the print BMJ.
Each article will show the bibliographical data and an abstract and the full text will be available as a PDF file. An HTML version will become available when the article also appears in print.
The version that appears in Online First is the definitive article, edited to the BMJ's normal standards. Publication takes place on the day that the article is posted on bmj.com (the date is given at the top of the article), and the article is fully citable (see below for how to cite it).
If an Online First article meets the relevant criteria it will appear in searches, topic collections, and email alerts.
Most of the BMJ's full length research articles are now published in two formats: electronic long and paper short (ELPS). The electronic long version is the definite version of the article, and this is the version that will appear in Online First. The short version, designed for readers of the print BMJ, will subsequently appear in a weekly issue of the BMJ. At that time the long version will move from the Online First page and will be available from the electronic table of contents of the issue containing the short version.
For articles (such as short reports) that do not appear in the ELPS
format, the Online First version is the same as the subsequent print
version. Similarly, when the article appears in a print issue of the BMJ the article will move from the Online First page and appear in the table of contents of the relevant issue of the print BMJ.
Online First articles are identified by a unique number-the Digital Object Identifier (DOI). This will appear at the top of each PDF together with the date of publication.
BMJ doi:10.1136/bmj.37939.736944.87 (published 15 August 2003)
The doi will also appear at the end of each article, under the accepted date.
This doi is a permanent identifier of all versions of that article, whether short or long and whether electronic or print. Thus the doi should ideally be included in the citation even if you want to cite a print version of an article. The doi must be cited for a version that is available only in electronic form (either because it has only just been published online or because it is the long version of an ELPS article).
The doi will appear in every version of an article. In all versions it will appear at the end, after the accepted date. In the Online First version it will appear at the top of the PDF together with the publication date. In the print version of an article it will appear at the foot of the first page together with the URL where the article can be found and with the date of Online First publication.
The doi needs to appear in all references to original research articles that appear first in Online First. There are two ways of citing a article, depending on when it is being cited.
To cite an electronic article that has not yet appeared in print please use the following citation format:
Alwick K, Vronken M, de Mos T, Thomas P. Cardiac risk factors: prospective cohort study. BMJ doi:10.1136/bmj.37939.736944.87 (published 15 August 2003).
Once the article has been printed the citation should also include the traditional year, volume, and page numbers, as well as the doi and original date of publication.
But there are two variants of the citation depending on whether the article has a long and a short version (the ELPS format)
A non-ELPS article
Vole P, Smith H, Brown N, Winken W. Treatments for malaria: randomised controlled trial. BMJ 2003;327:765-8 doi:10.1136/bmj.37939.736944.87 (published 15 August 2003).
An ELPS article
Allwick K, Vronken M, de Mos T, Thomas P. Cardiac risk factors: prospective cohort study. BMJ doi:10.1136/bmj.76901.882461.42 (full text published online 15 November 2003).
Please note the extra words in the final parenthesis in the reference to the print (shortened) version of an ELPS article: (full text published online 15 August 2003)
This is included to make it clear that, whereas the doi refers to both long and short versions, the print citation (2003;327:841-5) refers only to the short.
Read also the editorial
