Journal of Biomedical Informatics

The premier methodology journal in the field



The Journal of Biomedical Informatics (JBI) is the premier methodology journal in the field of biomedical informatics. JBI publishes research on new methodologies and techniques that have general applicability and form the basis for the evolving science of biomedical informatics. Papers should focus on a real-world biomedical or clinical problem, develop a novel approach to address the problem, and evaluate its appropriateness in comparison to the current state-of-the-art (SoA) methods. Involvement of healthcare professionals in motivating the work and evaluation of results is expected.

Focus Areas and Topics of Interest

JBI seeks to publish papers that make a conceptual contribution to the field, typically by describing an innovation in methodology or technique or by discussing substantive generalizable lessons that have been learned in the context of an informatics project. When a methodological contribution has a theoretical basis, that theory is an appropriate emphasis for papers as well. Research papers may also present a novel "method of methods" explaining how to apply the existing methods to a space of biomedical problems that share unique characteristics influencing the choice of methods.

JBI publishes papers on a wide range of informatics topics. However, across these topics, papers must build on deep understanding and utilization of medical domain knowledge and should consider pragmatic translation for clinical care or applications. Topics of interest include (but are not limited to) clinical decision support, patient safety, natural language processing, artificial intelligence and machine learning, knowledge representation for healthcare, translational bioinformatics, clinical research informatics, and clinical informatics. Additional considerations for papers in the areas of translational bioinformatics, machine learning, security and privacy are provided below. Irrespective of the topic, papers must focus on novel informatics methods and its comparison to the current approaches.

Manuscripts can be submitted in the following categories: original research, methodological review, commentaries, special communication, letters to the editor, book reviews, and editorials (see additional details on each of these categories below). Given the international readership of JBI, country-specific health systems or approaches will be considered only if they offer generalizable lessons that are relevant to the broader readership, regardless of their country, language, culture, or health system.

Specific considerations for manuscripts in certain topical areas have also been provided in recent editorials.

If you are considering an article with a focus on translational bioinformatics, please read this editorial. Biologic discoveries based on the use of routine informatics techniques may be important biologic contributions, but are not suitable for JBI. In addition, please note that JBI publishes bioinformatics papers only if they deal with issues in translational (human) science (e.g., translational bioinformatics papers).

If you are considering an article describing a new machine learning approach, please read this editorial. Machine learning papers would be considered only if the methods that are introduced demonstrate substantial novelty and advancement beyond the current SoA and their evaluation is sound and includes an assessment of the potential of the method to be used in clinical practice. For example, submissions reporting publishing marginally SoA findings without an in-depth analysis or discussion of how the methods are potentially generalizable (or applicable in a wider setting) would not be considered. Novel and important clinical problems addressed by existing machine learning methods may warrant Special Communication papers if their discussion includes novel insights or lessons learned for future research in such domains.

Authors considering an article on biomedical privacy and security, please read this editorial. To be considered, the privacy and security methods that are introduced should demonstrate substantial novelty and advancement beyond the SoA, should be specific to the biomedical informatics domain, and their practical application and/or likely real-world usefulness in the biomedical domain.

Please also note that papers related to signal processing, imaging, medical devices, or communication networks are generally considered outside the scope of the journal. To be considered, such papers must introduce novel informatics methods that build on deep understanding and utilization of medical domain knowledge and should be translatable into applications. Papers on such topics should focus on information processing and management or knowledge-based approaches.

Please also consult the editorial that explains where to direct Artificial Intelligence in Medicine-related manuscripts for peer review and possible publication, considering the different scope of the three Elsevier medical informatics journals: JBI, Artificial Intelligence in Medicine, and Intelligence-based Medicine.

Paper Categories

Papers are generally of seven types:

Original research: Presentation and discussion of a biomedically or clinically motivated system or approach that has required the development of innovative methods rather than the application of established techniques. Motivating applications may be discussed, but the new method should be discussed so that generalizability is clear, ideally with an assessment of its range of applicability. Please choose the article type "Research Paper" during the submission process.

Methodological review: Reviews of a methodological approach that summarize its introduction, use, successes, and limitations. Such reviews will also often propose future research directions or critique a method and discuss the range of problems for which it may not be an appropriate solution. Note that such reviews should focus on a method or approach, not on specific application domain (e.g., avoid submitting on reviews such as "Computers in Diabetes Management") Please choose the article type "Review article" during the submission process.

Special communication: These are articles that address an issue of broad interest to the methodologically-oriented informatics research community and clearly communicate generalizable novel conclusions/recommendations/lessons-learned that are useful to the developers or users of biomedical informatics methods. These lessons should be based on the application of existing biomedical informatics methods and should present such results. They may report on the results of research studies, including an application of an existing biomedical informatics approach in a new informatics domain. If submission of a special communication is being considered, please submit a brief proposal to [email protected] beforehand. If your submission of a Special Communication has been approved by the editor, please choose the article type "Short Communication" during the submission process and specify in the cover letter that your manuscript is intended as a Special Communication. Note that this is just a category of submission, used for technical reasons in the Editorial Manager information system; your paper does not need to be particularly short.

Please note the maximum word count and count of figures and tables in submission of Original Research, Special Communication, Methodological Review papers:

Structured abstract (<= 350 words, usual structure of Objective, Methods, Results, Conclusion).

6,000 words for the body of the manuscript (excluding abstract, references, appendices, figures and tables).

Total of figures and tables: 8.

Commentaries: These are articles, generally shorter than research papers, that tend to discuss previously published articles or a theme that is an important area of focus for the methodological basis of biomedical informatics research and its application. Commentaries are often invited, but may be submitted by anyone after a discussion with the editors. If submission of a commentary is being considered, please submit a brief proposal to [email protected] beforehand. If your submission of a Commentary has been solicited, or approved by the editor, please choose the article type "Commentary" during the submission process.

Letters to the Editor: Letters may be submitted and will be considered for possible publication in the journal. They typically comment on a previously published paper. Please choose the article type "Correspondence" during the submission process.

Book reviews: The editors will occasionally identify a new book that is likely to be of interest to the JBI readership. They will invite individuals to write reviews of these volumes, and such submissions are by invitation only. Unsolicited book reviews will not be considered. Please choose the article type "Book review" during the submission process.

Editorials: The editors or their invitees will occasionally publish editorials, but unsolicited editorials will not be considered. Please choose the article type "Editorial" during the submission process.

Special Issues

We devote two or three issues per year to special methodological topics overseen by guest editors who propose such special issues to us. Further information regarding special issues can be found in the Guide for Authors.

When an author is submitting a manuscript in response to a call for papers for a special thematic issue, the submission category should be the Special Issue title, but the cover letter should indicate whether the article is an original research paper, methodological review, a special communication, or a commentary.

Prof. Mor Peleg
Editor-in-Chief