Topic Collections

A Topic Collection is a bundle of articles all focusing on a specific, narrow area of research, published by a single journal. This Topic Collection offers researchers and clinicians in the field a deep dive into the topic, allowing them to quickly get up to speed with the latest research in the area. Topic Collections can also provide a great opportunity to encourage new areas of research or to re-examine topics from a new perspective. Topic Collections can help articles become more discoverable, readable, and citable.

Topic Collection manuscripts are subject to the usual editorial processes of the journal they are submitted to. BMJ has rigorous peer review standards and the journal’s Editor-in-Chief has oversight of the entire peer review process for Topic Collection manuscripts. In addition, BMJ has stringent processes to monitor manuscripts and ensure the integrity of the review process is not compromised.

Lead Editors of a Topic Collection will manage peer review, invite reviewers and make a recommendation, but the final decision is made by the Editor-in-Chief, ensuring the highest standards for authors, readers and the global research community. Where Guest Editors are authors of manuscripts, editorial decisions will be made independently of the Guest Editors. Following the COPE guidelines for guest-edited collections, peer review for submissions from Guest Editors will instead be handled by the journal’s Editor-in-Chief. 

Read about the benefits of publishing your work in a Topic Collection and becoming a Guest Editor, and see our open calls for papers.