A service for the members of the SMW supporting association
Affiliated researchers from member institutions of the SMW supporting association can have study proposals assessed at an early stage by an epidemiologist / methodological reviewer. This aims to help evaluate the feasibility, sharpen the study design, and avoid methodological pitfalls and waste of resources.
If the corresponding original article is then submitted to the SMW, it can be assessed by the same methodological expert as part of the standard review process. As with all submitted articles, acceptance for publication will also depend on the outcome of the peer review by additional experts and the assessment of the editors.
Submission of a clinical research proposal
Study proposals can be sent by email to the editorial office at any stage.
The proposal should be written in English and not exceed 4 pages (A4, Word or PDF). It should address the following key points where applicable:
- Background (short)
- Study aims
- Population
- Intervention/exposures
- Comparison
- Outcomes
- Study design and procedures
- Planned analyses
- Open points / questions
A comprehensive searchable database of reporting guidelines for different study types can be found on the Equator Network website.
Please send your proposal by email with the subject line “Study proposal” to: office[at]smw.ch
It will be forwarded to a methodological reviewer and usually processed within one week. You will receive feedback with methodological comments and answers to your questions.
For this service, you will be asked to make a (not cost-covering) contribution of 250 CHF. The administrative costs are covered by the SMW. Please indicate your billing address in the proposal.
Please note that no calculations will be carried out by the SMW. The responsibility for planning and conducting your study lies with the submitting researchers. Issues related to the approval by an ethics committee are not within the scope of the service.
Submission of the study publication to SMW is welcome, but not a condition for using the service.
The Swiss Medical Weekly offers open access and methodological and linguistic review at no cost to the authors, thus avoiding publication bias and supporting young researchers in their scientific careers. This is a courageous, innovative and necessary choice that we support.
