Interactive Journal of Medical Research final-sections checklist

Finishing the Discussion does not finish a manuscript for the Interactive Journal of Medical Research. The JMIR Publications instructions place several declarations and supporting sections between the main text and the references. Leaving those pieces for the submission portal can turn a nearly ready paper into a last-minute search through emails, approvals, contribution notes, and data-sharing decisions.

This guide answers one narrow question: what should authors check after the Discussion when preparing an Original Paper for the Interactive Journal of Medical Research? The section order and policy reminders below come from the current JMIR Publications Instructions for Authors, which apply across its journals while warning that additional journal-specific instructions may also apply. The practical cross-checks are conservative preparation advice, not extra journal rules.

Confirm the article type before using the sequence

JMIR Publications presents an IMRD format for article types that contain original research data. Its sequence begins with the title, abstract, and keywords, continues through Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion, and then moves into the closing sections covered here.

Do not apply that order automatically to every submission. Reviews, perspectives, letters, protocols, and other article types may use a different structure or supporting package. Start with the article type selected for the Interactive Journal of Medical Research and compare it with the current instructions and submission checklist.

The source also notes that author instructions can change. A previously accepted paper is useful for understanding the journal's style, but it is not a substitute for the current submission requirements.

Close the Discussion before building the declarations block

For Original Papers, JMIR Publications gives examples of useful Discussion subheadings: Principal Results, Limitations, Comparison With Prior Work, and Conclusions. Those labels help separate interpretation from the administrative and transparency material that follows.

The same instructions encourage further subheadings inside the main Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion sections. When a study has several methods or stages, the Results subheadings should mirror the Methods subheadings where appropriate. That pairing is worth checking before the declarations are assembled, because misplaced results or methods should not be hidden in an acknowledgment or appendix.

Practical preparation step: freeze the main-text section order first, then create a clearly labeled block for the closing sections. This makes missing headings visible without asking formatting software to infer author intent.

Separate acknowledgments from funding

After the Discussion, the published instructions list Acknowledgements and then a Funding Statement. They specifically note that funding sources should be declared, preferably in a section separate from acknowledgments.

That distinction matters because the two sections answer different questions. Acknowledgments identify contributions that do not meet authorship criteria or other assistance the authors choose to recognize. The funding statement identifies the financial support connected to the work. A single paragraph labeled only “Acknowledgments” can make it unclear whether funding has been declared or simply omitted.

A careful formatting pass can check that both headings are present when relevant and that the funding statement is not buried inside general thanks. Authors remain responsible for deciding whom to acknowledge and for the completeness and accuracy of every funding disclosure.

Give conflicts of interest their own heading

The next listed section is Conflicts of Interest. Treat it as a required decision point, not a phrase to copy from another article.

Every author should review the current JMIR Publications conflict-of-interest policy and provide the disclosure that applies to the manuscript. If the authors determine that no conflicts exist, the final wording should still be deliberate and consistent with the journal's current requirements.

Formatting can keep the heading and disclosure visible. It cannot decide whether a relationship is relevant, reconcile conflicting author statements, or make a legal or ethical judgment for the authors.

Add a data availability section deliberately

JMIR Publications places Data Availability after conflicts of interest. The presence of the heading should prompt an author review of what can actually be shared, where it is available, and what limitations apply.

Do not invent a repository, access route, identifier, or availability claim merely to fill the section. If data cannot be made publicly available, the authors should state the accurate, policy-compliant position supported by the study's approvals, consent, contracts, and applicable rules.

The useful formatting check is consistency. Repository names, links, identifiers, access conditions, and related statements should agree across the manuscript, submission form, and any supporting files. Articlo can surface mismatches, but authors remain responsible for the sharing decision and the truth of the statement.

Record author contributions as a separate section

Author Contributions follows Data Availability in the JMIR Publications sequence. Assemble this section from the authors' approved contribution record rather than from the author byline alone.

Names, initials, and roles should be consistent across the title page, contribution section, submission system, and any required forms. If a contributor's role or authorship status is unresolved, flag it for the author group before upload instead of guessing.

The instructions also state that all authors and coauthors must have an ORCID at the time of publication. They recommend that corresponding authors encourage coauthors to obtain one during manuscript preparation, while noting that ORCIDs can be added after submission. A final package checklist can track ORCID readiness without falsely treating a missing identifier as manuscript content.

Define abbreviations and keep the list useful

The listed sequence includes an Abbreviations section after Author Contributions. Use it to support the manuscript, not to create a second glossary of every shortened term that appears once.

Compare the list with the title, abstract, keywords, main text, tables, figures, and supplements. Remove entries that are no longer used, add terms that genuinely need definition, and ensure that the same abbreviation is not expanded in two different ways.

This is a mechanical consistency pass. Authors still decide which terms are scientifically appropriate and whether a specialized abbreviation helps or hinders readers.

Treat the Multimedia Appendix as a governed part of the package

JMIR Publications lists a Multimedia Appendix as optional supporting material and gives examples such as presentation files, screenshots, video or audio files, spreadsheets, and statistical-software files containing original data.

Optional does not mean informal. Each file should have a clear purpose, a stable name, and a matching reference in the manuscript where needed. Remove drafts, duplicate exports, hidden comments, and files that the authors did not intend to submit. Check that no appendix exposes private participant information, credentials, or internal storage details.

For article types that require reporting guidelines—such as randomized trials, systematic literature reviews, and scoping reviews—the instructions say the completed reporting checklist must be uploaded in a multimedia appendix. That checklist is not interchangeable with a generic supplement. Verify the correct reporting guideline for the actual study design and use the current version requested by the journal.

Finish with references and a package-wide consistency pass

References come after the optional Multimedia Appendix in the displayed Original Paper format. The instructions state that papers should follow the American Medical Association Manual of Style, while also directing authors to the journal's current detailed guidance.

Before upload, compare in-text citations with the reference list and check that every cited table, figure, appendix, and supporting file exists. Do not fabricate missing bibliographic information or infer that a reference is correct because its formatting looks consistent. Articlo does not verify the underlying sources.

Then review the entire closing package in order:

• Discussion subheadings are complete and aligned with the study structure.
• Acknowledgments and funding are separated where relevant.
• Conflicts of Interest has an author-approved disclosure.
• Data Availability states only what the authors can support.
• Author Contributions matches the approved author record.
• Abbreviations are used and defined consistently.
• Any Multimedia Appendix is intentional, privacy-safe, and correctly referenced.
• Required reporting checklists are present for the selected study type.
• References and supporting-file citations reconcile with the files being uploaded.

Prepare the package without changing the research

Articlo formats author-provided manuscripts and checks them against stored journal requirements. It does not write research, verify references, decide disclosure content, make data-sharing decisions, or guarantee acceptance. Authors remain responsible for the research, ethics, declarations, files, and submission choices.

Review the Interactive Journal of Medical Research preparation path or run a free readiness check to identify structural and formatting gaps before upload.