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Online First

Online First allows publication of articles ~3 weeks after acceptance, often months ahead of publication in a printed journal issue. Advanced publication establishes primacy for the work which is indexed by PubMed.

Online First articles are copy edited, typeset and approved by the author before being published as both typeset PDFs and searchable full text. The date of Online First publication should always be included in citations  [see below].

Articles are available from:

  • the journal homepage
  • topic collections
  • standard author and keyword searches
  • standard searches on search engines including PubMed and Google

When you receive your proof please check it carefully, corrections cannot be made after it has been approved for publication, irrespective of whether it is Online First or published directly into a print issue. The only difference between Online First and issue publication will be the citation details and the addition of the Online First publication date to the second version.

How to cite Online First articles

Each Online First article has a unique Digital Object Identifier (DOI). This should be included in all citations.

BEFORE the article has appeared in an issue

Use the citation format:
Brice G, Child AH, Evans A, et al. Milroy disease and the VEGFR-3 mutation phenotype. Br J Sports Med. Published Online First: 5 February 2004. doi:10.1136/bjsm.2004.001234

AFTER the article has appeared in an issue

Use the citation format:
Brice G, Child AH, Evans A, et al. Milroy disease and the VEGFR-3 mutation phenotype. Br J Sports Med 2005;42:98–102. doi:10.1136/bjsm.2004.001234 [published Online First: 5 February 2004].

Digital Object Identifiers

Digital Object Identifier (DOIs) are global and persistent values that are uniquely related to a single electronic entity.

Each Online First article has a unique DOI which is the permanent identifier of all versions (unedited manuscript, edited proof, published article). The DOI appears on every version and should always be included in the citation even if you want to cite a print version of an article.

The DOI can be found at the top of each article with the date of publication. For example:
Br J Sports Med. Published Online First:16 February 2005.
doi:10.1136/bjsm.2003.012345