MedEdPORTAL is a unique type of peer-reviewed publication. From its conception, MedEdPORTAL was designed to serve as a prestigious publishing service through which educators can receive scholarly recognition for their educational works. Structured like a traditional print-based journal, MedEdPORTAL:

• Maintains an Editor and an Editorial Board.

• Follows a peer-review policy that mirrors practices employed by traditional print-based journals.

• Employs a rigorous peer-review process based on accepted standards of scholarship using invited expert reviewers to conduct all reviews.

While MedEdPORTAL is not a typical journal, all submissions that are successfully peer-reviewed are considered formal publications that may be referenced by a standard citation. MedEdPORTAL publications are comparable to peer-reviewed research manuscripts published through traditional journals. Publications in MedEdPORTAL are considered compelling scholarly contributions by many institutions and may be used to support promotion and tenure decisions. For more information regarding the scholarly aspect of MedEdPORTAL review the MedEdPORTAL Educational Scholarship Guides.

Types of Peer Review

All materials submitted to MedEdPORTAL through the online submission form undergo a rigorous screening and peer-review process. If accepted and published, the publications will receive the distinction MedEdPORTAL Peer Reviewed. Because MedEdPORTAL also works with many specialty collections to offer the widest possible range of compelling educational materials, it is necessary to offer additional evaluation options to accommodate the large and diverse nature of partner collections. The various review processes are described below:

Items labeled as Peer Reviewed have been evaluated by external reviewers and found to be worthy of inclusion within MedEdPORTAL. This is the only form of evaluation available to submitting authors. Peer Reviewed items are considered formal publications.

Items labeled as Editorial Reviewed have been evaluated by the MedEdPORTAL Editor and/or Associate Editors and found to be worthy of inclusion within MedEdPORTAL. Editorial Review is only reserved for special collections and, in rare circumstances, invited submissions of extraordinary quality (e.g. virtual patient cases). Editorial Review is not available to submitting authors. Editorial Reviewed items are formal publications.

Items labeled as Special Collection Reviewed have been evaluated by at least one external reviewer. Special Collection Review is reserved for large external collections of multimedia resources (e.g. McGill Molson Medical Informatics collection) which do not meet all the minimal requirements for submission to MedEdPORTAL. Special Collection Review is not available to submitting authors. This form of publication does not hold the same level of prestige or distinction as the previous two forms of publications.

All MedEdPORTAL publications will be clearly marked with the appropriate review logo based on the evaluation approach that was used. These practices are consistent with processes endorsed by the World Association of Medical Educators.