About

Aims and scope

Trials encompasses all aspects of the performance and findings of randomized controlled trials in human health. We publish articles on general trial methodology and research into trial processes, as well as study protocols and statistical analysis plans for randomised controlled trials, commentaries and traditional results papers - regardless of outcome or significance of findings.

Our aim is to promote transparency in the reporting of randomised trials and build an evidence base that will help inform the design and reporting of future trials. Within this remit, we consider articles or study protocols assessing aspects of the design, conduct or reporting of trials, as well as assessment and evaluation of lessons learnt from past trials, including those that were prematurely ended. We advocate for the collective success for trials and the importance of linking publications together (the thread of evidence).

To facilitate complete and transparency reporting of research, Trials does not ask authors to adhere to strict word limits. We request that authors provide the detail required to make the research replicable. We ask that authors communicate not only all outcome measures, as well as varying analyses and interpretations, but also in-depth descriptions of what they did and what they learnt. This sharing of direct experience is fundamental to improving the quality and conduct of trials worldwide.

Trials aims to experiment with, and refine, innovative approaches to improving communication about randomized controlled trials. We are keen to move beyond publishing traditional trial results articles (although these are included), and we believe this journal represents an exciting opportunity to advance the science and reporting of trials.

Open access

All articles published by Trials are made freely and permanently accessible online immediately upon publication, without subscription charges or registration barriers. Further information about open access can be found here.

As authors of articles published in Trials you are the copyright holders of your article and have granted to any third party, in advance and in perpetuity, the right to use, reproduce or disseminate your article according to the licence terms.

For those of you who are US government employees or are prevented from being copyright holders for similar reasons, BMC can accommodate non-standard copyright lines. Please contact us if further information is needed.

Article-processing charges

Authors who publish open access in Trials are required to pay an article processing charge (APC). The APC price will be determined from the date on which the article is accepted for publication.

The current APC, subject to VAT or local taxes where applicable, for Research, Methodology, Reviews, and Study Protocols is: £1890.00/$2590.00/€2190.00.

Commentaries, Letters, and Updates are subject to an APC of £1045.00/$1525.00/€1245.00.

Visit our open access support portal and our Journal Pricing FAQs for further information.

Open access funding

Visit Springer Nature’s open access funding & support services for information about research funders and institutions that provide funding for APCs.

Springer Nature offers agreements that enable institutions to cover open access publishing costs. Learn more about our open access agreements to check your eligibility and discover whether this journal is included.

Springer Nature offers APC waivers and discounts for articles published in our fully open access journals whose corresponding authors are based in the world’s lowest income countries (see our APC waivers and discounts policy for further information). Requests for APC waivers and discounts from other authors will be considered on a case-by-case basis, and may be granted in cases of financial need (see our open access policies for journals for more information). All applications for discretionary APC waivers and discounts should be made at the point of manuscript submission; requests made during the review process or after acceptance are unable to be considered.

2025 APCs

For information about the APC applicable for articles accepted for publication next year, please see our journal lists.

Indexing services

All articles published in Trials are included in:

CAS
Citebase
Current contents
DOAJ
Embase
MEDLINE
OAIster
PubMed
PubMed Central
Science Citation Index Expanded
SCImago
Scopus
SOCOLAR
Zetoc

The full text of all articles is deposited in digital archives around the world to guarantee long-term digital preservation. You can also access all articles published by BioMed Central on SpringerLink.

Peer-review policy

Peer-review is the system used to assess the quality of a manuscript before it is published. Independent researchers in the relevant research area assess submitted manuscripts for originality, validity and significance to help Editors determine whether the manuscript should be published in their journal. You can read more about the peer-review process here.

Trials operates an open peer-review system, where the reviewers' names are included on the peer review reports for authors. In addition, if the article is published, the named reviewer reports are published online alongside the article under a Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0. Previous versions of the manuscript and all author responses to the reviewers are available by contacting info@biomedcentral.com.

The benefit of open peer review is that it increases transparency. The peer reviewers and Editors are fully accountable for the decisions made, bias is reduced as reviewer reports are named, published reports can serve an educational purpose in helping facilitate training and research into peer review, and reviewers can get credit for their work.

Submitted manuscripts will generally be reviewed by two or more experts who will be asked to evaluate whether the manuscript is scientifically sound and coherent, whether it duplicates already published work, and whether or not the manuscript is sufficiently clear for publication. The Editors will reach a decision based on these reports and, where necessary, they will consult with members of the Editorial Board.

Study protocols for randomized trials will be reviewed by a Protocol Editor, who will assess the manuscript's adherence to SPIRIT guidance. Protocols which have been peer-reviewed as part of an external funding application may not require further external review. You will be asked to provide proof of funding on submission to the journal.

In cases where the journal is unable to find sufficient peer reviewers, the services of a publishing partner, Research Square, may be used to identify suitable reviewers and provide reports to avoid further delays for authors. Reviewers recruited by Research Square are paid a small honorarium for completing the review within a specified timeframe. Honoraria are paid regardless of the reviewer recommendation. With Research Square, a double-blind peer review system is in operation.

In cases where reports have been obtained by Research Square, the peer review reports will be unsigned unless the reviewer opts in to sign the report.

Editorial policies

All manuscripts submitted to Trials should adhere to BioMed Central's editorial policies.

Once your article is accepted, it will be processed by production and published shortly afterwards. In some cases, articles may be held for a short period of time prior to publication. If you have any concerns or particular requirements please contact the Journal.

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Citing articles in Trials

Articles in Trials should be cited in the same way as articles in a traditional journal. Because articles are not printed, they do not have page numbers; instead, they are given a unique article number.

Article citations follow this format:

Authors: Title. Trials [year], [volume number]:[article number].

e.g. Roberts LD, Hassall DG, Winegar DA, Haselden JN, Nicholls AW, Griffin JL: Increased hepatic oxidative metabolism distinguishes the action of Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor delta from Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor gamma in the Ob/Ob mouse. Trials 2009, 1:115.

refers to article 115 from Volume 1 of the journal.

Appeals and complaints

Authors who wish to appeal a rejection or make a complaint should follow the procedure outlined in the BMC Editorial Policies .

Benefits of publishing with BMC

High visibility

Trials's open access policy allows maximum visibility of articles published in the journal as they are available to a wide, global audience.

Speed of publication

Trials offers a fast publication schedule whilst maintaining rigorous peer review; all articles must be submitted online, and peer review is managed fully electronically (articles are distributed in PDF form, which is automatically generated from the submitted files). Articles will be published with their final citation after acceptance, in both fully browsable web form, and as a formatted PDF.

Flexibility

Online publication in Trials gives you the opportunity to publish large datasets, large numbers of color illustrations and moving pictures, to display data in a form that can be read directly by other software packages so as to allow readers to manipulate the data for themselves, and to create all relevant links (for example, to PubMed, to sequence and other databases, and to other articles).

Promotion and press coverage

Articles published in Trials are included in article alerts and regular email updates. Some may be highlighted on Trials’s pages and on the BMC homepage.

In addition, articles published in Trials may be promoted by press releases to the general or scientific press. These activities increase the exposure and number of accesses for articles published in Trials. A list of articles recently press-released by journals published by BMC is available here.

Copyright

As an author of an article published in Trials you retain the copyright of your article and you are free to reproduce and disseminate your work. For further information, see our guide to licensing, copyright and author rights.

For further information about the advantages of publishing in a journal from BMC, please click here.