Online First allows publication of selected articles ~3 weeks after final acceptance, months ahead of publication in a journal issue. Advanced publication establishes primacy for the work, with the initial online publication date included on the final version.
Articles are available as both copy edited, author proofed, typeset PDFs and full text. While we change our model from unedited manuscript PDFs (together with an abstract/extract until the final version appears in the journal [read our disclaimer]) there may be a mixture of both types. The publication date, stated on the PDF, is the day the article became available online. The initial version is indexed by PubMed and the article is fully citable, [see how to cite].
Articles are available from:
Each Online First article has a unique Digital Object Identifier (DOI). This should be included in all citations.
Use the citation format:
Brice G, Child AH, Evans A, Bell R. Milroy disease and the VEGFR-3 mutation phenotype. Br J Sports Med. Published Online First: 5 February 2005.
doi:10.1136/bjsm.2004.001234
Use the citation format:
Brice G, Child AH, Evans A, Bell R. 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 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
As most of the Online First articles are published as unedited manuscripts we are not in a position to grant permission to reuse this material as it may change during the editing and typesetting process (this applies to text, tables and figures). When final versions are published please use the [Request Permissions] link that will appear in the article. For further information please contact permissions{at}bmjgroup.com
The initial version of Online First articles are papers in manuscript form that have been accepted and published but they have not been copy edited and not yet appeared in a printed issue of the journal. Copyediting may lead to differences between the Online First version and the final version; there may also be differences in the quality of the graphics. Edited, typeset versions of the articles may be published as they become available prior to final print publication. Should you wish to comment on this article please do so via our eLetter facility (link found in the content box to the right of the title in the abstract view).