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(Note: I have cross-posted this with my blog on Dynamic Chiropractic, given the importance of the topic).
One of the hallmarks of scientific journal publication is the peer
review system. An editor cannot be knowledgeable about every possible area of
research the journal he or she edits receives for consideration. So the paper
is sent for review by people with expertise in the area the paper discusses,
and the editor then uses those comments to suggest changes, to reject the paper
or to accept it. As nost of us know, the usual response is a request to revise.
But peer review is also a human enterprise and as a result it is
subject to weakness, to abuse, to gamesmanship and to other peculiarities. There
have been reports of gaming peer review by people who actually review their own
work, or who are friends to others who have submitted. Peer review may also
prevent new ideas from receiving consideration since those ideas may stand
outside an established framework in a discipline.
In the end, this is actually a question of research integrity. That’s
why the new open source journal Research
Integrity and Peer Review is so refreshing. It is one of the Biomed Central
family of journals, and it can be found at http://researchintegrityjournal.biomedcentral.com/.
Its aim and scope states “Research Integrity and Peer Review is an international, open access, peer reviewed journal that encompasses
all aspects of integrity in research publication, including peer review, study
reporting, and research and publication ethics. Particular consideration is
given to submissions that address current controversies and limitations in the
field and offer potential solutions.”
It’s time that we look carefully at the
processes used in the dissemination of scientific information. This is a highly
volatile world that is suffering challenges it has never before had to cope
with, from predatory journals to exponential growth of information, to new
publishing models and the need for release of data from studies and the need
for trial registries. Scientific information is evidence, used to make clinical
decisions. Let’s make sure that that information is a rigorous as it can be.
This journal will help do just that.
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