Tomorrow I will have the honor of giving a lightning talk at the annual ALPSP Conference in my home city of Manchester in the UK. This is not just a highlight for me, but for those in the publishing community who are able to visit this wonderful city. As usual, there is much to delight … Continue reading Momentous Moment for Manchester Meet-up
Under Siege: The High Stakes of Medical Science
Medical research journals have long been the backbone of scientific advancement. They provide trusted outlets for sharing discoveries that shape healthcare, inform clinical practices, and ultimately save lives. Yet, in recent years, these journals have faced mounting threats that jeopardize their integrity, sustainability, and ability to disseminate high-quality research. Among the most pressing challenges are … Continue reading Under Siege: The High Stakes of Medical Science
Pros, Cons, and What You Should Know About Medical Research Preprints
Preprints have become something of a hot-button issue in medical publishing. Though many of us have heard the term, especially within the last 3 years, most people aren’t too familiar with what preprints actually are or their implications for future publication of research. As defined by the JAMA Network in 2020, a preprint is a … Continue reading Pros, Cons, and What You Should Know About Medical Research Preprints
Medical Publication Retractions: New Trends and Key Takeaways
In 2013, Dr. Ramón Estruch and his team published a report on the PREDIMED study. By all accounts, the paper was well-received— it was published in the highly-regarded New England Journal of Medicine, and as of December 2020, it boasted 2735 citations in Web of Science–indexed journals. There’s just one issue: the paper was retracted in 2018 because of … Continue reading Medical Publication Retractions: New Trends and Key Takeaways
Embracing SDGs in Medical Research Publishing
The United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have emerged as the primary international and interdisciplinary framework for promoting sustainability and equity. In a time of increasing polarization, politicization, and inequity, the SDGs offer a path toward a unified future where all can thrive. For the SDGs to succeed, however, all industries must embrace and embody their values. … Continue reading Embracing SDGs in Medical Research Publishing
The Dangers of Medical Academia’s ‘Publish or Perish’ Culture and How It Can Affect Clinical Practice
The phrase ‘publish or perish’ has become increasingly common in academia as a way to describe the (often unachievable and unsustainable) expectations placed on researchers to continually publish articles in peer-reviewed academic journals. Though the phrase itself has become increasingly common, the pressure to publish remains an inevitability for many researchers. The rise of the … Continue reading The Dangers of Medical Academia’s ‘Publish or Perish’ Culture and How It Can Affect Clinical Practice
The Importance of Volunteer Work in Medical Publications: From Editors-In-Chief to Peer Review
One of the underrecognized truths of scholarly publishing is its reliance on volunteer work. Researchers throughout most scientific communities share a sense of responsibility to volunteer their time and support the advancement of scientific literature, a holdover from times when journals operated with miniscule budgets and nearly unsustainable profit margins. Despite the recent skyrocket in … Continue reading The Importance of Volunteer Work in Medical Publications: From Editors-In-Chief to Peer Review
How Predatory Journal Citations Affect Legitimate Medical Publications and the Phenomenon of Citation Contamination
As predatory publishing has become increasingly common throughout the medical publication landscape, knowledge about these practices have increased in turn. Though a majority of researchers are now aware of the threat that predatory publishers pose, this education typically focuses on how researchers can avoid publishing their own research in predatory journals. There’s another threat from … Continue reading How Predatory Journal Citations Affect Legitimate Medical Publications and the Phenomenon of Citation Contamination
Six Red Flags for Identifying Falsified Data in Randomized Controlled Trial Publications
Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) are often upheld as the gold standard of medical research. As such, the academic community has been buzzing about news articles from Nature and Science reporting on a research study by John Carlisle. In his study, Carlisle claims that, of 526 evaluated manuscripts reporting RCTs, 73 (14%) had falsified data. Carlisle’s … Continue reading Six Red Flags for Identifying Falsified Data in Randomized Controlled Trial Publications
Open Science and Data Sharing: What Research and Publication Professionals Need to Know
The open science movement is poised to become a momentous industry shift in medical publication. The National Institutes of Health, one of the largest U.S. medical research funding bodies, recently implemented a policy requiring all applications to include a formal data management plan, with resultant data being publicly available. This policy, described as “seismic” by Nature, … Continue reading Open Science and Data Sharing: What Research and Publication Professionals Need to Know