The traditional publishing industry underwent a paradigm shift over the last decade, an expected outcome of the internet accessibility worldwide. With the steady increase in the number, and quality, of open access (OA) journals, many researchers are left wondering whether they should go that route or not. When deciding whether to make one’s research OA, […]
Should I Publish Open-Access? Things to Consider Read More »
In the early twentieth century, scientific publications in French, German and English were held in the same regard internationally. After World War II, the United States government began a major economic expansion that allowed it to become the richest and most influential country in the world. This gave the English language further prominence in many
Why Publish in English? Read More »
I’ve spent quite a bit of time recently analysing clinical datasets for a couple of projects. This has reminded me of the mistakes I have made in the past, and the lessons I have learned to make life SO much easier. I thought I’d share a few thoughts! Planning ahead and following some simple rules
Medical data cleansing and checking: Save time by planning ahead Read More »
Who remembers the days of mailing your valuable manuscript to a journal’s editorial office, or even faxing through your 20+-page document? Simpler times, maybe. Nowadays, you almost have to take an intensive course to come to grips with the complexities of some of the online manuscript submission and tracking systems used by journals and publishers.
Navigating the journal submission process – are you really prepared! Read More »
A meta-analysis is a powerful statistical procedure for combining and comparing data from multiple studies that have all tested a particular hypothesis with the objective of identifying patterns among the results. The meta-analysis can then be used for a variety of purposes:
Why perform a meta-analysis? Read More »
Reporting guidelines help and guide authors in the preparation and accurate reporting of research studies, e.g., CONSORT for randomized trials, STROBE for observational studies, PRISMA for systematic reviews, STARD for diagnostic accuracy studies, and CARE for case reports. Editors of biomedical journals will often ask authors to provide evidence that they used and adhered to
New tool helps authors find the right reporting guideline for their manuscript Read More »
Many peer-review journals now request reviewer recommendations during the submission process. Selecting suitable reviewer(s) is critical to facilitating and surviving the peer-review process. The recommended reviewer must be someone who is an expert within your speciality, is still active, and has recently published within your particular area of research. Selection Strategies.
Selecting reviewers for your submitted manuscript Read More »
I posted previously on reporting of scientific studies by the popular press. Diet related topics seem to be particularly prone to problems, I guess because they are particularly newsworthy. Diabetes also makes a good headline? A story from 2012 comes to mind, as a number of patients asked me about it. This study was published
Lies, damned lies, and statistics revisited Read More »
Publishing in an open access journal is one of the best strategies an author can employ to increase the readership of an article, and there is now increasing evidence to support the idea that free access to research increases both visibility and citation. However, there are a number of other simple techniques that an author
Top 10 tips to increase the readership of your research article Read More »
I read with interest reports of a recent ‘study’ by a scientist and journalist who managed to get a flawed piece of research published in a (non-refereed) scientific journal from where it was taken up by the popular press (http://io9.com/i-fooled-millions-into-thinking-chocolate-helps-weight-1707251800). The ‘research’ claimed to demonstrate that chocolate was a beneficial addition to weight reducing diets.
The Chocolate Question: Lies, damned lies, and statistics Read More »
