Are standards required for preprint publishing platforms?
A recent BMJ editorial discusses the benefits and risks of the use of preprints during the current coronavirus pandemic.
Are peer review decisions arbitrary?
Mathematical model highlights the arbitrariness of peer review and finds that more innovative papers are less likely to be selected for presentation.
Is preregistering scientific research becoming mainstream?
PLOS ONE now offers Registered Reports, shifting peer review focus from results to the quality of study design. Is this part of the future of open science?
The ICMJE announces a new author disclosure form: what has changed and why?
Find out more about the impact the new ICMJE disclosure form will have on authors publishing in medical journals.
Negative results can have a positive impact, but only if they are available!
The reproducibility crisis is linked to publication bias and a paucity of negative data. Find out how and why to get such data published.
Should researchers be able to suggest peer reviewers?
Many journals ask submitting authors to suggest recommended peer reviewers, potentially risking bias and misconduct. Do the benefits outweigh these risks?
Can you trust an article’s abstract?
Abstract ‘spin’ can distort a study’s findings and lead to inappropriate conclusions being drawn. But just how prevalent is this problem?
How to overcome the issue of poorly reported clinical trial outcomes
A number of initiatives developed to prevent researchers from only reporting the most impressive outcomes of clinical trials are explored in an opinion piece from The BMJ.
Are meta-analyses producing more controversy than answers?
A recent article from Science explores how meta-analyses may be less authoritative than they seem.
The elimination of negative study results: reporting and citation bias
Is the apparent efficacy of treatments being altered by bias? A recent study takes a closer look at the cumulative effects of reporting and citation biases.
Textbooks: at risk of being biased and outdated?
Dr Richard Smith reviews the potential pitfalls of textbooks in a recent opinion piece for The BMJ.