Dataset Information

It's plain and simple: transparency is good for science and in the public interest.

ABSTRACT: In the past couple of years, there has been a growing focus on the need to make scientific output accessible to a greater number of people, especially in the field of clinical research. The public are being urged to become more well-informed and to ask their doctors about taking part in clinical trials. A key finding of a report from the Association of Medical Research Charities was that all published scientific papers would benefit from having a section in plain English. Researchers running a clinical trial are expected to provide a summary of their intended research at various stages of the research process. However, there is evidence that existing summaries are of variable length and quality and not always in plain English. As a result, the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) commissioned a review of the guidance that is available to researchers. However, recent initiatives demonstrate that there are still a number of challenges in making current research both accessible and understandable by prospective participants. BioMed Central also has a number of ongoing initiatives involving trial registration services and journals.

SUBMITTER: Denegri S

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3735400 | biostudies-literature | 2013

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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It's plain and simple: transparency is good for science and in the public interest.

Denegri Simon S Faure Helene H

Trials 20130712

In the past couple of years, there has been a growing focus on the need to make scientific output accessible to a greater number of people, especially in the field of clinical research. The public are being urged to become more well-informed and to ask their doctors about taking part in clinical trials. A key finding of a report from the Association of Medical Research Charities was that all published scientific papers would benefit from having a section in plain English. Researchers running a c ...[more]

PMID: 23849479

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Project description:ObjectiveTo compare cognitive testing scores in neurosurgeons and aerospace engineers to help settle the age old argument of which phrase-"It's not brain surgery" or "It's not rocket science"-is most deserved.DesignInternational prospective comparative study.SettingUnited Kingdom, Europe, the United States, and Canada.Participants748 people (600 aerospace engineers and 148 neurosurgeons). After data cleaning, 401 complete datasets were included in the final analysis (329 aerospace engineers and 72 neurosurgeons).Main outcome measuresValidated online test (Cognitron's Great British Intelligence Test) measuring distinct aspects of cognition, spanning planning and reasoning, working memory, attention, and emotion processing abilities.ResultsThe neurosurgeons showed significantly higher scores than the aerospace engineers in semantic problem solving (difference 0.33, 95% confidence interval 0.13 to 0.52). Aerospace engineers showed significantly higher scores in mental manipulation and attention (-0.29, -0.48 to -0.09). No difference was found between groups in domain scores for memory (-0.18, -0.40 to 0.03), spatial problem solving (-0.19, -0.39 to 0.01), problem solving speed (0.03, -0.20 to 0.25), and memory recall speed (0.12, -0.10 to 0.35). When each group's scores for the six domains were compared with those in the general population, only two differences were significant: the neurosurgeons' problem solving speed was quicker (mean z score 0.24, 95% confidence interval 0.07 to 0.41) and their memory recall speed was slower (-0.19, -0.34 to -0.04).ConclusionsIn situations that do not require rapid problem solving, it might be more correct to use the phrase "It's not brain surgery." It is possible that both neurosurgeons and aerospace engineers are unnecessarily placed on a pedestal and that "It's a walk in the park" or another phrase unrelated to careers might be more appropriate. Other specialties might deserve to be on that pedestal, and future work should aim to determine the most deserving profession.

Dataset Information

It's plain and simple: transparency is good for science and in the public interest.

Publications

It's plain and simple: transparency is good for science and in the public interest.

Similar Datasets

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