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The effectiveness of journals as arbiters of scientific impact.

ABSTRACT: Academic publishers purport to be arbiters of knowledge, aiming to publish studies that advance the frontiers of their research domain. Yet the effectiveness of journal editors at identifying novel and important research is generally unknown, in part because of the confidential nature of the editorial and peer review process. Using questionnaires, we evaluated the degree to which journals are effective arbiters of scientific impact on the domain of Ecology, quantified by three key criteria. First, journals discriminated against low-impact manuscripts: The probability of rejection increased as the number of citations gained by the published paper decreased. Second, journals were more likely to publish high-impact manuscripts (those that obtained citations in 90th percentile for their journal) than run-of-the-mill manuscripts; editors were only 23% and 41% as likely to reject an eventual high-impact paper (pre- versus postreview rejection) compared to a run-of-the-mill paper. Third, editors did occasionally reject papers that went on to be highly cited. Error rates were low, however: Only 3.8% of rejected papers gained more citations than the median article in the journal that rejected them, and only 9.2% of rejected manuscripts went on to be high-impact papers in the (generally lower impact factor) publishing journal. The effectiveness of scientific arbitration increased with journal prominence, although some highly prominent journals were no more effective than much less prominent ones. We conclude that the academic publishing system, founded on peer review, appropriately recognizes the significance of research contained in manuscripts, as measured by the number of citations that manuscripts obtain after publication, even though some errors are made. We therefore recommend that authors reduce publication delays by choosing journals appropriate to the significance of their research.

SUBMITTER: Paine CET

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6202707 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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The effectiveness of journals as arbiters of scientific impact.

Paine C E Timothy CET Fox Charles W CW

Ecology and evolution 20180912 19

Academic publishers purport to be arbiters of knowledge, aiming to publish studies that advance the frontiers of their research domain. Yet the effectiveness of journal editors at identifying novel and important research is generally unknown, in part because of the confidential nature of the editorial and peer review process. Using questionnaires, we evaluated the degree to which journals are effective arbiters of scientific impact on the domain of Ecology, quantified by three key criteria. Firs ...[more]

PMID: 30386557

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Project description:Background In the period 2003-2008, the regulatory authorities issued several warnings restricting the use of selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors (SSRIs) in paediatrics, in reaction to safety concerns regarding the risk of suicidality. In this study, the SSRIs and suicidality controversy serves as a template to analyse the long-term publication trends regarding the benefit/risk profile of medications. The aim is to ascertain differences (in terms of numbers, categories and timing) between negative and positive newspaper and journal articles on SSRIs and suicidality and to ascertain correlations between changes in the reports and regulatory warnings. Methods A systematic review of scientific articles (Embase) and the Netherlands (NL) and the UK newspapers (LexisNexis) was performed between 2000 and 2010. Categorisation was done by 'effect' (related treatment effect), 'type of article' and 'age group'. The articles' positive-to-negative effect ratio was determined. Differences in distribution of effect categories were analysed across sources, type of article and age group using the Mann-Whitney (two subgroups) or Kruskal-Wallis test (three or more). Findings In total, 1141 articles were categorised: 352 scientific, 224 Dutch and 565 British newspaper articles. Scientific articles were predominantly on research and were positive, whereas newspaper articles were negative (ratios=3.50-scientific, 0.69-NL and 0.94-UK; p<0.001). Articles on paediatrics were less positive in scientific journals and more negative in newspapers (ratios=2.29-scientific, 0.26-NL and 0.20-UK; p<0.001), while articles on adults were positive overall (ratios=10.0-scientific, 1.06-NL and 1.70-UK; p<0.001). In addition, negative-effect reporting trends were exacerbated following regulatory warnings and were generally opinion articles, both in scientific journals and in newspapers (2003/2004 and after 2007). Interpretation The authors found a positive publication tendency inherent in journal research articles. This apparent positive publication bias present in scientific journals, however, does not seem to prevent the dissemination of 'bad' news about medications. The negative tendency present in Dutch and British newspapers was perceivable in the paediatrics group and during the warnings, indicating that national news media have informed the public about this international drug safety controversy on time.

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The effectiveness of journals as arbiters of scientific impact.

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The effectiveness of journals as arbiters of scientific impact.

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