“The finding is not novel and the solution induces despair”. Referees’ quotes – 2010. Environmental Microbiology 2010;12:3303–3304.
Today Dr Gavin Giovanoni’s blog suggests we become activists and demand peer reviewed evidence http://tinyurl.com/74q6wwy
The MS Trust Info Team are ready to take up our placards and head to the streets – but why should we – and what does it mean?
Peer review is a system for assessing the quality and importance of research before an article is published in a journal. When researchers have completed a study they usually write a paper for publication in a scientific journal to share their findings with the community and add to the understanding of the subject area. The journal editor will send the article to others who research and publish in the field and ask them to say if the results are credible, the design of the study and its methodology are appropriate and to determine if the findings are important and the work is original.
There are some criticisms of this system which include the time taken to review and then publish the articles and a possible bias against highly innovative work. However, peer review uses the independence and expertise of the reviewers to obtain an unbiased evaluation of the research.
Evidence based information is at the heart of the MS Trust’s work and has been since our foundation in 1993. The research featured in Open Door and Research Update is selected from peer reviewed medical journals. As an organisation we are certified to carry The Information Standard quality mark which requires us to demonstrate how we select and use the evidence from this research to produce our information.
Find out more about peer review and scientific publishing from the Sense about Science publication “I don’t know what to believe….”
Lost in information – Open Door article
See the latest Research Update
Tags: evidence based information, information standard, MS Trust, multiple sclerosis, open door, peer review, research