7. Is the Peer Review Journal Dead?
Aims
• What are journals for ?
• What do they do ?
• Who benefits ?
• What are the problems ?
• What are the alternatives ?
15. What are the problems?
• Peer review
• Most papers are rubbish
• Research hijacked
• Restricted full-text access
16. What are the problems?
Peer review
“Slow, expensive, ineffective, a lottery, biased,
incapable of detecting fraud and prone to
abuse”
Smith R. BMJ 2004;329:242-4
17. What are the problems?
Most papers are rubbish
• “Words on paper rarely lead directly to change
– and thank goodness they don’t, considering
the rubbish that journals often publish”.
Smith R. BMJ 2004;329:242-4
• Few trials are valid and relevant ( <1% – 7% )
Haynes RB. ACP J Club 1993;119:A22-A23
Scott I, Glaziou P. Med J Aust 2012;197:374-8
18. What are the problems?
Research hijacked
Radcliffe Publishing
2013
Harper Collins 2013
19. What are the problems?
Restricted full-text access
$24 billion
biomedical publishing industry
21. What are the alternatives?
• Release ALL data / publish negative trials
• Focus on the reader
• Post publication review
• ‘publish then filter’
• rating systems / Web 2.0 tools / crowdsourcing
• Educational / translational focus …
22. What are the alternatives?
Educational / translational focus
Websites Blog posts
Case studies Teaching videos
Podcasts Elearning modules
Apps
ALL informed by the best literature
23. Is the Peer Review Journal Dead?
Conclusions
• Not yet – but smelling badly !
• Return the focus back onto the reader
• Expect and embrace all forms of
post publication review
• Focus on education / translation
24. Is the Peer Review Journal Dead?
Conclusions
• Not yet – but smelling badly …
• Return the focus back onto the reader
• Expect / embrace post publication review
• Focus on education / translation
• EXCEPTION !
Emerg Med Australas 2014; 26 (1). Feb issue