Tuesday Jul 22, 2008<![CDATA[ Reviewing Peer Review ]]> The editorial states that "peer review is fundamental to scientific progress, and the achievements of science in the last century are an endorsement of its value ... Despite its successes, peer review attracts its share of criticism. Reviewers can exhibit bias or only support expected, pedestrian results ... Reviews improve most papers, some dramatically so ... But peer review is under increasing stress, in ways that are perhaps not fully appreciated".
The article emphasizes that "the way scientists and research institutions are evaluated needs revision" and that "inappropriately high value is placed on publication in certain journals. Increased competition for the limited slots in these preferred journals exacerbates the natural aggravations of peer review experienced by authors".
The article goes on to state that "Efforts like the Faculty of 1000, where experts scan a large set of biology journals and select the best contributions wherever published, can be very helpful. Such efforts can reduce the pressures that many group leaders feel from young scientists, who often place undue emphasis on publishing in a few high-profile journals--where the criteria used for evaluation may not match their research, no matter how valuable the contribution".
At F1000, we agree -- articles from smaller, less widely read journals can be just important. The F1000 Factor provides an alternative measure to the impact factor and is based on the opinion of eminent members of the medical community, irrespective of what journal the article comes from.
Reference: Alberts et al., Science 2008, 321:15, DOI:10.1126/science.1162115
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Information Overload
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Wednesday Jan 16, 2008<![CDATA[ Where do most people look for trustworthy information? ]]> This is hardly surprising. In the hope for a quick, easy-to-understand and reliable answer to sometimes complex problems, we're all used to asking our colleagues who sit in the same office with us or when meeting in the corridor, or emailing someone we trust. In fact, the review mentions that human resources are a primary source of information for lawyers, life scientists, engineers and health care professionals. So, asking your colleague seems to be a universal theme.
But what do you do if your colleagues don't have the answers you were hoping for?
Well, we at Faculty of 1000 Medicine have taken the human 'information' resource a step further by having a Faculty of more than 2000 well-respected and recognized specialists provide us with evaluations of the articles that matter.
If you need information on the most current and pertinent literature, why not read the reviews from our named experts at Faculty of 1000 Medicine and keep the conversations with your colleagues focussed on lighter matters?
{1} Revere et al., J Biomed Inform 2007, 40:410-421 [PMID:17324632].
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