Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36407750›Full record

ArticleJRSM open2022

Open science and conflict of interest policies of medical and health sciences journals before and during the COVID-19 pandemic: A repeat cross-sectional study: Open science policies of medical journals.

Antoni D Gardener, Ellen J Hick, Chloe Jacklin, Gifford Tan, Aidan G Cashin, Hopin Lee, David Nunan, Elaine C Toomey, Georgia C Richards

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in JRSM open, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
7citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

7 citing papers in PubMed.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Antoni D GardenerIsle of Wight NHS Trust, St Mary's Hospital, Parkhurst Road, Newport, Isle of Wight, PO30 5TG, UK.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9000-8433
Ellen J HickDartford and Gravesham NHS Trust, Darent Valley Hospital, Darenth Wood Road, Dartford, DA2 8DA, UK.
Chloe JacklinNuffield Department of Orthopaedics Rheumatology and Musculoskeletal Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX3 7HE, UK.
Gifford TanNational University Hospital, 5 Lower Kent Ridge Road, Singapore 119074.
Aidan G CashinCentre for Pain IMPACT, Neuroscience Research Australia, Sydney, 2031, Australia.
Hopin LeeCentre for Statistics in Medicine, Nuffield Department of Orthopaedics Rheumatology and Musculoskeletal Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX3 7HE, UK.
David NunanCentre for Evidence-Based Medicine, Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, University of Oxford, Radcliffe Observatory Quarter, Woodstock Road, Oxford, OX2 6GG, UK.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4597-1276
Elaine C ToomeySchool of Allied Health, University of Limerick, Ireland.
Georgia C RichardsCentre for Evidence-Based Medicine, Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, University of Oxford, Radcliffe Observatory Quarter, Woodstock Road, Oxford, OX2 6GG, UK.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0244-5620

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Objectives: To audit the transparent and open science standards of health and medical sciences journal policies and explore the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Design: Repeat cross-sectional study. Setting: 19 journals listed in Google Scholar's Top Publications for health and medical sciences. Participants: Blood, Cell, Circulation, European Heart Journal, Gastroenterology, Journal of Clinical Oncology, Journal of the American College of Cardiology, Nature Genetics, Nature Medicine, Nature Neuroscience, Neuron, PLoS ONE, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Science Translational Medicine, The British Medical Journal, The Journal of the American Medical Association, The Lancet, The Lancet Oncology, and The New England Journal of Medicine. Main outcome measures: We used the Transparency and Openness Promotion (TOP) guideline and the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) requirements for disclosing conflicts of interest (COIs) to evaluate journals standards. Results: TOP scores slightly improved during the COVID-19 pandemic, from a median of 5 (IQR: 2-12.5) out of a possible 24 points in February 2020 to 7 (IQR: 4-12) in May 2021, but overall, scores were very low at both time points. Journal policies scored highest for their adherence to data transparency and scored lowest for preregistration of study protocols and analysis plans and the submission of replication studies. Most journals fulfilled all ICMJE provisions for reporting COIs before (84%; n  =  16) and during (95%; n  =  18) the COVID-19 pandemic. Conclusions: The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of practising open science. However, requirements for open science practices in audited policies were overall low, which may impede progress in health and medical research. As key stakeholders in disseminating research, journals should promote a research culture of greater transparency and more robust open science practices.

Indexed as

epidemiologyjournalologyNON-CLINICALNONCLINICALpublic healthstatistics and research methods

Identifiers

PMID36407750
PMCPMC9666860

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.