Recently, two of the world’s most prestigious medical journals each retracted an article about treatment of patients with COVID-19.
In a ScienceTalk contribution to The Straits Times, Associate Professor Mikael Hartman and Professor Lee Chuen Neng elaborated on the process of the publication and dissemination of scientific work, and discussed how critical errors can be missed when journals publish hastily generated reports.
The peer review process is a lengthy one that ensures high-quality work is published in the best, most transparent and fairest way. Papers usually go through several iterations before the final work is accepted and published, and the average time taken from submission to acceptance of a paper is two to three months. It is often even longer for more prestigious journals.
When COVID-19 struck the world with a vengeance, the scientific community scrambled to describe the virus, the disease and possible treatments and outcomes. The world was hungry for information and there was a substantial dearth of it.
In order to fill this gap — and quickly — institutions streamlined administrative approvals; dedicated grant funding became readily available; and journals created fast-track submission to acceptance pathways.
Assoc Prof Hartman and Prof Lee wrote that the rush is understandable as the world looks to quell a pandemic caused by a novel virus. However, in doing so, the collateral damage is the quality and reproducibility of work, substantial overlap of findings, and at worst, results that are wrong.
When the world is in dire need of information about COVID-19 and journals are publishing reports that are generated hastily, grave errors can be missed…
The end result: Lives are put at risk and there is reduced trust in science, at a time when we need it the most.
Read the full commentary here:
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Associate Professor Mikael Hartman is a senior consultant and head of the division of general surgery at the National University Hospital. He is also Programme Leader (Breast Cancer Prevention) at SSHSPH.
Professor Lee Chuen Neng is the Abu Rauff Professor in Surgery and professor in engineering at NUS. He is also clinical director of the Institute for Health Innovation and Technology at the university, and a cardiothoracic surgeon at the National University Hospital.