Journal Science Releases Guidelines for Publishing Scientific Studies

The New York Times:

In the midst of a debate over scientific misconduct, one of the world’s leading scientific journals on Thursday posted the most comprehensive guidelines for the publication of studies in basic science to date, calling for the adoption of clearly defined rules on the sharing of data and methods.

The guidelines, published in Science, come weeks after the journal retracted a study of the effect of political canvassing on voters’ perceptions of same-sex marriage, by Michael LaCour of the University of California, Los Angeles, and Donald Green, of Columbia, because of concerns over Mr. LaCour’s data. That study was the latest in a series of highly public retractions in recent years, in fields as diverse as social psychology, anesthesiology and stem cell research, and involving many different journals.

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But the new guidelines — called TOP, for Transparency and Openness Promotion — represent the first attempt to lay out a system that can be applied by journals across diverse fields.

“Right now, virtually the only standards journals have are where to set the margins, where to put the figures — copy-editing stuff,” said Brian Nosek, a professor of psychology at the University of Virginia and the lead author of the new paper. “But journals now understand that they have a strong role not only in the publication of science, but in determining what is said and how it’s said.”

Read the whole story: The New York Times