TY - JOUR
T1 - Transparent and Reproducible Research Practices in the Surgical Literature
AU - Hughes, Bryan Taylor
AU - Niemann, Andrew
AU - Tritz, Daniel
AU - Boyer, Kryston
AU - Robbins, Hal
AU - Vassar, Matt
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 Elsevier Inc.
PY - 2022/6
Y1 - 2022/6
N2 - Introduction: Previous studies have established a baseline of minimal reproducibility in the social science and biomedical literature. Clinical research is especially deficient in factors of reproducibility. Surgical journals contain fewer clinical trials than non-surgical areas of medicine, suggesting that it should be easier to reproduce the outcomes of surgical literature. Methods: In this study, we evaluated a broad range of indicators related to transparency and reproducibility in a random sample of 387 articles published in Surgery journals between 2014 and 2018. Results: A small minority of our sample made available their materials (5.3%, 95% C.I. 2.4%-8.2%), protocols (1.2%, 0-2.5%), data (2.5%, 0.7%-4.2%), or analysis scripts (0.04%). Four studies were adequately pre-registered. No studies were explicit replications of previous literature. Most studies (58%), declined to provide a funding statement, while conflicts of interest were declared in a small fraction (9.3%). Most have not been cited by systematic reviews (83%) or meta-analyses (87%), and most were only accessible to paying subscribers (59%). Conclusions: The transparency of the surgical literature could improve with adherence to baseline standards of reproducibility.
AB - Introduction: Previous studies have established a baseline of minimal reproducibility in the social science and biomedical literature. Clinical research is especially deficient in factors of reproducibility. Surgical journals contain fewer clinical trials than non-surgical areas of medicine, suggesting that it should be easier to reproduce the outcomes of surgical literature. Methods: In this study, we evaluated a broad range of indicators related to transparency and reproducibility in a random sample of 387 articles published in Surgery journals between 2014 and 2018. Results: A small minority of our sample made available their materials (5.3%, 95% C.I. 2.4%-8.2%), protocols (1.2%, 0-2.5%), data (2.5%, 0.7%-4.2%), or analysis scripts (0.04%). Four studies were adequately pre-registered. No studies were explicit replications of previous literature. Most studies (58%), declined to provide a funding statement, while conflicts of interest were declared in a small fraction (9.3%). Most have not been cited by systematic reviews (83%) or meta-analyses (87%), and most were only accessible to paying subscribers (59%). Conclusions: The transparency of the surgical literature could improve with adherence to baseline standards of reproducibility.
KW - Clinical trials
KW - general surgery
KW - Reproducibility
KW - Transparency
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85124233527&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.jss.2021.09.024
DO - 10.1016/j.jss.2021.09.024
M3 - Article
C2 - 35150944
AN - SCOPUS:85124233527
SN - 0022-4804
VL - 274
SP - 116
EP - 124
JO - Journal of Surgical Research
JF - Journal of Surgical Research
ER -