TY - JOUR
T1 - Transparent, Reproducible, and Open Science Practices of Published Literature in Dermatology Journals
T2 - Cross-Sectional Analysis
AU - Anderson, J Michael
AU - Niemann, Andrew
AU - Johnson, Austin
AU - Cook, Courtney
AU - Tritz, Daniel
AU - Vassar, Matt
N1 - Funding Information:
This study was funded through the 2019 Presidential Research Fellowship Mentor—Mentee Program at the Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences.
Funding Information:
With respect to funding, some foundations and governmental agencies have established measures to promote reproducibility and transparency of research for which they provide funding. A nonexhaustive list of these funders include the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the National Science Foundation, the Wellcome Trust, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. As one example, the Gates Foundation, which funds approximately 2000 to 2500 research articles per year totaling US $5 billion [46], has established an open access policy requiring that all research data and manuscripts resulting from its funds be promptly and broadly disseminated [47]. To further its goals for widespread dissemination, the foundation has launched its own open access journal, Gates Open Research. Currently, research funded by the foundation is not eligible for publication in some of the world’s most renowned journals, such as Nature, Science, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, and New England Journal of Medicine owing to these funding restrictions [48]. The NIH has established the Rigor and Reproducibility Initiative, embedding requirements that submitted grant applications outline strategies for more reproducible research [49]. Strategies such as these are the first steps toward adoption of more transparent and reproducible research practices.
Publisher Copyright:
©J Michael Anderson, Andrew Niemann, Austin L Johnson, Courtney Cook, Daniel Tritz, Matt Vassar.
PY - 2019
Y1 - 2019
N2 - Background: Reproducible research is a foundational component for scientific advancements, yet little is known regarding the extent of reproducible research within the dermatology literature. Objective: This study aimed to determine the quality and transparency of the literature in dermatology journals by evaluating for the presence of 8 indicators of reproducible and transparent research practices. Methods: By implementing a cross-sectional study design, we conducted an advanced search of publications in dermatology journals from the National Library of Medicine catalog. Our search included articles published between January 1, 2014, and December 31, 2018. After generating a list of eligible dermatology publications, we then searched for full text PDF versions by using Open Access Button, Google Scholar, and PubMed. Publications were analyzed for 8 indicators of reproducibility and transparency—availability of materials, data, analysis scripts, protocol, preregistration, conflict of interest statement, funding statement, and open access—using a pilot-tested Google Form. Results: After exclusion, 127 studies with empirical data were included in our analysis. Certain indicators were more poorly reported than others. We found that most publications (113, 88.9%) did not provide unmodified, raw data used to make computations, 124 (97.6%) failed to make the complete protocol available, and 126 (99.2%) did not include step-by-step analysis scripts. Conclusions: Our sample of studies published in dermatology journals do not appear to include sufficient detail to be accurately and successfully reproduced in their entirety. Solutions to increase the quality, reproducibility, and transparency of dermatology research are warranted. More robust reporting of key methodological details, open data sharing, and stricter standards journals impose on authors regarding disclosure of study materials might help to better the climate of reproducible research in dermatology.
AB - Background: Reproducible research is a foundational component for scientific advancements, yet little is known regarding the extent of reproducible research within the dermatology literature. Objective: This study aimed to determine the quality and transparency of the literature in dermatology journals by evaluating for the presence of 8 indicators of reproducible and transparent research practices. Methods: By implementing a cross-sectional study design, we conducted an advanced search of publications in dermatology journals from the National Library of Medicine catalog. Our search included articles published between January 1, 2014, and December 31, 2018. After generating a list of eligible dermatology publications, we then searched for full text PDF versions by using Open Access Button, Google Scholar, and PubMed. Publications were analyzed for 8 indicators of reproducibility and transparency—availability of materials, data, analysis scripts, protocol, preregistration, conflict of interest statement, funding statement, and open access—using a pilot-tested Google Form. Results: After exclusion, 127 studies with empirical data were included in our analysis. Certain indicators were more poorly reported than others. We found that most publications (113, 88.9%) did not provide unmodified, raw data used to make computations, 124 (97.6%) failed to make the complete protocol available, and 126 (99.2%) did not include step-by-step analysis scripts. Conclusions: Our sample of studies published in dermatology journals do not appear to include sufficient detail to be accurately and successfully reproduced in their entirety. Solutions to increase the quality, reproducibility, and transparency of dermatology research are warranted. More robust reporting of key methodological details, open data sharing, and stricter standards journals impose on authors regarding disclosure of study materials might help to better the climate of reproducible research in dermatology.
KW - data sharing
KW - dermatology
KW - open access
KW - publishing
KW - reproducibility of findings
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85127208228&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.2196/16078
DO - 10.2196/16078
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85127208228
SN - 2562-0959
VL - 2
JO - JMIR Dermatology
JF - JMIR Dermatology
IS - 1
M1 - e16078
ER -