Intended for healthcare professionals

Rapid response to:

Editorials

The scandal of poor medical research

BMJ 1994; 308 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.308.6924.283 (Published 29 January 1994) Cite this as: BMJ 1994;308:283

Linked Opinion

Richard Smith: Medical research—still a scandal

Rapid Response:

Re: The scandal of poor medical research

The article on the scandal of poor medical research is cited to be the most sought out as it caters to the already poor opinion carried by many clinical scientists regarding research. The articles published in The BMJ reflect a wide array of fields involved in research and therefore their acceptance to be published in the journal. The BMJ does have a set standard for scrutinizing and evaluating the paper before it gets published. Most of the articles published have a co-author who is well versed in statistics and evaluates the significance of the data to be published. An inclination towards research and an attempt to publish by a clinical teacher is indicative of his or her interest to do research along with their routine clinical practice. Basic scientists must colloborate with them and try to make publication science worthy.

We cannot just say that the number of publications do not matter. Among those publications there will be a gradation of scientific content and research intent. Research and therefore publications are complementary and with time these publications attain their relevance to the benefit of the patient or physician. We need research; we need to better them with continuity in the field of research one conducts. Medical research is progressing in the right direction and we need to encourage it with proper incentives, and motivation.

Competing interests: No competing interests

20 July 2015
Dhastagir Sultan Sheriff
Professor
Melmaruvathur Adhiparasakthi Institute of Medical Sciences and Research
Melmaruvathur, Chennai