Use and mis-use of supplementary material in science publications.

ABSTRACT: Supplementary material is a ubiquitous feature of scientific articles, particularly in journals that limit the length of the articles. While the judicious use of supplementary material can improve the readability of scientific articles, its excessive use threatens the scientific review process and by extension the integrity of the scientific literature. In many cases supplementary material today is so extensive that it is reviewed superficially or not at all. Furthermore, citations buried within supplementary files rob other scientists of recognition of their contribution to the scientific record. These issues are exacerbated by the lack of guidance on the use of supplementary information from the journals to authors and reviewers. We propose that the removal of artificial length restricti

SUBMITTER: Pop M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4630891 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature