Accuracy of cited "facts" in medical research articles: A review of study methodology and recalculation of quotation error rate.

ABSTRACT: Previous reviews estimated that approximately 20 to 25% of assertions cited from original research articles, or "facts," are inaccurately quoted in the medical literature. These reviews noted that the original studies were dissimilar and only began to compare the methods of the original studies. The aim of this review is to examine the methods of the original studies and provide a more specific rate of incorrectly cited assertions, or quotation errors, in original research articles published in medical journals. Additionally, the estimate of quotation errors calculated here is based on the ratio of quotation errors to quotations examined (a percent) rather than the more prevalent and weighted metric of quotation errors to the references selected. Overall, this resulted in a lower estimate

SUBMITTER: Mogull SA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5599002 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature