Despina G. Contopoulos-Ioannidis, George A. Alexiou, Theodore C. Gouvias, and John P. A. Ioannidis, “Life Cycle of Translational Research for Medical Interventions,” Science (5 September 2008) Vol. 321, no. 5894, 1298 - 1299.
Excellent review of the research process that discusses the long road from the initial discovery of a medical intervention to a highly cited article. [...]

[Read more →]

Check out this article, Searching for Clarity: A Primer on Medical Studies, from the New York Times (published September 30, 2008) by Gina Kolata. The article provides an overview of medical research and three basic principles for understanding medical findings from clinical trials.
The article also includes a link to “How to Read a Medical Study (Skeptically).”

[Read more →]

What is a comprehensive literature search? How to know when you’ve exhausted the literature?
Questions to ask . . .
· Do your research results provide a clear chain of evidence in demonstrating the accumulation of knowledge on a particular topic?
· Did you find the first description or research of a particular topic?
· Do scholarly books or [...]

[Read more →]

The American Library Association’s Office for Information Technology Policy recently created a slide-rule to help determine if a particular work is copyright protected. Pointing the red arrow to the date of first publication of the work provides information on the copyright status of the work.

[Read more →]

The World Intellectual Property Organization recently issued a guide titled “Understanding Copyright and Related Rights.” The guide is intended to “provide an introduction for non-specialists or newcomers to the subject of copyright and related rights.”

[Read more →]

The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) Committee on Research Integrity and Publication Practices has prepared a guidelines document, Guidelines for the Responsible Conduct of Research: Ethics and the Publication Process. 
“The responsible conduct of research - from the earliest stages of a project and onward - has a direct bearing not only on the quality of any resulting article but [...]

[Read more →]

One stipulation of the revised NIH Public Access Policy is that as of 25 May 2008, PIs will be required to note the PubMed Central reference number (PMCID) on any NIH applications, proposals, and progress reports when citing an article that falls under the policy. For more information: http://publicaccess.nih.gov/FAQ.htm#c6
PIs can locate the PMCID reference numbers by doing a [...]

[Read more →]

The revised guidelines for the NIH Public Access Policy (NOT-OD-08-033) are now available: Revised Policy on Enhancing Public Access to Archived Publications Resulting from NIH-Funded Research.
Compliance with this Policy is a statutory requirement and a term and condition of the grant award and cooperative agreement, in accordance with the NIH Grants Policy Statement For Contracts.
Specifics:
 1. [...]

[Read more →]

Interesting manuscript by Steven Harnad that discusses the importance of open access for biomedical research findings. Abstract:
The ethical case for Open Access (OA) (free online access) to research findings is especially salient when it is public health that is being compromised by needless access restrictions. But the ethical imperative for OA is far more general: It [...]

[Read more →]

The Appropriations Act for 2008 (H.R. 2764) has passed the House and the Senate and now awaits the signature of President Bush.  According to a New York Times article, President Bush is expected to sign the bill. Included in the bill is language that changes the current NIH Public Access Policy from voluntary to mandatory. The [...]

[Read more →]