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Biomedical subjects

W P Whitely

Publications and source records attributed to W P Whitely.

6 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1994

The scientific community's response to evidence of fraudulent publication. The Robert Slutsky case.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether scientists can detect fraudulent results in published research articles and to identify corrective measures that are most effective in purging fraudulent results from the literature. DESIGN: Retrospective case-control study comparing articles by an author known to have published fraudulent articles, Robert A. Slutsky, MD, to a set of control articles. The number of non-self-citations received by each article during each calendar year (1979 through 1990) was counted. The citation numbers were transformed into scores. Each Slutsky article was assigned a score between 1 and 3 based on the number of citations received by the Slutsky article and each of its assigned control articles. Average citation numbers and scores were tracked for each year during the 11-year study period. RESULTS: Before Slutsky's work was publicly questioned (1975 to 1985), scientists cited his articles as frequently as they cited control articles. After Slutsky's work was questioned and reports were published in the news media (1985), scientists cited his article less frequently than they cited control articles. Citations decreased further after the University of California-San Diego published a review of the validity of Slutsky's work in 1987. Citations did not decrease after the appearance of retractions in print or in MEDLINE. CONCLUSION: Scientists do not, and probably cannot, identify published articles that are fraudulent. However, when alerted to the presence of fraudulent results in the literature, the scientific community responds by reducing the number of citations of the tainted articles. In the Slutsky case, general news articles and the three reviews published by the University of California-San Diego were most effective and retractions were least effective in purging fraudulent results from the literature.

Biomedical Research↗
PubMed1990

Journal pricing issues: an economic perspective.

Scientific journal prices have increased markedly in the past two decades, outpacing inflation by severalfold. Such increases challenge the librarian's ability to manage acquisitions resources effectively and threaten the mission of the health sciences library as a resource for present and future scientific information needs. Explanations for serial price increases vary with the point of view considered. Publishers, librarians, faculty, and consumers of scientific information perceive the situation differently. This paper provides an economic analysis of each group's views. Particular emphasis is given to the aspects of journal publishing and pricing that foster price increases. In addition, the paper examines the problems of dual-pricing structures and narrowly focused journals that cater to subspecialties of medicine. Suggested responses to subscription rate increases are offered to curtail further increases and to avoid the potential detrimental effects of reduced library collections. Since one of the underpinnings of education is threatened by reductions in library collections, actions must be taken by publishers, librarians, faculty, and professional associations to ameliorate the present situation and to limit additional increases in serial prices.

Cost Allocation↗
PubMed1989

Computers in medicine: liability issues for physicians.

Physicians routinely use computers to store, access, and retrieve medical information. As computer use becomes even more widespread in medicine, failure to utilize information systems may be seen as a violation of professional custom and lead to findings of professional liability. Even when a technology is not widespread, failure to incorporate it into medical practice may give rise to liability if the technology is accessible to the physician and reduces risk to the patient. Improvement in the availability of medical information sources imposes a greater burden on the physician to keep current and to obtain informed consent from patients. To routinely perform computer-assisted literature searches for informed consent and diagnosis is 'good medicine'. Clinical and diagnostic applications of computer technology now include computer-assisted decision making with the aid of sophisticated databases. Although such systems will expand the knowledge base and competence of physicians, malfunctioning software raises a major liability question. Also, complex computer-driven technology is used in direct patient care. Defective or improperly used hardware or software can lead to patient injury, thus raising additional complicated questions of professional liability and product liability.

Decision Making, Computer-Assisted↗
PubMed1989

Subpoenas and library operations: rules and recourse.

The subpoena process represents a legal obligation and duty of citizenry and is becoming a fact of life in the operations of many libraries. Regardless of whether a library is directly involved in litigation, the library director may be faced with adjusting operations to compensate for the loss of personnel, collection materials, or other resources in order to accommodate the demands of a subpoena. This paper outlines the formal subpoena process and highlights a number of scenarios by which the library may become a part of the process. The area of computer law, in particular, may present a "growth phase" in library litigation. In addition, recommendations to minimize the service interruptions caused by the subpoena are offered. The director must assist library counsel in formulating a response to challenge, modify, or quash (throw out) the subpoena. Efforts to quash the subpoena require proof that the materials requested are irrelevant to the case, not subpoenaed for "good cause," or that compliance would be unduly oppressive and burdensome. In any case, the library director must be fully prepared to educate counsel on the potential impact of the subpoena.

Libraries↗
PubMed1988

The crisis facing printed medical literature. Acid paper.

Medicine strives to preserve the achievements of the past for the benefit of future clinicians and scientists. However, the paper on which medical journals are printed is steadily and irreversibly decaying. Since the late 1800s, most medical journals have been published on paper prepared with acids. In recent years, publishers, authors, and archivists have become aware of the destructive effects of acid decay on medical journals. Though the cause of deterioration is well understood, the choice of a remedy is still controversial. Remedies include acid-free paper, computerization, deacidification, and microfilm. These techniques are reviewed for their reliability, comprehensiveness, and cost-effectiveness. Microfilm is recommended above other techniques as the most immediately promising solution. The authors propose that publishers be required by law to submit archival quality microfilm as a condition for copyright protection.

Libraries, Medical↗