Review articles
 

By Dr. Brijesh Sathian , Dr. Jayadevan Sreedharan
Corresponding Author Dr. Brijesh Sathian
Community Medicine, Manipal College of Medical Sciences, Department of Community Medicine, Manipal College of Medical Sciences - Nepal 155
Submitting Author Dr. Brijesh Sathian
Other Authors Dr. Jayadevan Sreedharan
Research Division, Gulf Medical University, - United Arab Emirates

MEDICAL EDUCATION

Medical Research, Editorial Policy, Peer Review

Sathian B, Sreedharan J. Relevance of Post or Pre Peer Review Process Journals for the improvement of Medical Research in Nepal. WebmedCentral MEDICAL EDUCATION 2012;3(5):WMC003368
doi: 10.9754/journal.wmc.2012.003368

This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License(CC-BY), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
No
Submitted on: 12 May 2012 04:36:28 PM GMT
Published on: 14 May 2012 12:24:53 PM GMT

Abstract


Despite valuable research going on in developing countries like Nepal and the large number of existing scientific journals, this information does not reach international visibility. Not only are such journals obscure, but they also perpetuate a vicious circle of inadequacy that may directly be damaging the local science and research culture. Journals should prevent this by constructing an editorial board including qualified editors from developed and developing countries in the editorial board. There are several pre peer reviewed visible medical journals with this quality but the problem with them is publication delay because of peer review process. If the peer review process is fast then the publication charge will be more and the authors of developing countries cannot afford. But the journals like WebmedCentral have the post peer review system which will fasten the publication of the manuscript. After publication, manuscript will be peer reviewed by the reviewers and the one of the world’s biggest well qualified editorial team of WebmedCentral. It will give the authors tremendous amount of knowledge in their domain with the help of international editors. 

Introduction


All who use, receive, or pay for health-care interventions depend on guidance from reliable research findings and will want reassurance that medical research is credible. Essentially, Nepal’s research output is still small. More collaboration and partnerships between countries in different regions of Asia and other parts of the globe as well, must be fostered. Lack of investment in research should also be addressed by nations which are capable of making investments. Research in Nepal can and should flourish over in the coming decades.

Findings of good research deserve to be presented well, and good presentation is as much a part of the study as is the painstaking collection and analysis of the data. Critical appraisal of 150 articles published in a reputed medical journal in Nepal revealed that in more than 70% articles experienced biostatisticians were not involved or had no substantial contribution (not co authored); in more than 65% of the studies, the sample size calculation was wrong and 80% of articles had inadequate statistical details and wrong statistical tests. Critical reviewers of biomedical literature have consistently found that nearly half of the published articles (including scientific articles, published even in the best journals) used statistical methods contained unacceptable errors [1-11].

Evidence-based medicine provides several ways to quantify and communicate uncertainty, but does so from a probabilistic rather than a human perspective. We can divide Evidence based medicine/clinical epidemiology into two major methodological themes: ‘statistical’ and ‘implementation’. The use and analysis of large trials, meta-analyses, systematic reviews, evidence hierarchies, cost-effectiveness analyses and the number needed to treat come under the ‘statistical’ methodology while the improved access to evidence through literature searching, library and critical appraisal tools, guideline development, risk framing, etc. would be ‘implementation’. Researchers welcome clinical uncertainty as a source of knowledge gaps, whose answers will be meaningful to clinicians and patients. Clinical epidemiology bridges clinical practice and public health. Policies notwithstanding, training in research ethics, standards and responsible conduct is often minimal or absent in academia, despite suggestions to detect and eliminate research misconduct. The quality of a medical journal depends on the inclusion of three groups of people: the authors, reviewers and editors. Deciding who should be listed as an author is not simple and quite often the decision is made on the basis of supremacy. Despite valuable research going on in developing countries and the large number of existing scientific journals, this information does not reach international visibility. Not only are such journals obscure, but they also perpetuate a vicious circle of inadequacy that may directly be damaging the local science and research culture. Journals should prevent this by constructing an editorial board including qualified editors from developed and developing countries in the editorial board[12,13]. There are several pre peer reviewed visible medical journals but the problem with them is publication delay because of peer review process. But the journals like WebmedCentral have the post peer review system which will fasten the publication of the manuscript. After publication, manuscript will be peer reviewed by the reviewers and the one of the world’s biggest editorial team of WebmedCentral. It will give the authors tremendous amount of knowledge in their domain with the help of international editors.  

The vital part of the publishing process is the editorial management. The editors commence action with the receipt of the manuscript by directing the various steps of evaluation, correction and re-submission, until an editorial decision is taken to accept the paper as is, accept it after modification or reject it if it is unacceptable. They then carry out the necessary text and layout editing. Appropriate concern is given to the statistical and ethical aspects as well as to the overall uniformity of the terminology, nomenclature and style throughout the volume as a whole. Experts review plays a pivotal role on maintaining the quality of a medical journal[14-32]. A reviewer’s duty is to comment on important aspects of the paper and to formulate recommendations relating to the acceptability of the paper. 

Conclusion(s)


Articles published in medical Journals like NEJM, BMJ, etc became the landmark studies for the improvement of Medical Science. Authors should submit their manuscript to a visible journal for getting more citations and downloads. Medical journals should maintain their quality and service through the ‘expert team’ for the future development of this domain. Then only, research in Nepal can and should flourish over in the coming decades.

Reference


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14. Joshi S H, Gupta R, Singh A, Mahajan V. Assessment of immunization Status of Children between 12-23 months in Bareilly District. Nepal Journal of Epidemiology 2011;1(2): 47-50.
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18.  Sathian B, Sreedharan J, Baboo NS, Sharan K, Abhilash E S, Rajesh E. Relevance of Sample Size Determination in Medical Research. Nepal Journal of Epidemiology 2010; 1(1): 4-10.
19. Roy B, Banerjee I, Sathian B, Mondal M, Saha CG. Blood Group Distribution and Its Relationship with Bleeding Time and Clotting Time: A Medical School Based Observational Study among Nepali, Indian and Srilankan Students. Nepal Journal of Epidemiology 2011;1(4):135-40.
20. Sreeramareddy CT, Ramakrishnareddy N, Harsha KumarHN, Sathian B, Arokiasamy JT. Prevalence, distribution andpredictors of tobacco smoking and chewing in Nepal: a secondary data analysis of Nepal Demographic and HealthSurvey-2006. Substance Abuse Treatment, Prevention, and Policy 2011;6:33.
21. Roy B, Banerjee  I, Sathian B, Mondal M, Kumar SS, Saha CG. Attitude of Basic Science Medical Students towards  Post Graduation in Medicine and Surgery: A Questionnaire based Cross-sectional Study from Western Region of Nepal. Nepal Journal of Epidemiology 2010; 1(4):126-34.
22. Banerjee I, Roy B, Sathian B, Banerjee I, Kumar SS, Saha A. Medications for Anxiety: A Drug utilization study in Psychiatry Inpatients from a Tertiary Care Centre of Western Nepal. Nepal Journal of Epidemiology 2010; 1(4):119-25.
23. Mittal A, Sathian B, Kumar A, Chandrasekharan N, Farooqui MS, Singh S, Yadav KS. Hyperuricemia as an Additional Risk Factor for Coronary Artery Disease: A Hospital Based Case Control Study in Western Region of Nepal. Nepal Journal of Epidemiology 2011;1(3):81-5.
24. Basha AS, Mathew E, Sreedharan J, Muttappallymyalil J, Sharbatti AS, Shaikh BR. Pattern of Blood Pressure Distribution among University Students in Ajman, United Arab Emirates. Nepal Journal of Epidemiology 2011;1(3):86-9.
25. Banerjee I, Jauhari AC, Bista D, Johorey AC, Roy B, Sathian B. Medical Students View about the Integrated MBBS Course: A Questionnaire Based Cross-sectional Survey from a Medical College of Kathmandu Valley. Nepal Journal of Epidemiology 2011;1(3): 95-100.
26. Mittal A, Sathian B, Poudel B, Farooqui MS, Chandrasekharan N, Yadav KS. The Significance of Hepatobiliary Enzymes for Differentiating Liver and Bone Diseases: A Case Control Study from Manipal Teaching Hospital of Pokhara Valley. Nepal Journal of Epidemiology 2011;1(5): 153-9.
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28. Mittal A, Sathian B, Chandrasekharan N, Lekhi A, Rahib R,  Dwedi S. Hepatic Steatosis and Diabetes Mellitus: Risk Factors, Pathophysiology and with its Clinical Implications: A Hospital Based Case Control Study in Western Region of Nepal. Nepal Journal of Epidemiology 2011;1(2):51-56.
29. Banerjee I, Roy B, Banerjee I, Sathian B, Mondol M, Saha A. Depression and its Cure : A Drug Utilization Study from a Tertiary Care Centre of Western Nepal. Nepal Journal of Epidemiology 2011;1 (5):144-52.
30. Mittal A, Sathian B, Kumar A, Chandrasekharan N, Sunka A. Diabetes mellitus as a Potential Risk Factor for Renal Disease among Nepalese: A Hospital Based Case Control Study. Nepal Journal of Epidemiology 2010; 1(1): 22-5.
31. Mittal A ,  Sathian B, Chandrasekharan N , Lekhi A, Farooqui M S, Pandey N. Diagnostic Accuracy of Serological Markers in Viral Hepatitis and Non Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease. A Comparative Study in Tertiary Care Hospital of Western Nepal. Nepal Journal of Epidemiology 2011;1(2): 60-3.
32. Mittal A, Sathian B, Kumar A, Chandrasekharan N, Dwedi S. The Clinical Implications of Thyroid Hormones and its Association with Lipid Profile: A Comparative Study from Western Nepal. Nepal Journal of Epidemiology 2010; 1(1): 11-6.

Source(s) of Funding


NA

Competing Interests


No competing interests.

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Reviews
3 reviews posted so far

Sir, Thanks for the comments and for the review '' Strengthening the publication process in Nepal". You are the Nepal's leading best researcher and roll model for us with more than 800 articles and th... View more
Responded by Dr. Brijesh Sathian on 15 May 2012 06:00:27 AM GMT

Sir, Thanks for the comments and assessing the quality of the article. This article is addressed to the medical researchers from Nepal who are not aware about good journals and could not publish their... View more
Responded by Dr. Brijesh Sathian on 15 May 2012 04:05:09 AM GMT

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