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Open Peer Review in directly published scholastic communications on Internet: the MedSCOPE approach

From: Vinod Scaria
Date: 11 Jan 2003
Time: 03:47:29
Remote Name: 202.9.168.122

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Direct publishing of scholastic communications has gained unprecedented importance with the emergence of Internet as a cost effective publishing media. Unlike papers published in medical journals, these articles are not rigorously peer reviewed. Thus, it raises concerns on the authenticity of these articles. Moreover, they may be erroneously interpreted and reported, and may cause far reaching consequences in public health. Here we discuss the formulation and strategies for implementation of the MedSCOPE [Medical Scholastic Communication Online and Open Peer Evaluation] code of conduct, which relies on the plausibility of Open Peer review as a tool to ensure quality of directly published papers. Opinions regarding possible strategies were collected from 54 physicians and 23 Medical Students through an anonymous web based survey. The opinion were analysed and the draft was put up on the Internet for open discussion. The final code of conduct was formulated taking into consideration the opinion on the draft. The code of conduct was implemented on an open journal. Conclusions: The MedSCOPE code of conduct is still a preliminary draft on the minimum requirements to ensure the papers directly published Online are open to peer review and that they are not erroneously interpreted or reported. We hope that this paper would trigger intense research in this field. Keywords: Open Peer Review, Internet , Code of Conduct

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