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Truth in Science Publishing: A Personal Perspective

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  • Thomas C Südhof

Abstract

Scientists, public servants, and patient advocates alike increasingly question the validity of published scientific results, endangering the public’s acceptance of science. Here, I argue that emerging flaws in the integrity of the peer review system are largely responsible. Distortions in peer review are driven by economic forces and enabled by a lack of accountability of journals, editors, and authors. One approach to restoring trust in the validity of published results may be to establish basic rules that render peer review more transparent, such as publishing the reviews (a practice already embraced by some journals) and monitoring not only the track records of authors but also of editors and journals.In this Perspective, Thomas C. Südhof describes some of the current challenges to the peer review system that have endangered public acceptance of science and discusses possible avenues to addressing these challenges.

Suggested Citation

  • Thomas C Südhof, 2016. "Truth in Science Publishing: A Personal Perspective," PLOS Biology, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(8), pages 1-4, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pbio00:1002547
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.1002547
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    1. Timothy M. Otchy & Steffen B. E. Wolff & Juliana Y. Rhee & Cengiz Pehlevan & Risa Kawai & Alexandre Kempf & Sharon M. H. Gobes & Bence P. Ölveczky, 2015. "Acute off-target effects of neural circuit manipulations," Nature, Nature, vol. 528(7582), pages 358-363, December.
    2. David B. Allison & Andrew W. Brown & Brandon J. George & Kathryn A. Kaiser, 2016. "Reproducibility: A tragedy of errors," Nature, Nature, vol. 530(7588), pages 27-29, February.
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