Data sharing: A new editorial initiative of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors. Implications for the editors' network

The International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) provides recommendations to improve the editorial standards and scientific quality of biomedical journals. These recommendations range from uniform technical requirements to more complex and elusive editorial issues including ethical aspects of the scientific process. Recently, registration of clinical trials, conflicts of interest disclosure, and new criteria for authorship -emphasizing the importance of responsibility and accountability-, have been proposed. Last year, a new editorial initiative to foster sharing of clinical trial data was launched. This review discusses this novel initiative with the aim of increasing awareness among readers, investigators, authors and editors belonging to the Editors' Network of the European Society of Cardiology.

Data Sharing: A New Editorial Initiative of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors. Implications for the Editors' Network

The International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) provides recommendations to improve the editorial standards and scientific quality of biomedical journals. These recommendations range from uniform technical requirements to more complex and elusive editorial issues including ethical aspects of the scientific process. Recently, registration of clinical trials, conflicts of interest disclosure, and new criteria for authorship -emphasizing the importance of responsibility and accountability-, have been proposed. Last year, a new editorial initiative to foster sharing of clinical trial data was launched. This review discusses this novel initiative with the aim of increasing awareness among readers, investigators, authors and editors belonging to the Editors' Network of the European Society of Cardiology.

Data Sharing: A New Editorial Initiative of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors. Implications for the Editors' Network

The International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) provides recommendations to improve the editorial standards and scientific quality of biomedical journals. These recommendations range from uniform technical requirements to more complex and elusive editorial issues including ethical aspects of the scientific process. Recently, registration of clinical trials, conflicts of interest disclosure, and new criteria for authorship - emphasizing the importance of responsibility and accountability -, have been proposed. Last year, a new editorial initiative to foster sharing of clinical trial data was launched. This review discusses this novel initiative with the aim of increasing awareness among readers, investigators, authors and editors belonging to the Editors' Network of the European Society of Cardiology.

Data Sharing: a New Editorial Initiative from the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors. Implications for the Editors' Network

The International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) provides recommendations to improve the editorial standards and scientific quality of biomedical journals. These recommendations range from uniform technical requirements to more complex and elusive editorial issues including ethical aspects of the scientific process. Recently, registration of clinical trials, conflicts of interest disclosure, and new criteria for authorship-emphasizing the importance of responsibility and accountability-, have been proposed. This year a new editorial initiative to foster sharing of clinical trial data has been launched. This review discusses this novel initiative with the aim of increasing awareness among readers, investigators, authors and Editors of the Editors' Network of the European Society of Cardiology.

Data sharing: A new editorial initiative of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors : Implications for the Editors' Network

The International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) provides recommendations to improve the editorial standards and scientific quality of biomedical journals. These recommendations range from uniform technical requirements to more complex and elusive editorial issues including ethical aspects of the scientific process. Recently, registration of clinical trials, conflicts of interest disclosure, and new criteria for authorship - emphasising the importance of responsibility and accountability - have been proposed. Last year, a new editorial initiative to foster sharing of clinical trial data was launched. This review discusses this novel initiative with the aim of increasing awareness among readers, investigators, authors and editors belonging to the Editors' Network of the European Society of Cardiology.

Conflict of interest policies and disclosure requirements among European Society of Cardiology National Cardiovascular Journals

Disclosure of potential conflicts of interest (COI) is used by biomedical journals to guarantee credibility and transparency of the scientific process. COI disclosure, however, is not systematically nor consistently dealt with by journals. Recent joint editorial efforts paved the way towards the implementation of uniform vehicles for COI disclosure. This paper provides a comprehensive editorial perspective on classical COI-related issues. New insights into current COI policies and practices among European Society of Cardiology national cardiovascular journals, as derived from a cross-sectional survey using a standardised questionnaire, are discussed.

Conflict of interest policies and disclosure requirements among European Society of Cardiology National Cardiovascular Journals

Disclosure of potential conflicts of interest is used by biomedical journals to guarantee credibility and transparency of the scientific process. Conflict of interest disclosure, however, is not systematically nor consistently dealt with by journals. Recent joint editorial efforts paved the way towards the implementation of uniform vehicles for conflicts of interest disclosure. This paper provides a comprehensive editorial perspective on classical conflict of interest-related issues. New insights into current conflicts of interest policies and practices among European Society of Cardiology national cardiovascular journals, as derived from a cross-sectional survey using a standardised questionnaire, are discussed.

[The long pilgrimage of Spanish biomedical journals toward excellence. Who helps? Quality, impact and research merit]

Biomedical journals must adhere to strict standards of editorial quality. In a globalized academic scenario, biomedical journals must compete firstly to publish the most relevant original research and secondly to obtain the broadest possible visibility and the widest dissemination of their scientific contents. The cornerstone of the scientific process is still the peer-review system but additional quality criteria should be met. Recently access to medical information has been revolutionized by electronic editions. Bibliometric databases such as MEDLINE, the ISI Web of Science and Scopus offer comprehensive online information on medical literature. Classically, the prestige of biomedical journals has been measured by their impact factor but, recently, other indicators such as SCImago SJR or the Eigenfactor are emerging as alternative indices of a journal's quality. Assessing the scholarly impact of research and the merits of individual scientists remains a major challenge. Allocation of authorship credit also remains controversial. Furthermore, in our Kafkaesque world, we prefer to count rather than read the articles we judge. Quantitative publication metrics (research output) and citations analyses (scientific influence) are key determinants of the scientific success of individual investigators. However, academia is embracing new objective indicators (such as the "h" index) to evaluate scholarly merit. The present review discusses some editorial issues affecting biomedical journals, currently available bibliometric databases, bibliometric indices of journal quality and, finally, indicators of research performance and scientific success.

Cardiovascular scientific production in Spain and in the European and global context (2003-2007)

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES

The publication of research articles has increased considerably in recent years in all biomedical fields. The present study examines the position of Spanish quality research in cardiology in the European and world context, and its evolution during the 5-year period 2003-2007.

METHODS

Using the Science Citation Index Expanded of Thomson Reuters as data source, we compared Spanish cardiovascular scientific production with that of the rest of countries in the European Union and of the most important countries worldwide, along with relative productivity as per number of inhabitants and Gross Domestic Product, and the number of citations in the journals of the <<Cardiac and Cardiovascular Systems>> area of the Journal Citation Reports (CCS-JCR).

RESULTS

Spain ranks sixth in the European Union and ninth worldwide in scientific production (tenth worldwide if only the journals of the first quartile of the CCS-JCR area are considered). As regards the number of citations received, Spain ranks seventh in the European Union and eleventh worldwide. In terms of relative productivity as per number of inhabitants and Gross Domestic Product, the Spanish ranking is less favorable (positions 15 and 18, respectively).

CONCLUSIONS

The ranking of Spanish cardiovascular research is similar to that of other biomedical fields, though its position is less favorable in relation to certain demographic and economical indicators. In order to maintain adequate investigational levels, it is necessary for the European governments and scientific societies to regard the promotion of high-quality cardiological research as a priority concern.