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I don't think it is fair to write-off research based on the journal it was published in.
by robot22 11y ago
I don't think it is fair to write-off research based on the journal it was published in.
- speechduh 11y agoI do think it's fair to call it out, though. Articles in second or third tier journals deserve higher levels of scrutiny. I'd rather see this replicated a couple of times before acting on it.
- robot22 11y agoThis is spot on and holds for all scientific research.
- JoshTriplett 11y agoIt absolutely is. Some journals have more peer review than others, and experts in the field typically know which ones will effectively rubber stamp anything that crosses their desks. That doesn't inherently make the research wrong, but it means the usual "this was published in a peer-reviewed journal" signaling carries no weight.
- robot22 11y agoPeer review is less effective then you imagine and a highly political process. These experts usually have a vested interest in a certain viewpoint or line of research. I agree extra scrutiny always helps, but scientific consensus does not guarantee truth.
- JoshTriplett 11y agoIt's certainly not a guarantee. However, it does tend to provide a non-zero improvement in signal-to-noise. That process can and should be drastically improved, though.
- joe_the_user 11y agoWell, We should also look at the article under consideration. It seems to describe a molecule that might "cure" or ameliorate the effects of aging. Extraordinary claims need extraordinary evidence but even more, there's a big "push" to have something like this published given that in there would be a tremendous amount of money interested in investing in a project that appears to have even a one percent chance of being that big.