Très bel éditorial du rédacteur en chef de l'European Journal of Clinical Investigation, John Ioannidis, connu pour quelques articles provocateurs. Son propos est acerbe : n'importe quoi peut être publié, n'importe quoi peut être cité ! Je vous cite le premier paragraphe et vous laisse lire la suite, cet éditorial étant d'accès libre :
"We were surprised recently when an associate editor informed us that a manuscript was a resubmission of a paper that had been already peer-reviewed and rejected by our journal last year. The authors did not supply any rebuttal to the previous reviewers’ comments. Then, we received another manuscript that was a copy of a previously peer-reviewed and rejected paper. The two versions were identical, with two exceptions. The title had changed and the study design had been metamorphosed from retrospective to prospective. Again, the cover letter made no allusion to the previous submission. Then, we received a paper that, on close scrutiny, we had already rejected twice after peer-review. In the first submission the study was comparative; in the second submission the study was cut to one-arm description; in the third submission the study had become again comparative. The authors made no allusion to the previous submissions and reviewer comments."
Ce journal est transparent : vous noterez que cet article a été accepté le jour de sa soumission !
Ioannidis J et al. Who is afraid of reviewers' comments? Or, why anything can be published and anything can be cited? Eur J Clin Invest 2010;40:285-287.