Titles and abstracts of scientific reports ignore variation among species

An analysis of more than 1000 research articles in biology reveals that the name of the species being studied is not mentioned in the title or abstract of many articles. Consequently, such data are not easily accessible in the PubMed database. These omissions can mislead readers about the true natur...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Barbara R Migeon
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: eLife Sciences Publications Ltd 2014-12-01
Series:eLife
Subjects:
Online Access:https://elifesciences.org/articles/05075
Description
Summary:An analysis of more than 1000 research articles in biology reveals that the name of the species being studied is not mentioned in the title or abstract of many articles. Consequently, such data are not easily accessible in the PubMed database. These omissions can mislead readers about the true nature of developmental processes and delay the acceptance of valid species differences. To improve the accuracy of the scientific record, I suggest that journals should require that authors include the name of the species being studied in the title or abstract of submitted papers.
ISSN:2050-084X