Editing session tonight ends with
"Please, no more 3D bar charts!" 🙏 😅

#NightshiftEditor

1/9 I often read in secondary data research (human participant data) that there were no data-related ethics checks necessary.

Or those sections are just left blank, without comment.

Below I try to highlight some issues one should consider as a minimum in secondary data research. 🧵👇

#PublicationEthics
#PeerReview #NightshiftEditor

Good reporting of samples starts with who and how many people were approached, and all exclusions with reasons from that number down to the analysis sample.

Otherwise might find reported only:
"N=362 respondents were analysed in our survey."
🤷

#STROBE
https://strobe-statement.org

#NightshiftEditor

If a manuscript has the title "The effect of...." or "The influence of...", then it better offers either strong theory or strong methods to back up this causal claim.

Fun #SundayRead in this regard, whether caviar is a risk factor for being a millionaire:
https://www.bmj.com/content/355/bmj.i6536

A bit more earnest:
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09332480.2019.1579578
@MiguelHernan

#NightshiftEditor

When #PeerReview identifies discrepancies between a manuscript and its respective #Registration, changing the registration is usually the worst possible option.

Community approaches to this differ, but I would expect to fare well with a section on "Deviations from the Registration".

#NightshiftEditor #SysReview #RCT #Trial #RegisteredReports

Already widely shared, but this article from the BMJ Christmas issue has a lot of content we have been discussing in our editorial board meetings:
https://www.bmj.com/content/379/bmj-2022-072883

Great teaching resource & training for #PeerReview-ers!

Especially relevant in my view for #HRQL researchers & practitioners:

"Carefully account for missing data"

"Do not dichotomise continuous variables"

"Consider accounting for clustering"

"Carefully consider the variable selection approach"

#NightshiftEditor #HRQL

Already widely shared, but this article from the BMJ Christmas issue has a lot of content we have been discussing in our editorial board meetings:
https://www.bmj.com/content/379/bmj-2022-072883

Submissions to QLR are screened for good use of reporting guidelines.

Our #HRQL #ResearchWaste special issue touches on a number of these issues:
https://psyarxiv.com/879xp/

eg. research questions:
https://rdcu.be/c2nJv

and appropriate sample size planning:
https://rdcu.be/c2nJy

#NightshiftEditor

Last week at the desk

2 manuscripts accepted.

20 manuscript decisions.
[desk-reject, sent to Associate editor, major/minor revisions]

1x #ResearchEthics exchange opened

#NightshiftEditor

Review processes differ, but generally speaking:

If one needs to explain something to the #PeerReview-ers/editor, it is likely that future readers will not get that point either.

It is often a lost opportunity
if one chooses not to clarify the point in question in the manuscript.

#NightshiftEditor

December is for looking back.

The two references that I used by far the most often this year as a #NightshiftEditor and in #PeerReview are:

1) https://doi.org/10.1093/ije/dyaa049
for a brilliant explanation on how how to interpret GLMs / regression models.

And
2) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8088445/
for a strong reminder that the #HRQL community needs to look at scale content. Not at names & labels. #Psychometrics

Last week at the desk

6 manuscripts accepted.

15 manuscript decisions.
[desk-reject, sent to Associate editor, major/minor revisions]

1x GCP query
2x #ResearchEthics exchanges opened
Several plagiarism issues

#NightshiftEditor

If you are submitting a revision of your manuscript,
__NEVER__
include the original version*!

Items to include**:
- Clean version of new manuscript.

- New version with an indication where changes were made.

#NightshiftEditor

*Unless explicitly told to do so by the editorial team.

**OK, OK: for any publisher I have ever submitted to 😅 😂

"Studies suggest..."

"Previous research has shown..."

...and similar phrases are a strong indication that references must follow at the end of the sentence.

#NightshiftEditor

Thanks to everyone responding to my #TwitterRehash poll regarding #PrePrints! 🙇

It seems the key problems seem to be that among the 13 respondents preprints are usually already submitted; or to by-pass the "I get too many emails about submissions anyway"-filter.

I am still unsure whether I should spend #NightshiftEditor-time on soliciting these submissions.

Luckily I enjoy reading preprints anyway!

Authors show different reactions when I contact them about a paper that has been published as a #PrePrint or Working Paper that could be interesting for Quality of Life Research.

What would your reaction be?

Reaction to poll great - thoughts as responses even better! 👇

#NightshiftEditor #Publishing

Authors show different reactions when I contact them about a paper that has been published as a #PrePrint that I think would be interesting for submission at Quality of Life Research.

What would your reaction be?

Reaction to poll great - thoughts as responses even better! 👇
#NightshiftEditor #Publishing

#Introduction

Hi Mastodon!

I work at the School of Health Sciences, University of Dundee.

I research #MentalHealth MentalIllness #Multimorbidity.

I am interested in Health-related Quality of Life #HRQL
#HealthEconomics.

I have experience in the assessment & evaluation of research, thanks #REF2021 😂

I am a #NightshiftEditor & post about editing, publishing & #PeerReview.

Looking forward to exchanges about all these & will post the odd picture of my Scottish Environs.