Why Professor Hanson Does Not Like JAMA

"The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) has a long history of publishing articles with old data, inadequate research methods, unsubstantiated conclusions or other failings", writes David J. Hanson, Ph.D., from the Sociology Department, State University of New York. I am not sure how unbiased Prof. Hanson's criticism is but it certainly makes an interesting reading.

JAMA has been labeled as the "journal of irreproducible results" before but this is hardly true since it still has an impact factor of 18. JAMA is a venerable member of the "big five" in medical publishing: NEJM, JAMA, Annals, BMJ and Lancet.

The expression "big five", by the way, comes from the five large animals that you should try to see when you go on a photo safari in Africa.

Believe it or not, there is a real Journal of Irreproducible Results which has been published since 1970.

References:
BMJ impact factor increases by 24% - BMJ 2002
JAMA Discredited Alcohol Articles - 2.potsdam.edu/hansondj
Big Five Game - Wikipedia

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