What makes for sound science?

Abstract The inclusive threshold policy for publication in BMC journals including BMC Plant Biology means that editorial decisions are largely based on the soundness of the research presented rather than the novelty or potential impact of the work. Here we discuss what is required to ensure that res...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Fabrizio Costa, Grant Cramer, E. Jean Finnegan
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMC 2017-11-01
Series:BMC Plant Biology
Online Access:http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12870-017-1139-7
_version_ 1829098964299808768
author Fabrizio Costa
Grant Cramer
E. Jean Finnegan
author_facet Fabrizio Costa
Grant Cramer
E. Jean Finnegan
author_sort Fabrizio Costa
collection DOAJ
description Abstract The inclusive threshold policy for publication in BMC journals including BMC Plant Biology means that editorial decisions are largely based on the soundness of the research presented rather than the novelty or potential impact of the work. Here we discuss what is required to ensure that research meets the requirement of scientific soundness. BMC Plant Biology and the other BMC-series journals ( https://www.biomedcentral.com/p/the-bmc-series-journals ) differ in policy from many other journals as they aim to provide a home for all publishable research. The inclusive threshold policy for publication means that editorial decisions are largely based on the soundness of the research presented rather than the novelty or potential impact of the work. The emphasis on scientific soundness ( http://blogs.biomedcentral.com/bmcseriesblog/2016/12/05/vital-importance-inclusive/ ) rather than novelty or impact is important because it means that manuscripts that may be judged to be of low impact due to the nature of the study as well as those reporting negative results or that largely replicate earlier studies, all of which can be difficult to publish elsewhere, are available to the research community. Here we discuss the importance of the soundness of research and provide some basic guidelines to assist authors to determine whether their research is appropriate for submission to BMC Plant Biology. Prior to a research article being sent out for review, the handling editor will first determine whether the research presented is scientifically valid. To be valid the research must address a question of biological significance using suitable methods and analyses, and must follow community-agreed standards relevant to the research field.
first_indexed 2024-12-10T21:17:10Z
format Article
id doaj.art-1692d7bfff174c8dad9591cc6e80dee6
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 1471-2229
language English
last_indexed 2024-12-10T21:17:10Z
publishDate 2017-11-01
publisher BMC
record_format Article
series BMC Plant Biology
spelling doaj.art-1692d7bfff174c8dad9591cc6e80dee62022-12-22T01:33:15ZengBMCBMC Plant Biology1471-22292017-11-011711310.1186/s12870-017-1139-7What makes for sound science?Fabrizio Costa0Grant Cramer1E. Jean Finnegan2Foundazione Edmund MachUniversity of NevadaCSIRO Agriculture and FoodAbstract The inclusive threshold policy for publication in BMC journals including BMC Plant Biology means that editorial decisions are largely based on the soundness of the research presented rather than the novelty or potential impact of the work. Here we discuss what is required to ensure that research meets the requirement of scientific soundness. BMC Plant Biology and the other BMC-series journals ( https://www.biomedcentral.com/p/the-bmc-series-journals ) differ in policy from many other journals as they aim to provide a home for all publishable research. The inclusive threshold policy for publication means that editorial decisions are largely based on the soundness of the research presented rather than the novelty or potential impact of the work. The emphasis on scientific soundness ( http://blogs.biomedcentral.com/bmcseriesblog/2016/12/05/vital-importance-inclusive/ ) rather than novelty or impact is important because it means that manuscripts that may be judged to be of low impact due to the nature of the study as well as those reporting negative results or that largely replicate earlier studies, all of which can be difficult to publish elsewhere, are available to the research community. Here we discuss the importance of the soundness of research and provide some basic guidelines to assist authors to determine whether their research is appropriate for submission to BMC Plant Biology. Prior to a research article being sent out for review, the handling editor will first determine whether the research presented is scientifically valid. To be valid the research must address a question of biological significance using suitable methods and analyses, and must follow community-agreed standards relevant to the research field.http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12870-017-1139-7
spellingShingle Fabrizio Costa
Grant Cramer
E. Jean Finnegan
What makes for sound science?
BMC Plant Biology
title What makes for sound science?
title_full What makes for sound science?
title_fullStr What makes for sound science?
title_full_unstemmed What makes for sound science?
title_short What makes for sound science?
title_sort what makes for sound science
url http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12870-017-1139-7
work_keys_str_mv AT fabriziocosta whatmakesforsoundscience
AT grantcramer whatmakesforsoundscience
AT ejeanfinnegan whatmakesforsoundscience