Publication of research presented at the pediatric meetings. Change in selection
M. C. McCormick and J. H. Holmes
The adequacy of research presented in abstract form for presentation at
scientific meetings remains a concern, as indicated by the proportion of
such research appearing in scientific journals after peer review. This
report examines the publication of research presented at the pediatrics
meetings and the effect of a change in selection procedure for abstracts
presented at the Ambulatory Pediatric Association meetings for the years
1979 and 1980. Throughout the period, about half of the presentations were
published, usually in general pediatric journals, with an average time to
publication of about 20 months. The change in selection procedure resulted
in little change in the proportion published among either presentations or
abstracts submitted but not selected for presentation, but it did lead to a
reduction in time to publication. This experience suggests a mechanism for
enhancing the timeliness of publication of research presented at scientific
meetings without adversely affecting the process of selection.
