Accuracy of data in abstracts of published research articles - PubMed (original) (raw)

Accuracy of data in abstracts of published research articles

R M Pitkin et al. JAMA. 1999 Mar.

Abstract

Context: The section of a research article most likely to be read is the abstract, and therefore it is particularly important that the abstract reflect the article faithfully.

Objective: To assess abstracts accompanying research articles published in 6 medical journals with respect to whether data in the abstract could be verified in the article itself.

Design: Analysis of simple random samples of 44 articles and their accompanying abstracts published during 1 year(July 1, 1996-June 30, 1997) in each of 5 major general medical journals (Annals of Internal Medicine, BMJ, JAMA, Lancet, and New England Journal of Medicine) and a consecutive sample of 44 articles published during 15 months (July 1, 1996-August 15, 1997) in the CMAJ.

Main outcome measure: Abstracts were considered deficient if they contained data that were either inconsistent with corresponding data in the article's body (including tables and figures) or not found in the body at all.

Results: The proportion of deficient abstracts varied widely (18%-68%) and to a statistically significant degree (P<.001) among the 6 journals studied.

Conclusions: Data in the abstract that are inconsistent with or absent from the article's body are common, even in large-circulation general medical journals.

PubMed Disclaimer

Comment in

• The need for concrete improvement in abstract quality.
  Winker MA. Winker MA. JAMA. 1999 Mar 24-31;281(12):1129-30. doi: 10.1001/jama.281.12.1129. JAMA. 1999. PMID: 10188667 No abstract available.
• Effectiveness of a journal intervention to improve abstract quality.
  Pitkin RM, Branagan MA, Burmeister LF. Pitkin RM, et al. JAMA. 2000 Jan 26;283(4):481. doi: 10.1001/jama.283.4.481-a. JAMA. 2000. PMID: 10659873 No abstract available.

Similar articles

• The accuracy of abstracts in psychology journals.
  Harris AH, Standard S, Brunning JL, Casey SL, Goldberg JH, Oliver L, Ito K, Marshall JM. Harris AH, et al. J Psychol. 2002 Mar;136(2):141-8. doi: 10.1080/00223980209604145. J Psychol. 2002. PMID: 12081089
• Accuracy of abstracts for original research articles in pharmacy journals.
  Ward LG, Kendrach MG, Price SO. Ward LG, et al. Ann Pharmacother. 2004 Jul-Aug;38(7-8):1173-7. doi: 10.1345/aph.1D416. Epub 2004 May 18. Ann Pharmacother. 2004. PMID: 15150375
• The quality of reporting of trial abstracts is suboptimal: survey of major general medical journals.
  Berwanger O, Ribeiro RA, Finkelsztejn A, Watanabe M, Suzumura EA, Duncan BB, Devereaux PJ, Cook D. Berwanger O, et al. J Clin Epidemiol. 2009 Apr;62(4):387-92. doi: 10.1016/j.jclinepi.2008.05.013. Epub 2008 Nov 17. J Clin Epidemiol. 2009. PMID: 19010643 Review.
• Conversion rates of abstracts presented at the Urological Society of Australia and New Zealand (USANZ) Annual Scientific Meeting into full-text journal articles.
  Yoon PD, Chalasani V, Woo HH. Yoon PD, et al. BJU Int. 2012 Aug;110(4):485-9. doi: 10.1111/j.1464-410X.2011.10879.x. Epub 2012 Feb 2. BJU Int. 2012. PMID: 22300438 Review.

Cited by

• Prepublication abstract-only reports compared with full-text manuscripts for randomised controlled trials in inflammatory bowel disease: a systematic review.
  Sinopoulou V, Gordon M, Moran GW, Egiz AMAM, Phlananthachai S, Rane A, Al-Tameemi AHA. Sinopoulou V, et al. BMJ Open Gastroenterol. 2024 Mar 7;11(1):e001334. doi: 10.1136/bmjgast-2023-001334. BMJ Open Gastroenterol. 2024. PMID: 38453251 Free PMC article.
• Handling related publications reporting real-world evidence in network meta-analysis: a case study in multiple sclerosis.
  Betts M, Fahrbach K, Neupane B, Slim M, Sormani MP, Cutter G, Debray TP, Rock M. Betts M, et al. J Comp Eff Res. 2023 Aug;12(8):e220132. doi: 10.57264/cer-2022-0132. Epub 2023 Jul 29. J Comp Eff Res. 2023. PMID: 37515491 Free PMC article.
• Probiotics for management of functional abdominal pain disorders in children.
  Wallace C, Gordon M, Sinopoulou V, Akobeng AK. Wallace C, et al. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2023 Feb 17;2(2):CD012849. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD012849.pub2. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2023. PMID: 36799531 Free PMC article. Review.
• Analysis of Spin in RCTs of Spine Surgery Using ORG-LOC Grading Tool.
  Muthu S, Chellamuthu G, Hathwar KSK, Ramakrishnan E, Dakshinamoorthy AP, Jeyaraman M. Muthu S, et al. Indian J Orthop. 2022 Jul 14;56(11):1882-1890. doi: 10.1007/s43465-022-00697-2. eCollection 2022 Nov. Indian J Orthop. 2022. PMID: 36310551 Free PMC article.
• Is academic writing becoming more positive? A large-scale diachronic case study of Science research articles across 25 years.
  Yuan ZM, Yao M. Yuan ZM, et al. Scientometrics. 2022;127(11):6191-6207. doi: 10.1007/s11192-022-04515-2. Epub 2022 Oct 1. Scientometrics. 2022. PMID: 36212768 Free PMC article.

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources

• Full Text Sources

  • Ovid Technologies, Inc.
  • Silverchair Information Systems