Medical Journal Editors as Guardrails in Ensuring Research Integrity and Trust in Science

Abstract

A decline in trust in science, experts and medical research has been accelerating and is at a level that is negatively affecting patient care. Widely disseminated questionable scientific evidence has undermined trust. Peer review within medical journals is designed to safeguard the validity of evidence added to the medical literature. Research integrity depends on multiple actors, including authors, reviewers, institutions, and publishers. However, editors inhabit an important multifaceted role working with reviewers and publishers. Editors are the final decision makers in the peer review process and could be conceptualized as the last line in determining if a paper is worth publishing (including the final assessment on the quality and trustworthiness of the study). Since many associate editors join journal leadership with little training as an editor, training in research integrity is a critical need. With editors filling this unique niche as the intermediaries between the scientific process and the public, editors should be supported in their role as guardrails to prevent dissemination of scientific misinformation.