September 4, 2005: A note from the Chairman
In our world of ever changing mores and folkways, certain systems from a distant past must eventually change and acknowledge present day realities. The impetus for creating the Mednansky Institute eJournal, MIeJ, was born from a perception that the peer review system currently utilized by mainstream journals is becoming increasingly mired in bias. As a result good work is increasingly obscured and poor work published.
The actual peer review system invites competing scientists to review each other's scientific work anonymously, to determine its worthiness for publication. Another part of the same system allows an author to automatically be published without peer review. It is not difficult to believe that both of these situations create a fertile environment for bias to flourish.
A new system must evolve that takes into account publication bias. Reviewers should not be allowed to hide their identity, and personal comments to the editor, when reviewing a scientific work. An honest and open system will make bias more difficult to exist. Likewise no one should be allowed to publish without review simply because of their merited past.
MIeJ will endeavor to correct publication bias and to that end I hope you will be compelled to help. My goal is to get good science published and poor science obscured. If scientists cannot work honestly and openly with each other, they work against each other.
David Mednansky, Chairman and CEO, david [at] minst [dot] org
Minst.org | Company Info | eJournal Info | Chief Science Officer | Contact