[Bioperl-l] 'Papers'

[Andrew Hynes]

Hi Jong and Peter,

The obsession that scientists have over referencing papers is due to quality
control. Articles published in journals (paper or online) are vetted by the
peer review process.  This process is not ideal with allegations of
malpractice on the part of some reviewers, but this seems to be rare rather
than the norm.  On the whole I feel that the peer review process ensures
that objective and scientifically sound articles are published in reputable
journals.  This means that one can support observations and conclusions in a
publication with a whole body of valid work done in the past.  So,
'references' are not just a resource for learning about the subject, but
more importantly a validation of the study and the techniques used.  That is
not to say that 'references' cannot cite online articles, but if they do
those articles should be 'peer reviewed', otherwise the scientific process
will be compromised.

Best wishes,

Andrew

Andrew M Hynes PhD
Bioinformatician
Software Engineering
Oxford GlycoSciences
The Forum
86 Milton Park
Abingdon
Oxon OX14 4RY
01235 208065


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