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Misrepresentation of Academic Accomplishments by Applicants for Gastroenterology Fellowships
The Editors welcome submissions for possible publication in the Letters section. Authors of letters should:
•Include no more than 300 words of text, three authors, and five references
•Type with double-spacing
•Send three copies of the letter, an authors' form signed by all authors, and a cover letter describing any conflicts of interest related to the contents of the letter.
Letters commenting on an Annals article will be considered if they are received within 6 weeks of the time the article was published. Only some of the letters received can be published. Published letters are edited and may be shortened; tables and figures are included only selectively. Authors will be notified that the letter has been received. If the letter is selected for publication, the author will be notified about 3 weeks before the publication date. Unpublished letters cannot be returned.
Annals welcomes electronically submitted letters.
TO THE EDITOR:
When studying the curricula vitae of applicants for a gastroenterology fellowship, Sekas and Hutson [1] found that 30.2% of articles cited as “in print” were not finally published. Several points, however, need further discussion. Residents applying for fellowships are often in the midst of their first research activity. Papers representative of their research experience are most likely either in the process of being written or have only recently been submitted. Most articles are rejected or are only accepted if major changes are made, leading to rewriting and resubmission. In addition, many articles may not be under the sole control of the fellowship applicant, particularly if he or she is not the first author. Many potential publications are, for these reasons, substantially delayed and not infrequently finally appear with a different title, in a different format, or in a different journal. A follow-up MEDLINE search after a minimum of 1.5 years, as stated by the authors, might still be too soon, given that a great variation in time exists until even published articles appear in MEDLINE. Because the authors only give a category for “in print” and none for “submitted” or “in preparation for submission,” many applicants may have added the appellation “in print” in an uncritical fashion, implying an overly optimistic imprecision rather than deliberate fraud. Applicants and future researchers in this field should give categories for “in preparation” or “submitted” in a way that distinguishes such papers from accepted or published articles.
The Editors welcome submissions for possible publication in the Letters section. Authors of letters should:
•Include no more than 300 words of text, three authors, and five references
•Type with double-spacing
•Send three copies of the letter, an authors' form signed by all authors, and a cover letter describing any conflicts of interest related to the contents of the letter.
Letters commenting on an Annals article will be considered if they are received within 6 weeks of the time the article was published. Only some of the letters received can be published. Published letters are edited and may be shortened; tables and figures are included only selectively. Authors will be notified that the letter has been received. If the letter is selected for publication, the author will be notified about 3 weeks before the publication date. Unpublished letters cannot be returned.
Annals welcomes electronically submitted letters.
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