Conferences presentations and in the conference abstract books there are often gems and lots of pearls of useful information. I often blog live from conferences (eg here and here) or peruse abstract books looking for gems (eg here and here). The problem with conference abstracts can be the lack of detail on the study to judge it and they are not subject to the same scrutiny of peer review that a full journal publication is; so how much weight in the grand scheme of things should a conference abstract be given? They have to be interpreted in that context of the lack of detail and the lack of peer review. There are examples I have seen where the preponderance of evidence on a topic may be altered to be in a different direction if the unpublished conference abstracts were included or not included in that body of evidence under consideration. That is a worry. A large number of conference abstracts never make it to full publications, despite they being ‘gems’ and would be a valuable addition to the body of peer reviewed literature on that topic.
Way back in 1999, I published this that looked at the publication rates of abstracts presented at the main diabetes conferences in Australia, Europe and the USA. The rates were 26%, 49% and 53%. At that time, those figures were pretty consistent with other disciplines. My attention was just brought back to this by this recent publication in Foot & Ankle International which looked at the publication rates from the American Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle Society meetings. They found it was 73.7% for podium presentations and 55.8% for posters. That is a bit better than the ~50% that I found and is often reported in the literature as a pretty typical publication rate reported.
So if 50% of conference abstracts never get published in full and not subject to a thorough peer review, that is a whole lot of valuable research that is not being given the appropriate weighting to the findings, especially if the results have the potential to alter the ‘preponderance’ of evidence on a topic. They will not be included in the systematic reviews and meta-analyses.
In a perfect world it will all get published. Why don’t they get published? I have a lot of research that I have done that is still in conference abstract form and other research that I have not published. The only excuse I have is that I just never got around to publishing it. Maybe its laziness or just never got around to it as other work and priorities take over (family; work and research interests change). In some cases, there may be methodological issues that came up after and occasionally it was rejected from publication following peer review. I assume its the same for others as well.
I have blogged about some of my studies not published (eg here and here), as blogging about a study is helluva lot easier than going through the peer review process! BUT, I have also been very careful to state what I am saying in that context and take it for what it is, interpret it how you like and give it whatever weighting you want given the lack of methodological details and lack of peer review.
Williams, B., Kunas, G., Deland, J., & Ellis, S. (2017). Publications Rates for Podium and Poster Presentations from the American Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle Society Foot & Ankle International DOI: 10.1177/1071100716688723
Please sign up for my newsletter when a new content is posted:
Advertisement:
- Amazon Kindle Edition
- Shi, Eric (Author)
- Hardcover Book
- Brennan, Dr. Todd (Author)
- For get the broken ankle and stand out with this Podiatry Make Walking Great Again that is suitable for men, women, boys, girls, youths and teens. Ideal trend for couples, dad, mom, husband, wife, boyfriend and girlfriend that are physicians and surgeons.
- The best present for him and her on Birthdays, Christmas, Independence Day, and Labor Day. Father and mother that are orthopedist or podiatrist can give it to kids, sons, daughters and toddlers. Use it as family matching style for 4th of July celebrations.
- Two layers of soft tissue
- TIDI Toes print
- Hardcover Book
- Wishnie, Peter (Author)
- Are you a podiatrist, chiropodist, or someone who works at a foot clinic, podiatry office who also loves Christmas? This funny Podiatry Christmas tree design reads OH PODIATREE: with rows of feet in a tree shape.
- Perfect for any foot care specialist. Display it proudly to the podiatrist's office and get smiles from your patients with this holiday design.
- Highest quality 316 series stainless steel provides best performance, corrosion and high temperature resistance
- Fully autoclaveable
- Closed Cell Podiatry Axial/Sesamoid Weight Bearing - 13" x 8" x 4"
- Closed Cell Sponges are made from a lightweight, radiolucent, non-porous foam - entirely easy to clean and extremely durable! Non-coated, premium charcoal grey color. 100% radiolucent artifact free imaging.
- Are you a podiatrist? This podiatry designed outfit is for you. Makes a fitting foot doctor gifts too. Get your foot doctor this funny podiatrist attire. This make a cool gift for podiatrist you know. Grab this foot surgeon outfit now!
- Podiatrist gift? This foot whisperer designed outfit is for you. Be the funny foot doctor in this unique foot nerd design. Makes a funny foot whisperer gifts.This podiatry attire makes a nice gift for future podiatrist too. Get this foot surgeon gifts now!
- InnoviHealth (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
I get commissions for purchases made through links on this website. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases
