Research in context

Abstract

The role of multidisciplinary medical journals such as Alzheimer's & Dementia is to communicate research findings to a broad audience interested in a diverse array of scientific topics. The discussion section of most scientific articles often serves an important role to present a commentary on the meaning and significance of the research. To a greater or lesser extent, most discussion sections begin with a brief summary of the main findings and often answer the question or problem stated in the introduction. Depending on the authors as well as the critiques from reviewers and editors, the papers we receive explore—with great unevenness—the limitations of the study, the relationship of the findings to other research, the implication of the research, and possible future research directions. We think this inconsistency presents an important disservice to our audience and to the scientific literature. In an effort to moderate this variability in the quality and depth of discussion sections, starting July 1, 2012, Alzheimer's & Dementia will begin requiring authors who submit articles for consideration to include a section called “Research in Context” during the online submission process. Inspired by our colleagues at The Lancet and The Lancet Neurology, we are pleased to announce the launch of this new feature. Authors will now be asked to provide a summary, similar to an abstract, for inclusion during the online submission process. In this summary of 150 words or less, authors will need to place their results or findings into context with previous works 1. The new section will have three elements. (1) The “systematic review” subheading should describe the process the authors used to search, identify, and evaluate the accumulated knowledge related to their scientific question. (2) The “interpretation” subheading will require authors to declare what their findings contribute to the knowledgebase related to their question of interest. (3) The “future directions” subheading will challenge authors to state specifically the important scientific question or questions that are necessary to expand, confirm, or refute the author's findings in future research activities. In brief, the Journal will require authors to be more specific in outlining and defining future research directions or crucial questions that yet need to be answered. We look forward to working with authors, reviewers, and readers as this new feature develops.