The title of this journal is The Pandemic Claims New Victims: Prestigious Medical Journals. The title is explicit and explains that there are medical journals that have been retracted from the public domain. The articles were considered to be containing information that was misguiding the public. Tremendous blame has been laid on the peer reviewers for not identifying these flaws and correcting the articles. It is the job of the peer reviewers to ensure that the information found in the journals is verified and reliable. The author of this article is Robin Caryn Rabin, a staff writer at The New York Times. Caryn has worked in the media industry for so many years and has specialized in Health media for over fifteen years. She has written many other peer-reviewed articles and has a wealth of knowledge and experience in her field. The source of her information is from primary sources such as interviews with professionals and peer-reviewed literature. The New York Times is also a reputable media company with reliable and verifiable information.
The article by Caryn takes us through the challenge that took place in the medical field during the Corona Pandemic. Two peer-reviewed articles from two highly respected Medical journals had been retracted from the public domain due to contracting information. This article discusses the damage this retraction had on the medical fraternity involved and the explanation for the error. The medical professionals interviewed in the article do not blame the peer reviewers but on the change of activities brought forth by the pandemic. Life is not as it was, and people have to work through shifts to cater to the needs of the virus patients. Therefore, the reviewers would not put much blame on them if they gave passages to two journals with controversial information.
The article by Caryn Rabin is relevant to the class material as it explains in detail why the scientific process and science literacy are essential. Throughout the research process, information should be clear, and the scientists should ensure that whatever is presented as research work has been thoroughly scrutinized and verified. The scientific method is thus fundamental, and no step of the scientific process can be skipped or left out. The article also proves that a scientific theory can be refuted if the findings and the report are not conclusive. Therefore, scientists should ensure that the research work has been worked perfectly and that consultation with fellow scientists is done to avoid such mistakes as that of the two retracted journals.
For any scientific work to be considered quality, it must provide a new and verifiable valuable idea to the scientists’ world and the public. The scientific process is well followed and should help to ensure the quality of science in any scientific work. The article seems that the research journals were written in a hurry, and some major mistakes were not rectified. The peer reviewers have to ensure that any scientific research or claim meets the scientific quality required. If one study suggested that a given blood pressure drug was safe for coronavirus patients and another warned against anti-malarial drugs endorsed by then-President Trump, there was a big problem. The scientists had not done their proper research before writing the journals and the peer reviewers overlooked huge errors found in the journals. Therefore, scientists should be thorough in the scientific process and ensure that the work presented to the public is standard and reliable.
Reference
Rabin, Roni. “The Pandemic Claims New Victim: Prestigious Medical Journals”.The New York Times, 2020, Web.