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Delay and failure to publish dental research
1Department of Clinical Dental Sciences, Liverpool University Dental Hospital and School of Dentistry, Pembroke Place, Liverpool L3 5PS.
Evidence-Based Dentistry
|September 27, 2005
Summary
More than half of dental research abstracts presented in 1993 were not published as full papers within five years. Oral presentations had a higher publication rate than poster presentations, indicating a need to improve full publication of scientific findings.
Area of Science:
- Dental research
- Scientific publication
- Orthodontics
- Caries research
Background:
- Scientific meetings are crucial for disseminating research findings.
- Publication of presented research is essential for scientific progress and knowledge sharing.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine the rate and time to full publication for abstracts presented at dental scientific meetings.
- To compare publication rates between oral and poster presentations.
Main Methods:
- A retrospective observational study analyzed 546 abstracts from 1993 European Orthodontic Society (EOS), European Organisation for Caries Research (ORCA), and International Association for Dental Research (IADR) conferences.
- Medline searches were conducted to identify full publications, with searches censored five years post-abstract presentation.
- Publication rates were compared between oral and poster presentations.
Main Results:
- Only 46.1% of the investigated abstracts were published as full papers.
- The median time to full publication was 18 months.
- Oral presentations (57%) were significantly more likely to be published than poster presentations (41%), with a relative risk of 1.37.
Conclusions:
- A substantial portion of dental research presented at major conferences in 1993 remained unpublished five years later.
- Oral presentations demonstrate a higher likelihood of achieving full publication compared to poster presentations.
- Findings highlight potential barriers or factors influencing the full dissemination of scientific research originating from conference abstracts.
