Report on a pilot project to introduce a publications officer

Abstract

First paragraph: Concerns about deficiencies in the reporting quality of biomedical research have been expressed for more than three decades. In spite of this, articles continue to pass through editorial and peer review processes and are published with critical aspects of their methods and results missing or inadequately described. Reporting biases also remain problematic. Together, these practices limit the integrity of biomedical literature and hinder reproducibility efforts. In an attempt to alleviate these problems, Moher and Altman recently proposed four potential contributory actions for journals and educational institutions to consider. Here, we present a description of our efforts to implement their first proposed action: the introduction of a publications officer.