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Emerg Med (Fremantle) · Jun 2002
A review of the accuracy of references in the journal Emergency Medicine.
- Alan E O'Connor.
- The Canberra Hospital, Australian Capital Territory, Australia. alan.oconnor@bigpond.com
- Emerg Med (Fremantle). 2002 Jun 1;14(2):139-41.
ObjectiveTo assess the accuracy of references in articles published in Emergency Medicine, and to categorize these errors.MethodsAll the references in Volume 12 of Emergency Medicine were listed and numbered consecutively. A sample of 100 references was then selected. Each reference was then checked, initially on an electronic database, with the original article being used as the gold standard.Results1469 citations were included in the study. A random sample of 100 was taken and examined in detail. 35 papers were shown to have at least one error, and a total of 41 errors were found. The maximum number of errors in one paper was 3. These errors are analysed in detail.ConclusionPoor reference accuracy is a common problem in medical literature, and Emergency Medicine is not immune to these failings. Authors need to take more care to ensure that the accuracy of citations improves.
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