Health Equity: 07/23/09

Thursday, July 23, 2009

[EQ] How citation distortions create unfounded authority: analysis of a citation network

How citation distortions create unfounded authority:
analysis of a citation network

Steven A Greenberg, associate professor of neurology

1 Children’s Hospital Informatics Program and Department of Neurology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA USA

BMJ Published 21 July 2009, doi:10.1136/bmj.b2680

Available online at: http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/339/jul20_3/b2680

Objective To understand belief in a specific scientific claim by studying the pattern of citations among papers stating it.

Design A complete citation network was constructed from all PubMed indexed English literature papers addressing the belief that β amyloid, a protein accumulated in the brain in Alzheimer’s disease, is produced by and injures skeletal muscle of patients with inclusion body myositis. Social network theory and graph theory were used to analyse this network.

Main outcome measures Citation bias, amplification, and invention, and their effects on determining authority.

Results The network contained 242 papers and 675 citations addressing the belief, with 220 553 citation paths supporting it. Unfounded authority was established by citation bias against papers that refuted or weakened the belief; amplification, the marked expansion of the belief system by papers presenting no data addressing it; and forms of invention such as the conversion of hypothesis into fact through citation alone. Extension of this network into text within grants funded by the National Institutes of Health and obtained through the Freedom of Information Act showed the same phenomena present and sometimes used to justify requests for funding.

Conclusion Citation is both an impartial scholarly method and a powerful form of social communication. Through distortions in its social use that include bias, amplification, and invention, citation can be used to generate information cascades resulting in unfounded authority of claims. Construction and analysis of a claim specific citation network may clarify the nature of a published belief system and expose distorted methods of social citation

What this study adds:

How scientific data evolve into entire published biomedical belief systems around specific claims can be studied through a device called a claim specific citation network and the use of social network theory

Editorials

Inappropriate referencing in research

Has serious consequences, and the research community needs to act

http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/339/jul20_3/b2049

“……During the preparation and writing of manuscripts, protocols, grant submissions, technical reports, and conference abstracts, authors must consider carefully the selection, completeness, and appropriateness of the articles referenced. Improper citation is not a benign practice; adequate and accurate citation is a necessity of scientifically and methodologically sound research.

Rather than treating citation errors in a particular journal article as isolated incidents, we must appreciate that such errors can be replicated in further articles and, therefore, cause considerable damage over time. Incorrect information can be promoted, alternative evidence ignored, and redundant research undertaken following inappropriate use of references, impairing scientific progress and affecting patient care….”

Supplementary materials

Files in this Data Supplement: Adobe PDF - gres611285.ww1.pdf

Supplementary Materials for: How Citation Distortions Create Unfounded Authority: Analysis of a Citation Network

Supplementary Notes

Note-1: Statements regarding a “key” or “central” role of beta-amyloid in IBM pathogenesis

Note-2: Methods

Note-3: Network properties of the claim-specific citation network

Note-4: Duplicate publication

Note-5: Specificity of antibodies used to claim the presence of beta-amyloid

Note-6: Data papers

Note-7: Lenses: the most influential papers and citations in the network

Note-8: Amplification: its definition, quantitation, and implications

Note-9: Authority emerges from bias and amplification

Note-10: Invention: conversion of hypothesis into fact by citation alone

Note-11: Back-door invention: claims systematically enter the belief system through a backdoor

Note-12: Title invention

Note-13: The claim-specific citation network extended from PubMed to NIH funded grants

Note-14: Self-serving citation and persuasive citation

Note-15: The loss of scientific implications of isolated data

Note-16: Authority of animal model papers and amplification using circularity

Note-17: Limitations of and alternatives for these analyses

Supplementary References

Supplementary Tables

Supplementary Table 1: Query results from PubMed

Supplementary Table 2: Papers with statements regarding amyloid or beta-amyloid

Supplementary Table 3: Papers, statements, and citations

Supplementary Table 4: Claim-specific citation table

Related studies:

Reporting and other biases in studies of Neurontin for migraine, psychiatric/bipolar disorders,

nociceptive pain, and neuropathic pain

Kay Dickersin, MA, PhD - August 10, 2008 http://dida.library.ucsf.edu/pdf/oxx18r10

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[EQ] Defining Comorbidity: Implications for Understanding Health and Health Services

Defining Comorbidity:
Implications for Understanding Health and Health Services

Jose M. Valderas1, Barbara Starfield2, Bonnie Sibbald,1; Chris Salisbury,3; Martin Roland,1

1National Institute for Health Research School for Primary Care Research, The University of Manchester, Manchester, UK

2Department of Health Policy and Management, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD

3National Institute for Health Research School for Primary Care Research, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK

Annals of Family Medicine ✦ www.annfammed.org ✦ vol. 7, no. 4 ✦ July/August 2009

Available online at: http://www.annfammed.org/cgi/reprint/7/4/357

"……Comorbidity is associated with worse health outcomes, more complex clinical management, and increased health care costs. There is no agreement, however, on the meaning of the term, and related constructs, such as multimorbidity, morbidity burden, and patient complexity, are not well conceptualized.

In this article, we review definitions of comorbidity and their relationship to related constructs. We show that the value of a given construct lies in its ability to explain a particular phenomenon of interest within the domains of:
(1) clinical care,
(2) epidemiology, or
(3) health services planning and financing.

Mechanisms that may underlie the coexistence of 2 or more conditions in a patient (direct causation, associated risk factors, heterogeneity, independence) are examined, and the implications for clinical care considered. We conclude that the more precise use of constructs, as proposed in this article, would lead to improved research into the phenomenon of ill health in clinical care, epidemiology, and health services….."

"….We have defined the various constructs underpinning the co-occurrence of distinct diseases (comorbidity of an index disease, multimorbidity, morbidity

burden, and patient complexity), described how these are interrelated, and shown how different constructs might best be applied to 3 different research areas (clinical care, epidemiology, health services)………."

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"Materials provided in this electronic list are provided "as is". Unless expressly stated otherwise, the findings
and interpretations included in the Materials are those of the authors and not necessarily of The Pan American
Health Organization PAHO/WHO or its country members".
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    IMPORTANT: This transmission is for use by the intended recipient and it may contain privileged, proprietary or confidential information. If you are not the intended recipient or a person responsible for delivering this transmission to the intended recipient, you may not disclose, copy or distribute this transmission or take any action in reliance on it. If you received this transmission in error, please notify us immediately by email to infosec@paho.org, and please dispose of and delete this transmission. Thank you.