On 14 December Paul Brandon wrote: >Sorry Allen -- I wasn't aiming this at you specifically.
Paul, no worries. (I got that ubiquitous Aussie expression from reports by Brits currently out in Australia to see the Ashes cricket series between England and Australia. But TIPSters will know all about that... -:) ) I did take on board your opening with "And to increase the anxiety a bit more ...." in regard to a discussion including severe anxiety disorders! Bill Scott wrote in relation to my querying why Kirsch et al would publish their detailed and methodologically complex articles in an online journal self-described as a "rapid publication electronic journal": >This criticism is unfair. Prevention and Treatment was >a fully accredited APA journal with the same peer review >process as used in print journals. It was an entirely appropriate >place to publish this paper. It folded, not for academic, >but economic reasons. Okay, fair enough. But reading Quitkin et al's (2002) critical evaluation of reports that question the validity of efficacy studies of antidepressants, including that of Kirsch et al (1998), it is evident that a great deal of time-consuming work was involved with such an evaluation. For instance, they critically evaluated more than twenty efficacy studies (full-page tabulation, p. 333, Quitkin et al [2002]). This would equally apply to a rigorous evaluation of the complexities of Kirsch et al's articles, with their examination of numerous efficacy studies, including methodological procedures. So I would still query whether an online journal devoted to "rapid publication" would allow sufficient time for relevant professionals, generally with other commitments, to provide the necessary rigorous peer review examination of the extensive details and complexities in Kirsch et al's articles, and whether a conventional journal without such time restraints would not have been more appropriate for articles taking on such important issues. Allen Esterson Former lecturer, Science Department Southwark College, London http://www.esterson.org/ --- To make changes to your subscription go to: http://acsun.frostburg.edu/cgi-bin/lyris.pl?enter=tips&text_mode=0&lang=english
